These writings are designed for preaching on the Sundays that correlate to the scripture listed in the Lectionary of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. As of Advent 2010, these are no longer the texts selected for use in most Episcopal Churches. But mine does.
Each sermon links to the scripture that influence it.
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I Need a Miracle Every Day
(A sermon for John 20:19-31 Presented at Christ Christ, Bordentown, NJ, April 6-7, 2024)
If you were fortunate to join us a couple of weeks ago during our Gospel & Coffee series, you would’ve heard how we started our discussion about how Jesus couldn’t preach in his hometown and how 40 minutes later into that discussion, we ended on the topic of miracles.
Father Matt then asked us two questions about miracles. 1) Who believes in miracles? And_2) Who expects miracles to happen? _
And then, he defined miracles as “God putting things back to how they’re supposed to be anyway”. I’ll say that again _ miracles are “God putting things back to how they’re supposed to be anyway”.
(Gospel & Sermon begin at 20:20) In our group, I begrudged this openly until someone asked me if I was looking for a threshold as to when a miracle happens, and I said, I think so.
And just as I said that, I realized by that definition, there could be no threshold. Miracles would be happening every day, all day long, most of them hidden from the naked eye. Thus, there could only be an infinite possibility to the number of miracles occurring all around me. And because I can’t always see them, I must have an all-encompassing faith that God is putting things back to how they’re supposed to be, all the time.
Keep in mind, I said God was putting things back to how they’re supposed to be. I didn’t say He was setting things right. Because right is how we want things to be. For example, I think it would be right if there was no corruption, lies or murder. And from there I have a whole list of things that I think should be right, as I’m sure each of you have your own personal lists.
Right is how we want things to be. Miracles are how God knows they are supposed to be. To reconcile this, God gave humans the ability to have faith. So when things are not right by our standard, we still know and feel deep down that God loves us and has our best interest.
And if we’re looking and we’re lucky, we’ll see a miracle happen right in front of our eyes. Something that will solidify, or recharge our faith, or remind us even in our darkest hours of doubt that He exists and loves us.
Mother Mary is the patron saint of humans and comes to us in our darkest hour of doubt. But it’s our patron saints of architects, St. Thomas the Apostle who is saddled with a label of being the ultimate doubter, the one who understands doubt very well.
Thomas may be famous for being the penultimate doubter. But he’s our great example of wanting things to be right and then being shown a miracle.
Thomas is cited as a dedicated and quick follower of Jesus, and when Jesus told Thomas that He was “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, Thomas didn’t turn around and say, “yeah right”. He was not known in the scriptures for being a curmudgeonly skeptic.
But still, at one point, the resurrected Jesus appears to just eleven of the apostles while Thomas was not there. They tell Thomas what they’d seen, and Thomas says that cannot be right and it won’t be right until he sees it and feels it for himself. Jesus returns and lets Thomas experience the resurrection in a very tactile way, and to see and feel the miracle of the resurrection … to put things back to how they’re supposed to be anyway so that Thomas would return to his ministry and spread the Gospel, which would take him as far away as India.
The thing that I like about this Gospel is Jesus came back for Thomas. Whereas He could have avoided Thomas altogether.
But he wanted Thomas to be the one to question him and make a big deal about it, so the story of the miracle of the resurrection could have a protagonist and live on in artful depictions and human characterization (a.k.a. A doubting Thomas).
This was God putting Thomas back to how he was supposed to be, a dedicated and quick follower of Jesus, who believed that Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life _ and now becoming the model of doubt for us.
For St. Thomas, he may not have viewed this as right. But it was the way it was supposed to be.
Imagine the faith you have, and being saddled with a cause, or an expectation, or a task that you didn’t see as yours to have. Something to you that you think isn’t right, but it is the way things are. You have the faith that God gave you to reconcile these two things.
And we have Thomas’ story which is our story. This is our story of following faithfully, and when we are in our moments of doubt, there are still miracles all around us.
It may not be easy, and you may be riddled with doubt, and you may be waiting for a sign as to why or how. But have faith that beyond your immediate comprehension, God is putting things back to how they’re supposed to be anyway. Unfortunately, we don’t always get the gratification that Thomas experienced. But know that the answer is there_ and may that keep you comforted until you know the reason or witness the miracle first-hand.
As Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Amen
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Don’t Stop Your Quest
(A sermon for Mark 8:31-38 Presented at Christ Christ, Bordentown, NJ, February 24-25, 2024)
I feel lucky today because I get to tell a sermon about one of my favorite questions asked in the Gospels, “For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” And also because the same Gospel reading contains another passage that I adamantly question how it’s interpreted.
But before we get to all that, let’s first focus on the fact that Jesus is asking a question. According to the author, Martin Copenhaver, in his book, “Jesus is the Question”, Jesus himself asks 307 different questions in the Gospels. Whereas he is only asked 183.
(Gospel & Sermon begin at 19:00)
Some might say that a leader who asks a lot of questions, is either not qualified or is just being a jerk_ and testing you to see what you know. Both could be true, but good leaders have a skill of leading with questions_ and then telling with kindness. This teaches a person to be curious and not assumptive _ to question yourself as to what you think you know _ and to question what else you need to learn.
In Jesus’ case, some of his questions come with immediate answers. But this question does not.
So, what does that mean _ “gain the whole world and lose one’s life?”
For starters, what is life? They say that bread is life. Life is hard. Life is like a bowl of cherries, or a box of chocolates. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
Idioms aside, life is probably the only thing that you really have.
But one might ask in response_ “Paul, what about the fine church garments you’re wearing, or what about your incredibly large (and awesome) record collection, or the house you live in? Don’t you have all of those?” True, I have all three.
But they are just things. Things that I have _ that come along with me. But they are not my life. I could give up all three as well as every other thing, and I would still be left with the one thing that I truly have … me.
I can buy all those other things again. But I can never buy one more me. The me that I was given by the grace of God.
So, the question seems to be how much do you obtain, buy, or gather before the scale tips and your life is secondary to all these things you’ve obtained? So much so that you lose sight of your own self.
I say “the question seems to be” because I wasn’t there when Jesus asked this question and there’s no recorded answer. So how can I know for sure? And what makes me so unsure?
What makes me so unsure is because God made humans to be a curious bunch. He made us to question everything in search of finding answers. This is why sometimes we progress and create amazing inventions_ or sometimes we’re just obnoxious_ or sometimes we just spin in place trying to figure it all out. Or sometimes we turn that curiosity too far toward obtaining more things, believing and hoping that that’s what makes a better life.
Thus, our curious nature can cause misalignment at times, sometimes for good, sometimes not so good.
Which brings me back to the beginning of the sermon when I said there was a part of the Bible that I question the way it’s interpreted. The verse “And Peter took [Jesus] and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, [Jesus] rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.” The common thought is Jesus is calling Peter Satan.
But what if instead Jesus is really talking to Satan who may be actually present and influencing Peter to act stupidly? When I first read this many years ago, I thought Jesus was talking to Satan. And I still do.
So there you have it. I’m questioning how this is interpreted and my questioning has led me to believe a difference. Thus, I’m not in alignment with the widely viewed interpretation and I’m spreading my misalignment with you.
I’m not telling you this so that you agree with me but to show that curiosity of scripture is OK, and in hopes that you’ll be curious and question me back. After all, we’re only humans.
So hopefully you appreciate the scope of this sermon:
(1) _ Life is the only thing you truly have, don’t give it up in place of a bunch of things.
(2) _ It’s OK to question everything…even God _ because he made us to be that way _ and it helps us to learn more about God and become closer to God when we ask questions.
Lastly, think about the fact that Jesus is teaching us by asking us questions in the Scriptures. He wants us to design our lives around love, worship, and faith. He wants us to read scriptures and find ourselves in them.
But He wants us to continue questioning just like He does to us.
And when you think of the word “question” … think of the first part of that word_ quest.
He wants us to go on this quest. He wants us to have the lives He gave us, and feel and say “I feel lucky today” because we’re on this quest with Him, and because you are you, and God loves you for being you _ the curious questioning creature that you are.
Amen.
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The Source of Evil
(A sermon for Mark 1:21-28 Presented at Christ Christ, Bordentown, NJ, January 27-28, 2024)
If I ask, “Who ya gonna call”? _most, if not all of you just thought _ “Ghostbusters” _ those guys who fought off demons such as that nutty Zuul, and Gozer the Gozerian who turns himself into a giant destructive Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Only by crossing the streams of their proton guns were the Ghostbusters able to exorcize New York City from the infestation of demons.
