listening | Rows of Sharon

A sermon preached at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas on Sunday, September 13, 2015.

Proper 19, Year B:
Isaiah 50:4-9 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38

I’ll admit – I’m a Broadway musical junkie. And for the past few weeks in listening to the Letter from James all I hear in my head is Eliza Doolittle singing,

Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words!
I get words all day through; first from him, now from you!
Is that all you blighters can do?

We are inundated with words. Words from politicians, words from individuals who feel they represent us, words from people seeking justice, words from people seeking help. Words telling us what to do and what to believe. Words telling us we are right, telling us we are wrong.

Words are important. They often define who we are, where we come from, and what we are feeling. Words have power. Whoever invented the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” never had a bully taunt them, a parent scold him, a fiancée break an engagement, or a doctor give her a cancer diagnosis. Words cut deep.

And we hear words in church. God’s Word – and words from those who seek to help us recognize a connection between the Gospel and our lives. Continue reading Words! Words! Words! →

1 Samuel 3:1-20 ~ Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 ~ John 1:43-51

“Find a voice in a whisper.”

When I was ten years old one of my best friends was a girl who was bused to my school from across town. I don’t remember much about how or why, I just knew there was a bus that brought kids to my elementary school that did not live in my neighborhood. Deborah and I enjoyed playing together at recess, but she didn’t come home to play with me, and I never went to her house after school. I didn’t know it, let alone understand it, and we didn’t talk about it – only perhaps in whispers. It was a time of desegregation in the cities in Connecticut, and all across our nation. It amazes me that it was fifty years ago. How times have changed – or maybe not.

How many of you have seen the recently released movie “Selma”? If you haven’t – go. If you’ve got middle schoolers – bring them along with you; give your high schooler the cash to go with their friends. Continue reading “Find a voice in a whisper” →