THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY January 22, 2023 Isaiah 9:1-4 I Corinthians 1:10-17 Matthew 4:12-23 Most marketing experts will tell you that our New Year’s Resolutions begin to fizzle out sometime during the third week in January. Because our culture rejoices in telling us how we can be more beautiful, healthy and fulfilled people, we…
Epiphany II 15 January 2023 Isaiah 49:1-7 I Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-41 It seems to me that wherever you go in the Christian world, people have very different ideas about the significance and meaning of the rite of baptism. What is baptism ‘for’ exactly? I’ve preached for many baptism services over the years – most…
Epiphany January 8th, 2023 Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12 Look around you, and you will see many depictions of stars in the church. I’m afraid that some of them might look a bit tarnished at the moment because of the recent fire. There are not only the stars that we use to decorate the…
The Holy Name of Jesus January 1, 2023 Numbers 6:22-27 Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:15-21 According to Jewish law and tradition, a male child had to be taken to the temple eight days after it was born. There, the child was named and circumcised, and thus became a full member of the family of God’s Chosen…
Christmas Eve 2022 Given the fact that Christmas is all about the birth of a child, it isn’t surprising that many of the most famous Christmas hymns are lullabies. Perhaps the most famous of them all is ‘Silent night’, translated into many languages and was first sung in English here in New York City at…
ADVENT IV December 18, 2022 Isaiah 7:10-16 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 I feel a bit sorry for Joseph. He’s the one character in the nativity story to whom one gives only passing attention. Even the star and the donkey feature more prominently in popular imagination than he does. Is it because Joseph is something of…
Advent I November 27, 2022 Isaiah 2 :1-5 Romans 13 :11-14 Matthew 24 :36-44 My paternal grandmother was quite a colorful character. She was a faithful churchgoer, and certainly played an important part in my own faith formation through her kindness and through the way she brought Bible stories to life. But it was never a good…
Christ the King / Baptism of Brooks November 20, 2022 Jeremiah 23:1-6 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43 Today is quite the celebration! We’re here to welcome Brooks’s family and to baptize him in the name of Christ’s love and his victory on the cross; we are here to celebrate the last Sunday before Advent –…
Pentecost XXIII November 13, 2022 Isaiah 65:17-25 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19 For you have no sympathy for me, You, your shepherds and your dogs. I have been told of this. I have to make things even. Saying this, into the woods The wolf carries the lamb, and then eats him Without any other…
All Saints Sunday November 6, 2022 Daniel 7:1-3,15-18 Ephesians 1:11-23 Luke 6:20-31 It may come as a surprise to some of you to know that St. Esprit has a cemetery. You will be relieved to know that it is not in the back garden under the children’s climbing frame. Our cemetery is located in…