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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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To Becoming A Christian
Recently a colleague, decades younger than me who identifies as part of the LGBTQ community as I do, asked, “Do you always have to keep coming out?” Thinking quickly back over my life, the answer was, “yes”. No one knows your sexual orientation unless they know you. It can’t be seen by the naked eye. There are no physical markings. It’s not in the way you walk or your mannerism or the tone in your voice. So yes, if you’re a gay male wearing a wedding ring or if you say you’re married, you will have to occasionally have to answer the question, “what’s your wife’s name?” And yes, you will have to mentally maneuver how to tailor your response.
Similarly, no one knows what your religious beliefs are unless they know you.
But don’t mistake that I’m going to make a case that coming out about your sexual orientation is the same as revealing your religious beliefs. Globally, we expect that folks have and will announce their religious beliefs and practices, it’s just that folks don’t always like the specifics of how and what others believe. Differences in sexual orientation on the other hand don’t enjoy nearly the same wide swath of liberties on such a global scale.
Even though not the same, I’ve still witnessed some peculiarities when I’ve broached the topic of my religious beliefs and practices. It’s made me wonder, are folks uncomfortable hearing that you’re a Christian? And if so, why?
“Does being a Christian require you to tell people what you’re NOT, more so than what you are?”
In certain circles, it definitely seems so. Without naming those circles and those who are in those circles, there seems to be a lot more comfort with saying anything but.
If you say you’re a Buddhist (“That’s cool, man.”)
If you say you’re Jewish (“That’s interesting. How was your holiday and what did you cook for your Seder?”)
If you say you “don’t believe in any of this Christianity shit” _ you’ll get affirming nods.
But if I say that I’m Episcopalian, or when asked what I did this weekend and I say that I’m involved with my church’s service, the silence that follows can be very loud.
When talking about why this is with a close friend, the response I got was, “Even though this has become a bigger part of your life this year, no one wants to hear about your Christianity because they’re afraid of what comes next.”
So, I started thinking about what could come next in other people’s minds, and made the following list, along with my responses:
- I’ll talk constantly about Christianity with the hope that you’ll convert or give money to my Church. (Not going to happen. I have a pluralistic view of life, and don’t think anyone has to convert.)
- I’ll talk about how I hate my homosexuality. (Not going to happen. We can discuss this at great length and a lot of folks would disagree, but I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with homosexuality, even from a religious sense.)
- I’ll talk about how science is all fake. (Not going to happen. I like and believe in the marvels of science. I believe that Evolution fits along side the Book of Genesis.)
- I’ll only promote gospel music and concerts. (I cannot imagine this happening. I love secular music too much. But I’m down for an occasional listen of Elvis’ or Johnny Cash’s gospel albums.)
- I’ll start handing out pamphlets on street corners. (I admire those who do because that’s a tough gig. But I would be uncomfortable thinking I’m handing out something to someone who’s just taking it to avoid me and throwing it away later. So, no.)
- I’ll stop drinking and swearing and expect you to do the same. (Definitely NOT happening on both counts.)
- Or bundle it all up, and I’ll become like Carrie White’s mother …
So, after making the list I noticed a funny thing (funny-strange, not funny-ha-ha).
Does being a Christian require you to tell people what you’re not, more so than what you are? Is there a set of expected characteristics that I must contest just to make one thing about me (my religious belief) more palatable?
Or maybe it’s just me. (Which is not out of the realm of possibilities.)
But then spend some time with this series of articles from the Pew Research Center in 2021 _ https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/ _ and it’s easy to see that the religious unaffiliated in this country is growing, and when asked why _ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/08/why-americas-nones-dont-identify-with-a-religion/ _ this is their responses.
So maybe it isn’t me.
That said, it’s sad to me that this is the trend. But I also get it. I think somehow, somewhere over the course of time, religious institutions put themselves in this position.
In the meantime, it’s not my goal to make folks feel uneasy, nor am I seeking sympathy. But I’m hopeful that with better leadership, better messaging, and better education of the good news of Christianity, folks see, read, hear, learn the same things that have made me happier.
Or at the very least realize that being a Christian does not require you to change the person you are. You can still drink at your local pub, swear at your sports team on their TV, and play Motorhead on their jukebox. There is a good chance that’s what you will find me doing.
