You Have Received…, Trinity Sunday (B) – 2000
“You have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and […]
Praying as we Believe – and Living as we Pray
One of the great joys of serving as your Presiding Bishop is being with members of our household in a wide variety of contexts, and to be privy to what is most deeply stirring in their hearts and minds. I cannot tell you what strength and encouragement I derive from such opportunities to speak, preach […]
Ashes, Ash Wednesday – 2000
[This sermon is meant to connect to the Ash Wednesday liturgy as found in the Book of Common Prayer.] Today we retrace our Baptismal crosses with ashes. Once upon a time there was a five-year-old girl named Eleanor who, after she was baptized, asked, “Can you still see the cross on my forehead?” A marvelous […]
Today’s Gospel Is a Feast…, Epiphany 1 (B) – 2000
Today’s Gospel is a feast of improbable and colorful images. There is a certified and certifiable wildman named John the Baptist. This John is perhaps the most colorful personality in all of Holy Scripture. Then there is a truly strange event. John baptizes Jesus, who does not need to be baptized. Finally, there is a […]
Home, Christmas 2 – 2000
Last Sunday we focused on the reality that we are allowed little time at the manger. If the Christmas créche is still placed in the liturgical space of your church, today might be a good time for moving the Holy Family to another place in the building, symbolizing their journey to Egypt. Children would especially […]
For All the Saints, All Saints’ Day (A) – 1999
Since the fourth century various Eastern Orthodox churches have commemorated a feast of all martyrs: those who have given their lives as a witness to the power of the Gospel in this life. By the sixth century, this commemoration was celebrated in Rome. Later it was celebrated in the British Isles where it was seen […]
A Call to Faithful Living, Proper 26 (A) – 1999
You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. For whatever reason, those who organized our lectionary readings for Sunday mornings have too often cut a passage short, often resulting in making it impossible to truly understand […]
We Live in a Time…, Proper 17 (A) – 1999
We live in a time when there is a most peculiar notion generally present in our culture. It is the self-help notion. There are books by the crate-full, videotapes, audiotapes, and hundreds of devices and processes designed to assist us or guide us as we help ourselves. We can gain weight, lose weight, become a […]
Jesus Was Always Confronted…, Proper 27 (C) – 1998
Jesus was always confronted with those who wanted to trip him up. The folk with the trick questions were trying to get him to identify himself with the Saddusees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. The Pharisees did. If he agreed with the logic of the Sadducees, then the Pharisees could condemn him. […]
The Kingdom of Heaven…, Proper 16 (C) – 1998
The kingdom of heaven, the one of which Jesus speaks, is not at all like the kingdom in which we live. The truths which guide often run counter to all we assume to be true about many aspects of our life: the order of things, the ways of reward and punishment, the best ways to […]
Glory to God Whose Power…, Proper 12 (C) – 1998
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. We recite this prayer, taken from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, often without focusing on the importance of […]
He Was Young, Well-Mannered…, Proper 23 (B) – 1997
He was young, well-mannered, well-educated, and well-off. He was sincere, honest, and seemingly above reproach. Maybe he also had an engaging personality and a winsome smile. Certainly Jesus found him likable, for Jesus, who was about to set out on a trip, took the time to engage with him. Jesus even tried to recruit him […]
This Sunday’s Gospel…, Proper 22 (B) – 1997
This Sunday’s gospel has words that are likely to make us cringe. It is hard to hear them as good news! It sounds, on the face of it, that Jesus is ruling out divorce. And so many of us are divorced, or our friends and family members are. Where does that leave us? First we […]
Moses Has Had It…, Proper 21 (B) – 1997
Moses has had it. The people of Israel have been freed from slavery. But the price of their freedom is costly — seemingly too costly for them to deal with. All this wandering around in the wilderness, with nothing but a steady diet of manna to eat…memories of their time as slaves in Egypt seem […]
Early in the Morning…, Easter Day (B) -1997
Early in the morning the women disciples of Jesus are on their way to the tomb when suddenly they realize they are going to encounter what we moderns might call a technical difficulty. Who will roll away the stone? It’s a big stone, it’s a big problem. But they continue on anyway. Rocks may be […]
The Angels Have Sung…, St. Stephen – 1996
The angels have sung, the shepherds have gathered. People young and old met in churches all over the world on Christmas Eve to hear again the touching story of Mary’s firstborn Son, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. In many households, the kids were home for the first time in months. Maybe […]
We Hear Them Telling…, Day of Pentecost (A) – 1996
“We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Acts 2:11 Most of us who have been the members of the Episcopal Church here in the United States have grown up in a church which was English speaking, a church which largely worshipped in Elizabethan English. The culture shock of transition […]
The Good News of our Judge, Advent 1 (A) – November 30, 2025
[RCL] Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 The time has come: Advent, a season of preparation. We prepare for a joyous celebration of the good news that our God took on human flesh, became one of us, was born for us, a child. But before we get to the manger, at the beginning […]
Episcopal Church Executive Council: Opening remarks from House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris
Following are opening remarks, lightly edited for clarity, by House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris to the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting Oct. 20-21 at Kanuga conference center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Episcopal Church Executive Council: Opening remarks from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe
Following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe to the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting Oct. 20-21 at Kanuga conference center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.