You may have noticed the parenthesis around verses 10 to 20 of the gospel. They indicate that that portion of the reading is optional today. I think that first portion deserves consideration on its own, a homily for another day. Besides, I find the second portion much more of a challenge to understand, don’t you? It may not be pretty but let’s take a look at an unattractive portrait of Jesus and his disciples…

It’s likely that you have heard this “Parable of the Sower” before hearing it here today. If, as a child, you were attentive in Sunday School (and I’m sure you all were), you’ll remember it. Just in case you were focusing more on the sounds coming from the Parish Hall preparations for Coffee Hour snacking than on the voice of your Church School teacher on the day it was told, I’ll summarize…

Last Thursday was Ascension Day, one of the days that the Prayer Book recognizes as a “Principal Feast.” Since the day is celebrated without the kind of hoop-la surrounding Christmas and Easter, it isn’t understood and appreciated as are those great festivals. So why does the Church give it prominence as one of the principal holy days of the year?

I’ve heard it said that Americans are all but schizophrenic when it comes to the subject of death. I can’t believe that we haven’t become jaded by the thousands of people we have seen beaten, tortured, gunned down, or assassinated on television or in the movies…

“Zacchaeus”… the name sounds funny to our ears. To the ears of his contemporaries, the name must have sounded not funny at all, but ironic, for its meaning in Hebrew was “innocent” or “pure.” Zacchaeus was considered anything but innocent or pure by his fellow Jews. Their name for him would more likely be “abuser” or “exploiter” for Zacchaeus worked for the hated Romans who had conquered and occupied the land of Palestine. He had won the tax-collecting franchise awarded by the Romans to enterprising traitors…

As a preacher, I almost always choose to talk about the day’s Gospel lesson. I may touch on the other lessons but my main concern is to dwell on the message contained in the Gospel. So with that in mind I intend to give some very practical advice on how to behave at a dinner party, so as to avoid embarrassment. It’s simply a matter of choosing the right seat…

Do you hate to clean house? You’re not alone. But every so often it needs to be done. Maybe something you need is buried under the morass of paper or clothes tossed carelessly aside as you run in and out, day after day, and you just have to find that thing. Or you might have received word that dear old Aunt Tillie, and her white glove is due for a visit…

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…

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:1-37
We live in violent times. It’s hard to deny it whenever we hear the words Columbine or Virginia Tech or more recently Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or Binghamton, New York, or Pine Lake Nursing Home right here in our own state. Incredibly, in my mind at least, it’s still legal for gun shops to sell assault weapons … for what earthly reason I can’t imagine. We hear over and over of those who kill with guns or baseball bats or their bare hands…