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The Lord Moves Us In Mysterious Ways
A sermon for Matthew 3:1-12: Presented at Christ Church, Bordentown NJ, December 3 & 4, 2022.
In today’s Gospel about John the Baptist, a lot of emphasis has typically been placed on repentance. And rightly so. The year when this happens is approximately 30 AD and the last recorded prophecies in the Bible were written approximately 400 years before that, when the last book of the Old Testament was written. During those 400 years, there was a lot of governing turnover of Israel. The Babylonians gave it up to the Persians, who gave it up to the Greeks, who gave it up to the Egyptians, who gave it up to the Syrians, who gave it up to the Maccabeans, who eventually gave it up to the Romans.
During this period, it wasn’t as if everyone just asked nicely for the property, or someone put a ‘For Sale’ sign out, and after an exchange of cash and a handshake, everyone walked away feeling great about everything. As you can imagine, with all of those takeovers there was a lot of mayhem _ a lot of wrath, a lot of greed, a lot of envy, and a lot of pride. Certainly much for folks to be repentant for, and a lot of room for someone like John to bring that to everyone’s attention.
Hence there’s quite a bit in today’s Gospel about repenting _ folks coming to confess their sins amongst John’s warnings of the one who comes after him will burn those who are the chaff with “unquenchable fire” but will keep the wheat.
Gospel reading and sermon begins at 19:22
But when I reflect on this Gospel, I also think about this Inter-Testamental drought of 400 years with no-known written prophecies. I think about who was John?, and how he got there, and why was he doing what he’s doing? I know the message of the Gospel is that God is telling us to be repentant . But all of these transitions of government and John being in the right place at the right time, makes me think less about repentance and more about the phrase _ “The Lord moves in mysterious ways”. Or maybe better said, “moves us in mysterious ways”. (For the record, a phrase not from scripture but instead most likely inspired by an 18th century poem and hymn by William Cowper.)
I heard that phrase a lot during my lifetime as I’m sure you have too. And like me, have also experienced God’s mysterious ways (taking the good with the bad, and hearing and heeding God’s calling). Perhaps my presence today up on the pulpit falls into that category of mystery for you.
I can say that it is quite the surprise for me that God has called me to serve for Christ Church and that I’m up here today. I did not have much of a “religious” upbringing. My parents taught me about God but attending church was not their forte. It wasn’t until I was 14 and performed in my town’s community theater’s production of the musical Godspell that I remember first hearing words that would guide me on my “religious” path of life.
This is where I first heard the beautiful songs inspired by the gospel of Matthew. Songs like “Day By Day”:
“Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly”
Or “By My Side” _ the song sung to Jesus_
“Then I’ll take your hand
Finally glad
That you are here
By my side”
These songs are still special to me. And it’s also when I first heard the words of John The Baptist. In the first number of the musical, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”, that line is repeated a dozen plus times. His words have lasted with me over my lifetime, hearing the music again and again in my head. And looking back on my life it is exactly what I was doing _ preparing for my calling. But I can’t say I always knew it at the time, or that I can fully say now what God’s plan is for me.
From that theatrical experience, I saw John The Baptist as the great sidekick to Jesus, the ordinary guy next to the genius.
We don’t know a lot about John’s history except that he was an ordinary guy and Jesus and him were presumably related. We don’t know if Jesus and John hung out, getting together for family reunions, or if they really knew each other at all. We’re not even sure if John knew that Jesus was the one he referred to when he said, “one who is more powerful than I is coming after me”. They also didn’t seem to spend much time together after John baptized Jesus.
What we do believe is that John knew he was not called to be the Messiah. But instead for some reason, John becomes the “voice in the wilderness” that Isaiah prophesied and he begins to baptize Jews in the River Jordan. He had folks lining up. He had power and fame. But his path was not to lead, but to prepare others for the Way of the Lord _ to prepare others to make Way for the Lord.
But how did he know this was his calling? What drove him to prophesize in Jerusalem for folks to come to the River Jordan, and that he could wash away their sin? I don’t believe he 100% knew. And this is what makes John’s story so much like ours. We’re not the Messiah and we know it. We’re more like the ordinary person with the voice in the wilderness crying out, doing our part in this world to show others the Way, and trusting in God to show us the Way, no matter how strange or mysterious it may be to us.
