Easter III (RCL Cycle B); 14 April 2024 Happy Easter! This morning’s Gospel takes us to another resurrection appearance. This is Luke’s version of the appearance we considered last Sunday. It’s Sunday evening the disciples are gathered, and Jesus suddenly appears in their midst. Invites them to be at peace. He, then, invites them to […]
It’s Not Fair – It’s Grace
March 27, 2022 – Lent IV This is Laetare Sunday – it comes from the Introit, or entrance, of the Latin Mass which invites us to rejoice. “Rejoice O Jerusalem.” This mid-point in our Lenten observance invites us to step back, take a deep breath and relax for a moment – the most difficult days […]
On Being Sent
Easter II (RCL Cycle B) 7 April 2024 “I believe in order to know, and I know in order to believe.” —St. Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033– 1109). Happy Easter! The second Sunday in the Great Fifty Days of Easter is always given to two separate but equally important resurrection appearances. The first appearance Jesus […]
Welcome Happy Morning
Sunday of the Resurrection (RCL Cycle B) 31 March 2024 Happy Easter! Today is Easter! To be correct, today is the Sunday of our Lord’s Resurrection. Today we begin a Fifty-day celebration that will come to its culmination in the Feast of Pentecost when the Church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is […]
The End of the Beginning
Christmas 24 December 2023 Merry Christmas! On 10th November 1942 at the Lord Mayor’s luncheon at Mansion House in London, Sir Winston Churchill addressed the gathering after receiving the news of the victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein made this statement: I have never promised anything but blood, tears, toil, and sweat. Now, […]
It is Finished
Good Friday 29 March 2024 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. […]
Back to Where We Started
Ash Wednesday (RCL Cycle B) 14 February 2024 Ashes — charcoal black, smoothed grit, damped by a bit of oil, spread lavishly or stingily across a smooth brow. Some of us will pray for just a tiny smudge, not a glaring cross; others move silently down the aisle, happy to be marked outrageously, bits of […]
A Collision of Worlds
Lent III (RCL Cycle B) 3 March 2024 This morning’s readings begin a dramatic turn that will take Jesus and us ultimately to Jerusalem and the events of Holy Week. The reading from John’s Gospel places us in the Temple where we witness Jesus driving out the money changers and other merchants. John places this […]
Soaking Prayer
What is “soaking prayer”? Perhaps, like many things, it depends upon who you ask. Ask 10 people, you may get 10 different answers. So, what is meant by the term at the Church of the Mediator? That answer is simple. It is time spent in personal prayer without distractions. So once a week, we take […]
Sermon – Easter VI
Troubled Times (From 2022) Happy Easter! This is the Sunday before Ascension Day. The Ascension is a day that is easy to ignore. It takes place on a Thursday (a lot of Episcopal congregations have their mid-week service on Wednesday). When I was a student at Nashotah House, Ascension Day was celebrated with great […]