Apr. 14, 2019 – sermon
The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday April 14, 2019 During the course of our rainy work party yesterday I thought about the pre-procession of coming to church this morning. Approaching Darst you see our sign beckoning, the lovely woods, then the strong and elegant face of our building comes into view, standing tall, surrounded by all manner of things leafing out — many newly planted. You turn into the parking lot and for the first Palm Sunday ever, you don’t steer around the potholes filled with rainwater! If you’ve joined St. Michael’s more recently you wouldn’t know that there was once a...
Read MoreMar. 30, 2018 – Good Friday sermon
Good Friday March 30, 2018 A child whose family had begun attending church just before Christmas came to the Palm Sunday service with much happy curiosity. However, after she heard the Passion reading she was inconsolable, and refused to go back, and even promises of the usual Easter dress, egg hunts and a church filled with flowers could not convince her. After a prolonged tantrum and tears she told them why; she loved that infant Jesus she met for the first time at the Christmas pageant. She loved his parables and stories about him and his friends she heard in Sunday School, and whose...
Read MorePhoto album: Leadership Retreat, Safe Church Training, and Palm Sunday
A collage of photos from a very busy March 2018 at Saint Michael’s, including the Leadership Retreat held at Saint Andrew’s House, March 2-4, 2018; Safeguarding God’s Children Training held March 17, 2018; and The Sunday of Passion: Palm Sunday with the Bishop’s Official Visitation and Blessing of the Labyrinth held March 25, 2018.
Read MoreApr. 14, 2017: Good Friday (sermon)
I have this icon of Jesus in prison with his legs through holes in a stone shelf, feet shackled lest he escape (see below). The robes he wears are resplendent red with the willingness of his humiliation, mocking, beating, and death on the cross. Even in humility and apparent helplessness, there is—incredibly—a peacefulness and compassion to him. He holds the reed of the soldiers’ derision as a scepter, the crown of thorns as his wreath of victory, his expression is one of calm and compassion, his face shows no pain or unanswered question. The icon’s quote is, “Here is that Most Holy Peace that passeth understanding in visible form right before us.” To me what the icon subtly reveals is that he went willingly.
Read MoreApr. 9, 2017: Palm Sunday (sermon)
We’ve had five Lenten weeks with lessons from the gospels about who Jesus is and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We began with Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, and his answers revealed his deep faith and love of God. We’ve heard about Jesus and Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the man who received sight having been blind from his birth, and last week we heard from Martha and Mary at the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This wealth of revealed identity does more than carry us through the season of Lent, these readings have helped us prepare to follow him as disciples. Each of these characters had their own response to him, as do you and I. There is no one way to be a disciple, only your way—born of who you are and how faithfully you trust God to lead you. To do that, we need to know this Jesus. Following Jesus is a growing cycle; from knowing we learn to follow, from knowing him more and loving him, we do it ever better. Today are reminded of his role as the long-awaited Messiah, an arriving king, and yet one who comes humbly—riding atop a donkey and colt, common work animals, not a warhorse. As we welcome him into Jerusalem this morning, we welcome him into our hearts with just that much more awareness, knowledge and love—what has grown in you since the last time you waved your palms at Jesus’ entry?
Read More