Jesus got baptized? Well, not really.The answer lies in some of the scripture we have heard these past weeks. Remember the second week of Advent when our locust eating friend, John the Baptist was at the river preaching repentance? He was performing the Jewish ritual of mikveh. It was a spiritual cleansing. Once a person …
I can’t believe it is the 3rd week of Advent already. Only three weeks left of the year 2021. I’m very happy to be the celebrant of this mass, my first one as a priest. And I’m happy to be celebrating this week because JOY is the theme. The readings are full of joy and …
In the gospel of Luke, we don’t get much of a physical description of John the Baptist. We get more of his place in history with the description of who was in political power at the time of John’s ministry. Writers Mark and Matthew give us the description, of how odd (to our way of …
I hope when I was just proclaiming the gospel you said to yourself “Self, I think she is reading the same gospel we heard on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary time. That one was written by Mark.” And I would tell you, you are correct! On that Sunday I talked about apocalyptic writings such as …
If one had to describe Jesus from all that we have learned about him, from what we have experienced with him, I’m pretty sure “king” wouldn’t be among the descriptors. But here we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King, calling this man a king, a title he most certainly would have shunned, this …
Way back in ancient times, I think it was in the 1990’s, Steve and I attended one of his office Christmas parties. These were fancy affairs, only one step removed from black tie. The cocktail hour was first. During that time people would decide where they would sit. Women would put their purses at that …
I find I can sum up my experience of my Episcopal Ordination on September 4, 2021 by the closing remarks I gave at the liturgy: You may not have heard the creaking sounds, the groaning sounds underneath all the praying, the music, the singing and laughter we’ve just experienced. Those sounds are what it sounds …
We heard in the gospel according to John: “Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, it is never any more than a grain of wheat.If it is buried, it sprouts & reproduces itself many times over.”I think this passage from scripture is one of the most well known lines in Christianity. Hmm, …
Last week we heard Jesus call us to service, to leave our attachments behind, to let the dead bury their dead and go with him. This week, Jesus tells us how to do that service. He tells us we don’t need fancy clothes or props to spread the powerful message of God’s love. That the …
Today in our Scripture readings we are going to hear how Jesus calls us to give up everything to become one his followers. Who in their right minds would give up everything to do that? I’m thinking the answer is supposed to be us1 Kings 19,16b, 19-21Galatians 5.1, 13-18Luke 9, 51-62 Let’s recap here. Elijah …