I understand the overall message of repentance when I read today’s Gospel. But repentance is about looking backward and moving in the opposite direction. I think today’s Gospel is also about something more. It’s also about hearing God and moving in the direction he calls you to, and trusting when it seems like a big mystery. John the Baptist certainty did.
But you don’t have to be a John the Baptist. You get to be you. And everyone is different. Each of you is different. Each of your paths and callings are different. And fortunately, whatever your individual reason, we are all here today blessing God, celebrating Advent _preparing ye for the way of the Lord. And no matter how long, or how hard, or how weird the path is, call it repenting or a calling _ I believe that God _ is leading you to be by his side, day by day. You just have to trust in the mysterious ways that the Lord moves you in.
Referenced scriptures:
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Carry That Weight
A sermon for Proper 18: Year C (1979)
I have a confession to make. Or in other words, I have a dislike that I need to come out about and be very honest with this congregation here present. I do not like the genre of modern Christian music.
Sorry. But I just can’t connect with it and I’m not sure how to describe why. I love hearing our church choir and the beautiful hymns. I also love Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash’s gospel records.
But I really love it when a secular musician and their songs bring God into my life. Sometimes it can be expected for example when Bob Dylan made his trio of “Christian” albums in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. But most of the time it’s just a random one line from a song, or even better when it can be whole song like when the band U2 created a song from Psalm 40. Or when sampling became a thing in popular music and in the midst of some catchy rhythm, you hear a preacher yelling out, “It’s the big things, it’s the small things”. For decades, I’ve captured a trove of these melodies and they ping in and out of my head constantly.
Because it is the small things, not just the big things.
I also profess that I don’t like Social Media or internet chat boards very much. Over the years, I’ve watched the Internet go from a cool way to connect or see some silly meme or video, to something that is increasingly provoking an impulsiveness, an aggression, and a lack of concern for other human beings.
The other day, I was reading a sermon from someone I admire, and in this sermon about our human imperfections they noted they posted on their Social Media account a picture of themselves giving the middle finger in front of a business they don’t like.
Probably truly and self-admittedly, not their best moment. And just to be clear, this was not Father Matt.
But let’s face it, we have all probably been in a similar situation during our lifetimes. Doing something that was probably not our best moments. Though I’m not sure why this had to be one of those moments that needed to be recorded and posted on the Internet to live on and on for eternity.
How many times are we irritated about someone else’s driving or someone at work, and we go home and just say it into the ether either to ourselves, or to our partners and spouses, or to our faithful animal companions? And how important is that irritation that it needs to be recorded and live forever?
Because it does live forever on the Internet, and so it can continue to hurt and hurt and hurt, over and over and over.
When I read Luke 14, “Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.’” It sounds like to me a description of Jesus on Facebook.
It’s hard to imagine if Jesus was on Facebook that he would promote us to act like the there is no other person on the other side of that electronic line, or that these aggressive impulsive actions have no consequences.
The next line in today’s Gospel is even more interesting to me in that Jesus foreshadows …” Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” At this point in scripture, and to his disciples, what could this mean to them to carry the cross?
As Christians today we know to carry the cross. You see it all the time. People carry it on their wrists, their ankles, and their necks. Sometimes people carry a Bible that has a cross on it. People get tattoos of all sorts of crosses and Christian imagery and words. We do this because Jesus carried the cross and he carried the cross for us.
So, when we carry the cross, not only are we trying to walk as Jesus and to show appreciate for His love for us. But we’re also walking as one who helps Jesus carry the cross, like Simon the Cyrene.
Added together, we’re carrying the cross for Heaven AND earth, God AND man, the Holy Spirit AND everyone around us.
And if we’re not holding the cross, what are we holding? What are we holding on to? What are the possessions we hold on to? When Jesus says, give up all your possessions in today’s Gospel, it’s not about the physical stuff.
It’s about the mental stuff. Give up the mental possessions. He knows the brain can only hold so much information. He says _ Give up the impulsiveness of building something without a foundation. Give up the impulsiveness of a creating a conflict even though you know you are wrong.
And if He was on Facebook today, He might be saying in the same breath, stop impulsively typing on your phone or your computer hateful words and pictures that reflect on you, as a person that wants that message to live eternally. “Give up the hate, and do and find something that reflects on God’s love instead” _ like letting little lines of song about His love ping around inside your head for example.
