A few times lately I have made reference to the fact that my mother passed away in September. Actually, I despise that phrase: passed away. Makes it sound so benign and innocent. She was peacefully at rest when she “passed away” but I do not believe for a moment that death itself is sweet, innocent or benign.…
Pentecost 19A Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 Matthew 22:34-46 At the beginning of the movie, Love Actually, the voice of the character who plays the British Prime Minister has a little speech about love: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at the Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting…
This sermon was from Sunday, October 9th and it is from the texts for Pentecost 17A Isaiah 25:1-9, Psalm 23, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14 Every communion Sunday our liturgy changes just a little bit. By that I am not just talking about the insertion of the rite of Holy Communion that comes right after the…
Matthew 18:21-35 Pentecost 13A Once upon a time. Jesus is telling parables again today. It’s a good idea, too, since a lot of what Jesus has to say today is difficult for us to hear. Coating it in a nice story might make it easier to swallow. It is made all the more difficult to…
I truly, deeply, do not want to be disrespectful of anyone for whom 9/11 holds particular personal significance by what I am about to say. Also, I have often emphasized to anyone who seeks to find any kind of miniscule connection to the Twin Towers that the attack of that day was not merely on…
Shepherdess Writes 