Imagine if it was just that simple _ to remove all that evil_ all one had to do is “cross the streams”? Of course, that’s in the movies. And of course, Jesus did not have a proton gun to fight off evil. But he knew evil when we encountered it. And as we hear in today’s Gospel, it also recognized him.
(Gospel & Sermon begin at 5:00) During Epiphany Season, we’ll hear the accounts of Jesus’ baptism and his ministry up to the point of his transfiguration. We hear about his wisdom and reassuring words alongside his healing miracles.
But just as Jesus saw the good in this world, and shined a light on it, he also dealt with the unpleasant parts of our world: afflictions, sadness, arguments, betrayal. And the gospel writers want us to know he dealt with demoniacs several times _ those who were possessed. It’s easy to relate to the typical unpleasant parts of living that Jesus encountered. But the topic of demoniacs can be incredibly unpleasant to hear or think about, and in some ways, it can sound too incredulous.
It’s no wonder. Today’s passage sounds like a script from a horror movie. You can almost hear or imagine the eerie snide tone of _ “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
So it’s a natural reaction to draw away from this type of unpleasantness. It can be more comfortable leaving the talk of Satan to the stereotypical fire-and-brimstone preacher, or the TV evangelists, who can easily be mimicked by a stand-up comic.
But it’s OK to laugh, especially in the face of Satan. He hates all types of joy and comfort, all the good things that God hath brought. What we shouldn’t do is pretend that Satan’s influence is of no great consequence. No matter how big or small the influence, the consequence is always great.
Unfortunately, we get our image of Satan and his demons from the horror movies, and we see mostly extreme exaggerations of Satan’s wrath against mankind.
What Hollywood does do correctly is show Satan as the fallen angel full of sinful pride, rejecting any humility and obedience to God. Fallen angels have either forgotten, or chose to not remember, that angels were also created by God. Despite what they think, they are not gods. They do not have the power of God. They cannot read our thoughts. They do not create us. They get in mankind’s way. They persuade us to turn away from God and act in the same way as they do toward God. They do this to mankind because they hate God’s sacrificial love for us, and our love for God.
And they come from all directions to tempt us _ to tempt us to disregard the Ten Commandments; to not have love for mankind; to engage in the occult and spells; to waste our gifts, resources, and time; to let greed and fear motivate us. To limit us of from our full potentials. To distract us. To get in front of us and turn us away from God.
It’s said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is convincing mankind that he doesn’t exist. The greatest consequence of that is_ instead of believing that Satan is the source of evil in our lives, it’s believing that the source of evil is either our neighbor, or those live in a country on the other side of the world, or those who speak a different language, or those who have different customs or identities, or those who simply express a different opinion than us.
Truly, it’s important to recognize evil. But it’s equally important to not be quick to judge and label. Most people in this world who seem afflicted with evil or seem possessed most likely have a mental or physical ailment _and should be treated by a doctor, or a social worker. They most likely do not need an exorcist.
So how do we recognize the influence of evil in ourselves, or in someone else? A good test question for ourselves is, is it something that is turning me, or turned me away from God? And when we think we recognize evil in others_ have mercy, grace, hope and trust in God, because you can never know for sure about someone else.
That said, evil wants to stay hidden. It most likely is not going to appear to you as a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. <Though if you do see that, I highly recommend that you just run.>
But in all seriousness when you do suspect an evil presence that won’t leave you or your family alone, and you have exhausted all other possibilities, there is no {do-it-yourself-at-home} kit.
Call Father Matt. Call any priest. If a priest is not available, call on God to deliver one. Just don’t be afraid because Satan loves fear. He also probably hates the “Ghostbusters” theme song. Because Satan wants us to feel alone as if we have no one to call.
But be assured we always do. We always have Jesus Christ’s phone number, and He is always stronger than Satan.
Amen.
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Did I Dream That?
(A sermon for Mark 1:1-8 Presented at Christ Church, Bordentown NJ, December 9-10, 2023.)
