Authors

Susan Butterworth

Susan Butterworth, M.A., M.Div, is a writer, teacher, singer, and lay minister. She leads Song & Stillness: Taizé @ MIT, a weekly ecumenical service of contemplative Taizé prayer at the interfaith chapel at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She teaches writing and literature to college undergraduates and writes book reviews, essays, and literary reference articles.

Sermons and Bible Studies

God Is Light, Easter 2 (B) – April 7, 2024

April 07, 2024

[RCL] Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, 1 John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31 God is light and in God, there is no darkness at all. When we walk in the light that is God, we have fellowship with one another. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! Amen. On this first Sunday […]

The Paradox of Judas, Wednesday in Holy Week – March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

[RCL] Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 The Paradox of Judas: ultimate betrayer or player in the cosmic drama of salvation? Today’s gospel passage begins, “After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’” Looking back to what Jesus has just […]

Transformed in Baptism, Epiphany 1 (B) – January 7, 2024

January 07, 2024

[RCL] Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11 Paul said to the disciples in Ephesus: ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism’” (Acts […]

All We Need, Easter 5 (A) – 2023

May 07, 2023

[RCL] Acts 7:55-60, Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14 Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5) In the season of Easter, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles is often substituted for the […]

A Remarkable Encounter, Lent 3 (A) – 2023

March 12, 2023

[RCL] Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! O come and see a man who told me everything […]

By Faith, Proper 26 (C) – 2022

October 30, 2022

[RCL] Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; Luke 19:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 Trouble and distress have come upon me, yet your commandments are my delight. The righteousness of your decrees is everlasting; grant me understanding, that I may live. Amen. Today’s scripture lessons present a unified whole, in lovely, surprising connections. The prophet Habakkuk is […]

Listen to Him!, Transfiguration – 2022

August 06, 2022

[RCL] Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99 or 99:5-9; 2 Peter 1:13-21; Luke 9:28-36 [God] spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them indeed (Psalm 99). Amen. The setting of today’s reading from Luke, the Transfiguration, is visually balanced, the […]

Light, Epiphany 2 (C) – 2022

January 16, 2022

[RCL] Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11 “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the clouds… For with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light” (Psalm 36: 5, 9). In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, we encounter Jesus at […]

Human and Divine, Proper 5 (B) – 2021

June 06, 2021

RCL: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15); Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35 “We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) In the Gospel of Mark, the emphasis is on Jesus […]

In the Garden, Easter Day (B) – 2021

April 04, 2021

RCL: Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8 Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia! In this account of the Resurrection from the Gospel of John, we encounter Mary Magdalene in an intimate moment of great loss. Three times in […]

The Paradox of Judas, Wednesday in Holy Week – 2020

April 08, 2020

The Paradox of Judas: ultimate betrayer or player in the cosmic drama of salvation? Today’s gospel passage begins, “After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’” Looking back to what Jesus has just said, we hear these words, spoken after he has […]

Charity, Ash Wednesday – 2020

February 26, 2020

[RCL]: Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 103 or 103:8-14; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 Dear People of God: I invite you to the observance of a holy Lent, a time to renew our repentance and faith, by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word (paraphrased from the Book […]

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