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
Letting Go, Proper 8 (C) – 2025
[RCL] 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1,13-25; Luke 9:51-62 Elijah told Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, […]
Faithful Friends, Monday in Holy Week – 2025
[RCL] Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 In today’s gospel passage, we encounter the Bethany family: siblings Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. We have met Martha and Mary before, in the well-known passage from Luke’s gospel (Luke 10:38-42) when Jesus and his disciples rest on the road to Jerusalem in the home of sisters […]
Repentance, Lent 3 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Exodus 3:1-15, Psalm 63:1-8, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9 From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine, from violence and oppression, and from dying suddenly and unprepared, Good Lord, deliver us. Amen. Today’s gospel reading opens with two rather perplexing and distressing examples of dying suddenly and unprepared. […]
God Is Light, Easter 2 (B) – 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 – 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) – 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
[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
[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 […]
Human and Divine, Proper 5 (B) – 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
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
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
[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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