I used to have a recurring dream in which I would find myself feeling stressed and frustrated_ because today was my college final exam. In that dream, I desperately searched for the classroom that I had never bothered to learn where it was in the first place. As I roamed through random buildings on campus, I was so unsure and upset because I couldn’t understand why I didn’t look for this building yesterday. Why didn’t I attend the class all those yesterdays? And why didn’t I read the textbooks all those yesterdays? …So that today, I would be ready.
To add insult to injury, I would typically wake up from this dream wondering_ is that my reality? Did I really let that happen? Then after a few minutes of being awake, I would realize it was just a dream, and feel relieved.
I don’t typically put a lot of stock in dreams, or what they mean. To me, it’s just the brain’s way of rejuvenating while I sleep. And sometimes the dreams are just a front row seat to some movie, and in this case, a movie that is not all that much fun to watch.
But maybe putting stock in that dream is not such a bad idea. It’s a reminder of how I’ve created situations for myself that invoke angst and misgivings that I could’ve prevented. And it’s a reminder that sometimes I go too fast, and don’t pay attention to the things that matter.
Gospel & Sermon begin at 19:29 During this time before Christmas, we hear the message, “Slow down, it’s Advent.” We’re encouraged to hurry less, breathe slower and easier, and revel in the Good News that the birth of Christ is soon upon us.
It’s easy to say _ “slow … down”. Much harder to do _ especially since our modern society tells us_ this is the time to speed up, worry more, fill up our calendars and our to-do lists because _ CHRISTMAS DAY_IS_ COMING!
So how do we slow down, when there are so many expectations? Reading Mark’s Gospel today helps with some perspective _ John the Baptist exclaiming the words of Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
The theme of this short passage is _to prepare or_ be prepared. Preparing ourselves for what’s to come. Preparing ourselves in some way that’s not been fully explained. Preparing ourselves perhaps, for some exam, in some building that has some unknown location.
With Advent morphing into Christmastide, we prepare for both _ by slowing down and relishing in how well we’ve done. But also, to take heed and speed up, to catch up on things that we missed along the way.
Consciously this may seem hard to do. But this preparation for the future _ sometimes slowly _ sometimes quickly_ is something we do every day all day long. Our days are full of thinking about the little and big choices we make. Our minds drift all day long, thinking about the choices and how much to prepare.
We choose to continue to listen to this sermon _ or think about something else. We choose where to drive after church. We choose what we’ll eat after church. We choose if we’re going to watch the Giants not make the playoffs again. We choose to get involved. We choose to help our neighbor. We choose if we’ll pray. We choose to prepare for the Second Coming. We choose to care a lot _or care a little.
And behind all of those choices, we think about, how much do we need to prepare for all of these choices?
As certain stages in our lives unfold, we don’t need to think consciously about many of these choices. Our choices and preparation become instinctual. Our brains act on auto-pilot.
But when preparing for the unknown, how will we know that we’ve prepared enough for everything that we want to prepare for? Moreover, how much should we prepare for Jesus’ return?
I can’t tell you the exact amount. Just like I can’t tell you what you should eat, or where to go, or how to nurse your broken heart over the so-called “Giants”.
I can say that I believe the point of Advent is to slow down, take a moment to not worry, and feel _the joy that comes from knowing that the birth of Christ is just the beginning of the story. I can also say that you have to prepare yourself in this life, not only for your daily activities and choices, but for something that surpasses all of our understanding _ which is our afterlife.
Then I think how much should we prepare for that final exam? How do we make sure that we’re not running around regretfully trying to find the right building?
It’s up to each of you to decide. If you’re not prepared, you should be. If you are prepared, and wondering how much more you should prepare, the answer is simple, and really not as complicated, or as structured as you might think.
It’s _ prepare more today than you did yesterday, and each day continue doing just that. That’s how we’ll get the A+ on that final exam. That I’m sure.
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There Must Be Some Misunderstanding
(A sermon for Matthew 18: 21-35 Presented at Christ Church, Bordentown NJ, September 16-17, 2023.)
How many of you have ever been mad at God?
At some point in time in your life, you probably couldn’t help but think “Thanks a lot, God.” or “I can’t believe God let that happen”. It’s not surprising. From our individual armchairs, we can’t see the big picture and sometimes it can be annoying. It can be about really important stuff like why do natural disasters occur? Or why are kittens and puppies abandoned? Or it can be trivial stuff like, why is my vodka on the rocks so expensive? Or why is it still so hot up here?
