“Let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” This statement is one of the most famous examples of polysyndeton in the Bible, (a word which sounds elegant and high-minded; like your preacher has spent too much time in post-graduate education) It really just means that Jesus said “and” a whole bunch of times in a row. And, and, and… But, that’s not what I came to preach about today. Two significant things happened this week: The first is that Dolly Parton,

Have you ever been back to a place that was once familiar to you (and you to it) only to find that everything had changed? Maybe going back for a school reunion, or a hometown; going back to a place where you had worked; a place where you knew everybody and they knew you? The place was still the same: the buildings, the sidewalks Your memories of the time spent there, fresh as if they happened yesterday. Some small detail that of course you remembered well, but only after see

“Oh how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in Unity.” In a provocatively titled editorial for the political newspaper, The Hill, opinion editor John Mac Ghlionn gives an answer to the question, “Why Americans hate each other more than ever.” The premise of the piece is based on a new Marquette Law School Poll, which shows the level of trust that each generation of Americans has in their fellow citizens. Unsurprisingly, those born before 1960 have more basic

There was quite a lot happening at this church yesterday. We had a back to school parking lot carnival, where we hosted more than 100 kids and their families thanks to the amazing work of our ECW led by Vicki Washington. After our Juneteenth Block Party, Vicki worked with Ebony Stone from Voices of Promise and Never the Less to give the neighborhood another fabulous event. Kids were getting their hair cut and braids done, Eating shaved ice and hot dogs, Visiting community org

Sermon 7.26.26 Organized Religion Our gospel says that um the scribes will bring out what is new and what is old. And I take that as a challenge to bring out something new. People often we read this this this passage, there's going to be a separation of the good from the bad. There's going to be a separation of the good from the bad. And I wonder we all do that, right? We all separate good things from bad things in order to live our lives. And uh one of the things I've been

Before there was the Stonewall, Before there was a Pink Pony Club, where boys and girls could both be queens every single day, There was a “disorderly house” at 12th and F streets in Washington DC, a legal euphemism usually associated with brothels, where – according to the Washington Post – a man dressed in “a gorgeous dress of cream-colored satin” yelled at an arresting officer, “you is no gentleman.” According to research by Channing Gerard Joseph, during the massive cultu

May I speak only to the greater glory of God. In the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen. <Please be seated> I’m a bit of a science fiction buff. I love movies like Star Wars and The Matrix. I’ve enjoyed reading books by Asimov, Heinlein, and Herbert. I like the gritty dystopian stories that ask the tough questions or make you question our reality and I like the shiny, hopeful stories that paint a picture of a fantastic new wor

Good Morning St. Andrew’s Happy Trinity Sunday, or as I like to call it, the day where we all try our hardest not to be modalists. May 31st is also the day 45 years ago that I was baptized in the name of the trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and welcomed into the household of God. When I was living in Lincoln Nebraska after college before I really became reintegrated with my faith life, I remember driving on the main street through town, “O” Street. And when you got to

“Believe in God, Believe also in me,” Jesus says, “for I have prepared a place for you.” Today, as we lay Gloria Holmes Riley to rest, confident in the holy habitation that Jesus has prepared for her from the beginning of creation, I’m moved to preach to you: Gloria in excelsis. To strive for excellence, to be excellent in all that you set yourself toward is a truly difficult thing to do. It is difficult, because in order to even set yourself on the path requires attention to

The 20th century monk, Thomas Merton, said, “At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God… this little point of nothingness… is the pure Glory of God in us… His Name written in us… It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and crue

The 1970’s R&B group the Sylvers once sang, “Just when I thought it was over, just one look at you, and here I go again.” I think this is probably true of all weeks, but in a week where so many things seem to be happening on so many fronts, And we can’t even keep track of how many things have been happening in the world around us, From Royal state visits from the sitting British monarch to the aftermath of last weekend’s assassination attempt to new revelations about the way

As we move into the second week of the Empty Tomb, I’m moved to ask the question: How do we deal with the absence of Christ? This Easter, so far, has been a very strange one for me, I wonder if it has been for you. The Joy of Easter, the Joy of having the church more full than it has been in more than half of a decade. The Joy of welcoming more people into the household of God in one day through baptism than we have done collectively in the last 13 years. The Joy of the music

Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Good Morning, Church! On Easter Day of 1742, Handel’s Messiah was played publicly for the first time with its famous Alleluia chorus. Alleluia…. It was played in 1863 after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Alleluia…. On the first day of this millennium, it was played at sunrise on the island of Kiribati, the Polynesian island closes to the international date line, making it the first music, the first sound to usher in the 21 st century

“Since the Law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach. Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered?” Pope Leo, this past Palm Sunday, made the bold claim that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war and pray for things like “overwhelming violence.” Those who play war games with other people’

One of the things that I continue to be challenged by in this world is my desire to speak and to be heard. In a church with so many educators, I imagine that I am not the only one who has had this desire. As a priest in a congregation who had many people attend the No Kings Protests yesterday, I imagine that I am not the only one who wishes those in power would listen to our voice. As one who has been adopted into the legacy of the Civil Rights pioneers and those who were not

Do you ever find yourself in a place of struggle, where you have options of how you can respond to a situation in your life, but you really don’t know what to do? Find yourself in an obscurity, and know how much you need the light? It seems to me that one of the key distinctions that is being made in our Gospel passage this morning, is the distinction between certainty and humility; of pretending to see clearly, and keeping a sense of awe and wonder for what is possible in th

Today is a day, when we need water from a rock! From the Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope; Living water from the Rock of Ages. The magical thing that sometimes comes out of our church’s practice of following a lectionary calendar, in which we repeat cycles of readings every three years is that it is often possible to look back 3,6,9, or 12 years and consider what was happening in the world the last time these particular readings were the selections of the day. We can asse

Good Morning St. Andrew’s, I have to say that I am a little disturbed this morning. And even more so when I hear, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” I’m disturbed because I realize how often we fall short of being a great nation. The show Westworld has a tagline that comes to mind this morning, which says, “these violent games have violent ends.” The premise of the show is that humans have creat

I’m interested to know how everyone’s Lenten disciplines are going. We’re through the first half week, We have our traditional Scripture readings about resisting temptation, About Jesus spending 40 days in the Wilderness (just as the Hebrew people spent 40 years in the Wilderness before finding the promised land), We’re reminded that we have almost all of Lent to go before Easter. So, How’s it going? However you are doing, just remember that the most important thing is not wh

Sociologist Arlie Russel Hochschild coined the phrase “deep story,” to describe our embedded cultural narratives-often mythological in nature-that we tell ourselves about ourselves. James Baldwin said that “history is not merely something to be read,” but that it shapes our identities and that it lives within us, so that we can learn how to understand our presence and grasp our future. In this third Sunday of Black History and Black Future month, I’m moved to preach to you: Y