Sermons

A usually irate parishioner is said to have tackled the rector after church one Sunday morning. “I’m so glad you preached a historical sermon,” she said. The rector, shocked by this unusual praise beamed thanks. The parishioner continued, “Yes, because I am sick and tired of hearing about love all the time.” It really must…

Consider a nurseryman. He propagates and raises ground covers. His hands work steadily, day in and day out, creating and co-creating new life for the world. He sits at a bench to do his work. In the still, humid heat of the summer he puts his bench out of doors in a particular spot where,…

Today is “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Many of us associate this day with a particular painting, often rendered in stained glass, the familiar one with the rich, dark tones. It features Jesus as the gentle shepherd, carrying home a wayward sheep. Many children who grow up in the church carry this image of the Christ who…

One of the most interesting and unique phenomena in American politics in recent decades was the emergence of Jesse Ventura – the maverick, independent, former Governor of Minnesota. What made Ventura truly unique, of course, was his former occupation as a professional wrestler. Jesse “The Body” Ventura used his massive frame to slam other wrestlers…

I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It This is the title of a collection of columns by the late and irascible journalist Mike Royko. Note the interesting context of doubt: doubt standing in the place of certainty, Royko’s certainty that his observations about Chicago city politics and life in general are right on the…