Or how about the big question, why do you let Satan and his minions run around and cause all this havoc? Life is hard enough as it is without them stirring stuff up.
So it’s fairly easy to blame God for just about anything.
Gospel reading and sermon begins at 17:35 In today’s Gospel, Peter talks about “his brother in the Church ” who sinned against him and felt like he should forgive. In other words, Peter is ticked off and at an unknown someone. So what if that someone was Jesus?
Like most misunderstandings, Peter and Jesus have some history that could lead up to this. So let’s back up a bit.
Going back a few chapters in the Gospel, Peter is getting along well with Jesus. Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and Jesus replies that on Peter, He will build his Church.
But Peter still doesn’t fully know what this means and stumbles a bit. He’s expecting Jesus to stay alive and be the Messiah_the King of Israel, and freaks out when Jesus announces he’ll be killed soon. Peter witnesses the transfiguration, gets confused, and thinks he has to build three tabernacles. Following this, the Apostles are unable to cast out a demon and Jesus shows his impatience and says, “How long shall I put up with you?” and scolds them for their lack of faith. Then finally, prior to this Gospel reading, the disciples are discussing which of them was greater than the other, and Jesus essentially warns them about continuing to act this way. So for all what Peter has done and seen, and been told, he’s finding out that he’s no better than the rest who have done less _ and getting scolded.
Poor Peter. He’s trying so hard.
But he’s in uncharted territory being one of the first followers of the Son of Man, and so I can imagine it must have been overwhelming at times and a bit confusing. So it’s absolutely conceivable that Peter would feel hurt by Jesus scolding them, and taking it personally, thinking this Jesus-guy is wrong for scolding me.
But Peter is also wise enough at this point to know that it’s best to forgive. (He’s already been taught the Lord’s Prayer and to forgive those who trespass.) So he asks, “”Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”
For Peter this probably seems more than generous as was the custom at that time to forgive only three times. So Peter may be in a forgiving mood but he’s also wanting to gain back Jesus’ favor. Jesus though comes back with, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven”.
Do your math and that’s 490 times.
For those familiar with this verse, you most likely already recognize that Jesus’ recommendation to forgive ‘seventy times seven’ is really that it should be a number so high that you forget how many times you’ve forgiven and better yet, forget the reason why you feel the need to forgive in the first place.
If I say “I forgive you”
“I forgive you”
“I forgive you”
“I forgive you”
“I forgive you”
“I forgive you”
“I forgive you”, that’s seven times and it’s easy to remember how many times I said it.
If you try to do this 490 times, I doubt you will really be able to keep track. But if I’m wrong and you can keep track, please forgive me _ 490 times.
If this story is really about Peter being mad at Jesus, then Jesus knows that Peter is upset with Him, knows that he’s upset with not just any brother of the Church but he’s upset with the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Or in other words God himself.
And God understands. He’s not seeking Peter’s forgiveness, or your forgiveness when you get mad at Him. He’s seeking an understanding, for you to calm down and trust that our salvation is His goal. It’s difficult to always understand the reasoning for God’s actions, and it can sometimes feel like He doesn’t care. But He does care, and the method of repeating forgiveness is a meditation to calm the mind and heart, break apart the gloomy cloud, and remember that He does care and His goal for us is salvation. And for good measure, Jesus tells us a story about a farmer and his servant, and his servant’s servants, and debts that are owed, that reminds us that not forgiving leads to wrath and greed.
The truth is we don’t always know all the reasons why someone sinned or trespassed against us. Despite popular conception, it is absolutely_1_Hundred_%_ impossible to know what someone else is really thinking. Even those closest to you. From your armchair, only you can know what you are thinking. And of course, God knows too.
So_live by your favorite credo for forgiving: “Let Go and Let God”. Or Lose your temper but don’t lose faith. Or_Trust the process. Or _All will be revealed.
Forgive three times, forgive seven times, forgive 490 times. The number of times is not really important. Jesus’ point is for our own sake, no matter who, or what the reason is, just forgive.
Amen.
Wired For Faith 
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