__ “It IS the big things. It IS also the small things.” __
Look we all have something we don’t like, and it’s OK to post your feelings on your Social Media page. I probably wouldn’t post what I said about modern Christian music online, even though this writing will probably make its way onto the Internet at some point, and conversely, I also said that I love hearing God sung about.
But my dislike is likely not to hurt anyone _ hopefully. But if does create a burden, just like what I have on my wrist and around my neck, I plan to carry that cross too. If I’m going to make these types of professions online, it’s the least I can do. I think it’s the least we should ALL do.
Referenced scriptures:
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Party Gone Out Of Bounds
A sermon for Proper 17: Year C (1979)
Most mornings when I’m available, I take an hour long walk through the town. It’s a good healthy walk that gets most of my 10,000 steps in for the day. It’s also relatively rote which allows me to just be centered. Occasionally I’ll be amazed by seeing the rare fox or groundhog, instead of just squirrels, bunnies and birds. Or my curiosity is peaked by someone’s home renovation.
But still the walk is relatively free from surprises, and the thing you would expect from a small town. Though when I lived in Philadelphia, or traveled to other large cities, because of the size and the diverse populations, surprises were almost rote in of themselves, in that you should expect them.
Recently though, one morning in Bordentown I encountered a man who had a different thing to say than the typical, “Hello”, “Morning”, or “How are you.” He said, “Hello Jeff Bezos, I’m your long-lost nephew.” True story.
Now if you know me, you will know that that is impossible. For one thing I never flew to space in my own rocket wearing a cowboy hat.
And as taken aback by this proclamation as I was, I was able to respond quickly and kindly, “That’s great. Have a nice day” and continued on my way.
I was reminded by that encounter when reading today’s gospel. I was thinking how difficult it would be to invite that person to my house, how ill-equipped I would be to entertain such a stranger, and how I would be in continuous fear that what I perceived as a mental disability would lead to consequences that I would not be able to respond quickly and kindly to.
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” so says the writer of today’s passage in Hebrews.
Nice words. And truly they comfort me to not feel afraid.
But I believe that I’m afraid of what people will do to me. And I don’t think I’m alone in this thought. If I was we would not have war, genocide, and xenophobia.
Jesus would do better than me in this case. He would not think twice about inviting Jeff’s nephew into His house. I know this because everyone’s invited into Jesus’ house _ the poor, the sick, the unlucky, the starving, the afflicted, ___and the scared.
During our time of Peace today, you surely will gladly exchange pax tecum’s to everyone you see. This will not be a frightening moment. But during The Peace, I want you to think of someone who’s not in front of you _ someone you despise for whatever reason, someone you think is gross, someone who you think is not worthy of your peace, or maybe just someone who you’ve lost touch with over the years, or someone who frightens you for whatever reason. It doesn’t even need to be someone you know, just someone you know about.
And then think about their face in your mind.
Then think, that face is a person. They are a person equal as to you as a person on this planet.
Last week’s gospel also included a paradox in that those who are last will be first, and vice versa. Today Jesus lays on us another parable, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Furthermore, don’t invite those to your house who will repay you.
These paradoxes are counter intuitive to some, contradictory to others, in that this is not what the writers of good etiquette would recommend. Unfortunately, my experiences of having dinner parties over the years and inviting others invites a competition. A competition to have finer tableware, a better bouquet of flowers, more expensive food, and drink than the last dinner party I attended. Then when it comes back to me, I can’t just do what I did last time. Everyone will remember, and so I compete with my past self and strive for something grander. All of this because I owe a debt to someone who invited me to their home.
This is ego and pride taking over. When you hear Ecclesiasticus’ words “The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker. For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations.” it’s easy to see this is the inspiration that Jesus is hoping to instill through His parable.
What’s not being said here is, to stop entertaining your family and friends, and to reciprocate their kindness.
What is being said here is that invite who you want. But sometimes the best parties are the ones we don’t know anyone at, or the ones in which no one knows anyone. At one of those types of parties, who knows you may even meet Jeff Bezos’ nephew and become good friends. And before you know it, through that connection, you’re in a rocket ship to space wearing a cowboy hat.
And all because you opened your mind, your heart, your home to someone who was a bit scary at first, (or gross) _ but still first you recognized them as a face and a person equal as to you as a person on this planet. To even do this is truly a blessing because in no way can you be repaid for such an action.
Referenced scriptures:
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It’s The System
A sermon for Proper 16: Year C (1979)
Smoking is bad for your health. Pretty much, everyone knows this and agrees.
