Whose Brood?

Advent 3, Yr. C, December 16, 2012

Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            So here we are again on the third Sunday of Advent, listening to John the Baptist rail against those gathered at the river.  That crowd of people had come out to be baptized by John, to be washed clean,  purified by a baptism of repentance, a baptism intended to re-orient them to God.  I imagine them standing there in that crowd eagerly awaiting their dip in the muddy waters of the Jordan.  Standing ready to take that plunge and make that commitment.  Instead of cheers and congratulations, they are met with name calling and accusations.  “You brood of vipers!  Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’”  I wonder how many baptisms we’d have at St. Stephen’s if that’s the way I greeted people at our baptismal font?  How many would continue on?  How many would leave angry … or run away in fear? 

Got Hope?

Advent 1, Yr. B, December 2, 2012

Jeremiah 33; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            I’ve been talking a lot about hope lately, and today won’t be any different.  Notice the banner that’s up on the wire this week.  Our first candle in this new season of Advent, a season of “coming” is also about hope.  This is the beginning of our looking forward to a future event that happened 2000 years ago, the birth of a man who had the capacity to live in full communion with God in every moment of his life.  As grim as life in first century Palestine could be for many, Jesus proclaimed hope.  Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God was at hand.  The advent of the Day of the Lord was upon them.   Just watch the signs, he told them.  Stay steadfast in your faith, trust in God, don’t let your fears and worries get you down.

            I imagine there were many people who couldn’t see the possibilities themselves, and despair was a ready friend to them, a trap that could catch them and refuse to let them go. 

The Reign of Christ

Last Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, November 25, 2012

Daniel 79-10, 13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            The readings from Daniel and Revelation are part of the apocalyptic literature in the Bible.  We tend to think that this type of literature is all about retribution and annihilation.  It portrays a kind of end time that most of us don’t particularly look forward to, an end that ushers in the victory of God by means of a great war between the forces of good and the forces of evil.  There have been times in my life when I felt that these writings weren’t particularly helpful to my spiritual life. 

            But as I look around in the world today, and I see so many of our young adult males, particularly males of color, dying in our streets, and as I look up the names of those killed in our military every week now, I find myself seeing these stories from a different perspective.

Give for Hope

25^th Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, November 18, 2012

Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            In a short time, we’ll be coming up to the chancel step and offering our financial pledge for 2013, a pledge that will support the life and ministry of St. Stephen’s Church.  That pledge is an offering of life and love.  Money is the symbol of our life’s labor, and all the blood, sweat and tears that we put into our vocation.  Our pledge is a gift of life.

            I had a friend in Lake Placid who was quite wealthy, and also quite generous with that wealth.  His faith was important to him, and he took to heart the idea that he was a steward of all that he had been given.  He was also a businessman, conscientious and practical.  He wanted his gifts to also be good investments. 

Our New Brother

23^rd Sunday after Pentecost & All Saints Sunday, Yr. B, November 4, 2012

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

Both of our New Testament readings this morning scream of death and resurrection.  The reading from Revelation is one often read at funerals in our tradition, and the raising of Lazarus is one that surely speaks of God’s ability to bring life from death.  What do these readings have to do with the Feast of All Saints, and baptism?  Why are we reading them on a day when we are welcoming a young child into our faith community?  Why are we reading about destruction and death, and the afterlife when we should be focusing on this life?

Voices

22^nd Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, October 28, 2012

Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

            This story of the blind man, or men, is in each of the synoptic gospels.  In Matthew it’s two blind men.  In Luke the disciples and Jesus are coming to Jericho, and in the other two gospels they are leaving.  Only Mark names the blind man.  In the other two gospels the blind are nameless. 

These differences are interesting, but the similarities between the stories are more striking.  In all three stories, the blind are beggars on the side of the road as Jesus and the disciples walk in or out of Jericho.  In all three, the disciples try to quiet the pleas of the blind.  In all three, Jesus calls, or in Luke orders, the blind to come to him.  In all three, Jesus heals the blindness, and once healed the newly sighted men become followers of Jesus. 

            This story isn’t a parable.  It’s not a wisdom story told by Jesus to make us think.  It’s not a puzzle we’re meant to ruminate on in order to discover the meaning.  It’s not a song or poem passed down through the tradition intended to bring to the present age past glories or success.  This is a slice of life in first century Palestine.  

Children’s Sabbath

21^st Sunday after Pentecost, Yr. B, October 21, 2012

Isaiah 53:4-12; Psalm 91:9-16; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 11:35-45

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

In New York State, 21.2% of our children live in poverty, 10.1% in extreme poverty.  We’re 24^th among states in babies born with low birth weight, and 10^th among states in infant mortality. 38.4% of our children are not fully immunized.  7.9% of the children in our state have no health insurance despite the fact that we have programs in place that should insure that no child goes uninsured.[1]  The young often bear the brunt of the inequalities in our system.