Notoriously Episcopalian

A sermon offered on the 4th Sunday after Pentecost, June 20, 2021, at the Church of the Messiah in Heflin, AL. “But the story of David and Goliath reveals that real power is not in size, or equipment, or nimbleness or new technology, the power is in trusting in God. To have faith in the living God that rebuked the storm and calmed the sea. To have faith in the living God that transformed the skill...

A sermon offered on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, June 13, 2021, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Talladega, AL. “The world looked at the night sky and saw darkness. Van Gogh looked at the night sky and saw it “more alive and richly colored than the day. The world looked at David, the 8th son of Jesse, and saw no one to take notice of. God looked at David and saw the seed for the Kingdom of Go...

A sermon offered on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, June 6, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama. “From the beginning God has sought relationship with his creation. True relationship cannot be compulsory. Earthly kings require loyalty by force. God offers loyalty built on love. The God of Israel will not use armies to make the people love the Lord. God will not take glee at t...

A sermon offered on the 1st Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Talladega, Alabama. “Nicodemus is who we need on Trinity Sunday. A man that was not certain but was curious. Someone that understood that not all mysteries can be solved. And that it is through curiosity and relationship that we gain new understanding.” Texts: Isaiah 6:1-8 * Psalm 2...

A sermon offered on Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama. “There is a lot we can learn from that first Pentecost about our mission in the world. We have each received the Holy Spirit in baptism, and we have each received the gift language—the gift of telling the story of God’s deeds of power.” Principal Text: Acts 2:1-21 This is a public episode. If...

A sermon offered on the 6th Sunday of Easter, May 9, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama. "All of us here are friends, not because we agree on everything, not because we are the same political party, are from the same place, like the same things, we are friends because we love Jesus. And because we love Jesus, we can love each other as friendship, no matter our differences....

A sermon offered on the 5th Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, AL. "We need to prune some things. But we also need to let some things run wild in the Holy Spirit. We can trust that the true vine that is Jesus Christ is strong enough and flexible enough that we can stretch and grow in new places. It is in moments of wildness of the Holy Spirit that we are be...

A sermon offered on the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 25, 2021, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama. “‘I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.’ To be a flock means that we are in relationship to other sheep, and we don’t get to pick those sheep. There is not a sheep membership committee. There is not a sheep exam...

A sermon offered on the 2nd Sunday of Easter, April 11, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro, Alabama. “The church gets caught up in the HOW and the WHAT. How do we worship? How do we sing? How is the church organized? How do we get members? What counts as disciples? What sins can be forgiven? We have regular conversations about declining attendance numbers, and how to attract younge...

A sermon offered on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama. “Mary, Peter, and the disciples were forever changed by their time with Jesus. And their experience of the risen Lord transformed their hearts to see the world through resurrection. The grave was no longer the final destination. Sin and death no longer spoke the last word. When they looked at th...

This is a sermon offered on Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021, at Christ Episcopal Church in Fairfield, AL. “In the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus invites us to remember the way God does. To remember the past—the Exodus from Egypt, the Last Supper with the Disciples—to remember the present moment of us gathered here in Fairfield—and to remember the future feast in the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Ou...

This is a sermon offered on the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro, AL. "We need the whiplash of the Palms and the Passion to experience the potential of Jesus’ earthly power and his divine power. We need to hold these two together to realize what Jesus gave away." Principal texts: Mark 11:1-11 ; Philippians 2:5-11 ; Mark 15:1-39 This i...

A sermon offered on Wednesday in the 5th Week of Lent at Prophets & Praise: Lenten Prayers in Linn Park, Birmingham, Alabama. "We are in the fire now where our brittleness can be forged into strength. When we emerge, like steel, we can be honed to a sharp edge to cut through lies or we can be the strong framework to build new communities." Principal text: Daniel 3:14–20,24–28 This is a public epis...

A sermon offered on the 3rd Sunday in Lent at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama. “The cleansing of the Temple, especially how it is told in John, should keep clergy types and church leaders on their toes. It is a reminder that while even while everything is working the way it should—liturgy, sacraments, buildings—God’s presence is in all of creation and may be challenging us to do...

A sermon offered on the Second Sunday in Lent, February 28, 2021, at St. Paul’s in Greensboro, Alabama. Principal Text: Mark 8:31-38 I refer to the song “Strange Fruit” as sung by Billie Holiday. If you want to give the song a listen, you can do so here . I also talk about the National Memorial for Peace and Justice built by the Equal Justice Initiative. If you are unfamiliar with this memorial, y...

A sermon offered on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21, 2021, at St. Barnabas in Roanoke, Alabama. Principal Text: Mark 1:9-15 “So, in this season of continual Lent, I invite you to give up assuming you know the answer. Turn your answers into questions. Come to scripture with curiosity and start a renewed conversation with God. Take it a step further and start being curious about the created wo...

A sermon offered for Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021, as part of Prophets & Praise: Lenten Prayers in Linn Park in downtown Birmingham. "So, after a year of fasting, what are we to do with this new season of Lent? We need a prophetic Lent, an Isaiah sort of fasting." Principal text: Isaiah 58:1-12 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

A sermon offered for the Last Sunday After the Epiphany, February 14, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Greensboro, Alabama. "Theophanies are fleeting. They are glimpses of divine reality not to be lived in, but to be carried forward—fuel for the continued journey." Principal Text: Mark 9:2-9 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bo...

A sermon offered for the 4th Sunday After the Epiphany, January 31, 2021, at St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church, Pell City, Alabama. "We can be right all day long, but we have to take care with this exousia (liberty/authority) that our knowledge give us....We must use our knowledge guided by our love of God and our brothers and sisters. It is not enough as Christians to be right, we also have to do...

A sermon offered for the 2nd Sunday After the Epiphany, January 17, 2021, at St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church, Pell City, Alabama. Today, in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, we hear the story of the calling of Samuel as the Prophet of the Lord. Tomorrow, in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, we will celebrate the prophetic witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “In this moment, we...

A sermon offered for the 2nd Sunday After Christmas, January 3, 2021, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Roanoke, Alabama. “Herod’s response to the birth of Christ was fear, deception, and violence. The Magi’s response was wonder and wandering, and ultimately joy upon finding Jesus in Bethlehem. In that little town of Bethlehem, the fear of the powerful met the hope of the powerless.” Principal Tex...

A sermon offered for the 1st Sunday After Christmas, December 27, 2020, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Greensboro, Alabama. “With the Incarnation-the birth, life, and death of Jesus-we are created anew and offered new life. We are brought into relationship with God through the living Word of God. As or opening prayer says we have received the light of God’s incarnate Word, and this light should s...

A sermon offered on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greensboro, AL. “In the quietness of this Christmas, we have the grace to look to the heavens in awe. We have the grace to see God breaking into our world in the forgotten places. We have the grace to ponder in our heart the song of the angels: unto you us is born this day, a Savior.” Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7 * P...

A sermon for the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2020, offered at St. Barnabas, Roanoke, and Trinity Commons (video). "Mary knew what David did not—God did not want a house with walls and a roof, God wanted a house of people willing to respond boldly to the God’s spirit to seek God’s justice in the world." Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 * Canticle 15 - Luke 1:46-55 * Romans 16:25-27 * Luke 1:26-...

A sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent, December 13, 2020, at St. Paul’s in Greensboro, Alabama. “What does our community, our nation, look like when we are restored? How can we bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty and jubilee? How do we repair the ruined cities? How do we stitch ourselves back together again? After this long year of sickness and death, of economic ruin, of protests, and p...