Thus, I’m guessing it’ll be tough to find someone who will counter with a competitive _ “Yeah but it’s not as bad as [fill in the blank with anything you can think of].” … (“Yeah, but it’s not as bad as having a tornado hit your house.” “Yeah, but it’s not as bad as hitting yourself in the face with a hammer.”) Smoking is one of those few topics that is rarely debated nor ranked as something worse than others. People might still rationalize why they smoke (and there are some very good rationalizations to make, such as physical addiction to nicotine).
It’s almost a universal truth or a scientific law.
I say it’s rare because people disagree and debate constantly about everything _ Businesses and their products _ from aftershave to movies, from necklaces to zippers _ about TV shows _ other people > their children and their family’s values _ and with the risk of getting somebody too excited, our political beliefs and affiliations.
People also make rankings. People say, “I like this more than this. This one is my favorite.” We make Top 10 lists of things we like the most and things we like the least.
How were all these decisions made though? Through experience mainly. But still many choices are unbeknownst to ourselves. Some of its clever marketing. A cute mascot or the right color choice can go a long way in getting attention or boosting sales. Or the right word uttered at the right time that goes in the right ear.
But when we really think about every one of our preferences, our choices to like and dislike, and to decide how much we like, the origins can be truly difficult to trace. Especially as one gets older, and the collection of experiences becomes too numerous to count.
But that’s how the brain works. Experiences help your brain to create a pattern, so you don’t have to focus on or remember every detail of the world. The brain does this to make you happy and healthy. Forget how you got there; have faith in your brain that it’s right. A quick example _ experience tells you when you’re thirsty to drink a cold soda instead of a bottle of tabasco sauce. Unless you’ve actually done the latter, how would you know to agree with that statement?
When we think about today’s scripture and Jesus’ words to the unnamed person who approached him “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last”, this sounds a bit unfair and maybe a bit shocking.
This totally goes against our system of winning. If you cross the finish line first or get the most votes, you’re the winner. First is first. So, what can Jesus possibly mean by such a paradox?
First of all, He’s not talking about your system of winning, or the systems of certainty and clarity that you or our society has built for us.
One example of our society’s system would be when corporations during the post-WW II United States mapped out a white-collar worker’s future. This model was called the Company Man. Company Man knew when the next training was, the next promotion, the next raise, and when they could retire. People liked knowing what the future steps were, and how they could be first.
That model of certainty is practically non-existent these days, and most companies use performance metrics and then decide when the moment is appropriate to train, promote and raise a salary. And it’s that uncertainty that is one of the causes of lower worker engagement and happiness. It’s the cause of a lot of distrust, lack of faith, and the belief in equity.
So when it comes to God and this statement, you may say that is not God’s system does not build certainty.
And you’re right. But again He’s not talking about your system. God is talking about a system far different from earth’s system.
Unfortunately, this makes life very messy since you can’t expect that God will be fully aligned with all the preferences and rankings that you have. It can also seem a little hopeless.
But I’m not feeling hopeless. I’m not really a fan of all the earthly competitions and the rankings that I believe won’t account for much after I pass away. I’m glad God is not operating within our system, and that the life beyond this one is rid of such notions.
So instead of asking ourselves whether we’re “first” in this statement, perhaps we should be asking, will I trust God’s system?
In Hebrews today, the message to trust God’s system is a difficult one to hear for Hebrew Christians in the first century who to avoid persecution began drifting back into the outward observance of Judaism just so they wouldn’t be noticed. Think of it this way, they were doing their darndest to not be ranked last in the eyes of society.
Granted some systems are hard to trust. It’s hard because our earthly beings are pulled in many directions, and when talking to our neighbors or watching the news, we can unwittingly be moved to disagree on everything, even on the path to heaven. And once again, it seems that we can’t agree on anything, until you remember two things.
One, this earthly system is meaningless in the eyes of God and hoping that we can all agree on who and what is first is not for us to decide. But that doesn’t mean that we’re incapable of making universal decisions; we’re all in agreement that smoking is bad for you.
So, turn to have trust and faith in God’s system. Know that it is there and if you look for it everywhere you go, you will see it. You’ll see it when looking at the ocean or someone you love, or sometimes in a puff of smoke.
Referenced scriptures:
Wired For Faith 
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