Pentecost VII July 19, 2020 Genesis 28:10-19 Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-43 Though Edwin Muir was born on the island of Orkney in Scotland, he must be one of the most well-travelled poets in history. He spent time in London, Prague, Germany, Italy and Austria. He was Norton Professor of English at Harvard University. He had…
Sermon Pentecost VI – Bastille Day
Pentecost 6 / Bastille 12 July 2020 It is said that Jean-Baptiste Belley, the first black deputy for the French colony of Santo Domingo in 1793, introduced the third term of the motto, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”. Still today, the motto that one associates so often with France is also one of the mottoes of the…
Sermon – Pentecost V 2020
CINQUIEME DIMANCHE APRES LA PENTECOTE 5 juillet 2020 Il est probable que ce soit le fait de grandir à Chypre qui m’a donné le goût de tout ce qui est “oriental”. Notre passage de la Genèse sur le mariage arrangé d’Isaac et Rébecca est rempli de ces images que les gens qualifient d’orientales. On…
Sermon – Pentecost IV
Tutti Frutti Christi – Le quatrième dimanche après la Pentecôte le 28 juin 2020 Une des choses les plus difficiles quand on écrit un sermon et qu’on est un baby preacher comme moi, c’est de ne pas se laisser tenter par les fruits les plus accessibles. C’est plus facile à dire qu’à faire. Je…
Sermon – Pentecost III
Pentecost III June 21, 2020 Genesis 21:8-21 Romans 6:1-11 Matthew 10:24-39 The story of Sarah and Abraham’s banishment of Hagar and Ishmael is one of the most troubling and enigmatic texts in the book of Genesis – a book well known for its difficult texts! It is difficult because it shows us that the Hebrews,…
Sermon – Trinité
Trinity Sunday June 7, 2020 Genesis 1:1-2(a) II, Corinthians 13:11-13 , Matthew 28:16-20 Why does the Bible begin with a story of creation? It needn’t have done. It could have begun with the call of Abraham; a creation story that tells us of the founder of our faith. It could have begun with the story…
Sermon – La Pentecote
The Day of Pentecost May 31, 2020 Acts 2: 1-21 I Corinthians 12: 3b-13 John 7: 37-39 I love to visit botanical gardens. I am not particularly drawn to the flowers and the trees, so much as the glass houses constructed to recreate the diverse ecosystems of our world. At Kew Gardens in London, or…
Sermon – Easter VII – Ascension
Easter VII – Ascension May 24, 2020 Acts 1:6-14 I Peter 4:12-14 John 17:1-11 Luke tells us that the ascension took place from the Mount of Olives. This mount is almost eight hundred and twenty meters (three thousand feet) high. From the summit, you can see a panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem. The…
Sermon – Easter VI
Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020 Acts 12:22 – 31 I Peter 3:13 – 2 John 14:15 – 21 The account of Paul’s visit to the Areopagus in Athens is one of the stories in which I find myself feeling a bit sorry for this often-maligned Apostle. He is on his Second Missionary Journey,…
Sermon – Easter IV
Easter IV May 3, 2020 Acts 2:42-47 I Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 The first funeral I took at St. Esprit took place two months after my arrival. It was for a former member of the Vestry of the church, and the scion of a prestigious New York family. He had had rather a colorful life;…