Mark 7:31-37
I had a really great opportunity yesterday to spend some time thinking about one of my favorite moments in the gospel, one of my favorite things that Jesus says, when Jesus lays his hands on this deaf man’s head and puts his fingers in the man’s ears and he says, “Ephphatha,” “Be opened.”
“Increase in us true religion.” Hear that phrase in our opening prayer, our collect? It’s an interesting phrase. What does it mean? I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts on that. One area of study that I find really interesting, and I wish I had studed more, is anthropology…
John 6:56-69
Do you ever wonder how it is that we come to believe the things that we do? When we look at our lives, with an eye towards the experiences and the people who have led us to believe in one thing or another, do any patterns emerge? What things along the way, be they miraculous, life-changing or thought-provoking, have led us to a deeper faith? …
A couple of weeks ago I was preaching on Sunday and I shared a teaching on the Eucharistic Prayer that we say on Sunday, and I got so many responses to that, asking for more teaching things like that, to better understand what it is we do when we gather together like this on Sunday…
The way we view the world can either limit or expand our horizons. The crowd that surrounded Jesus in our Gospel lesson in John became angry at what they perceived as arrogance, if not blasphemy, on his part. How dare he call himself the bread of life? …
One of the exciting things about life here at St. Paul’s is the number of newcomers that we meet every Sunday. Some of you here today may be here for the first time, and we welcome you. Some people come to a parish and see it as a place where we want to engage with…
In the small town where I was raised, it is common practice for the mayor to be elected from among the well known business and professional people, mainly men, often men who were in retirement. People like the former head coach of the high school football team, or the owner of the only Ford dealership in town…
About two weeks ago, Craig and I were all set to leave on vacation. I was looking forward to seeing my sister and her husband. They have a second home on Brigantine Island, which is a beach community in southern New Jersey. As we were pulling out of our driveway, this delightful feeling washed over me. I call it the AH! Factor.
Mark 6:14-29
It’s hard to have much respect for Herod, isn’t it? Not only does he call for the death of John the Baptist, but he does it in such weasel-y, passive way that he can almost say to himself that he wasn’t really to blame for what happened…
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Psalm 48, 2 Corinthians12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13
Today’s readings touch on two areas of life that I’m sure we’ve all experienced, power and rejection…