Sermons

In the Philadelphia Museum of Art there’s a striking painting by Russian Marc Chagall. As Chagall’s often complexly allergorical or symbolic paintings go, it’s very simple. It has a large white figure of a man, several smaller white figures of houses and a church, and two words in Russian on a black background. The striking…

Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. I promise…until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow. How many of us have repeated these words? They seemed so true, so beautiful, so eternal, so right, didn’t they, when we first said them? Yet for some of us, they have become…

This doesn’t seem to be a good day for anyone in any of the three scripture lessons we read today. Moses is mad at the Israelites. And what a wonderful description we’re given of Moses! Imagine him standing before God with his hands on his hips and probably with a huge headache. “Why do you…

Note: The reader may wish to omit the first three paragraphs in brackets depending on the context and the congregation. The sermon may begin at paragraph four and still retain its impact. [“Before Rep was even a month old, at the beginning of each feeding, Margaret would gently pinch his cheek and say, ‘Now make…

The question in the Gospel we just heard is aimed not just at Peter, but all of us. Let me offer my own answer, my answer to the question asked by Jesus, “Who do you say I am?” I declare that Jesus is king. He is king of all, but in particular he is my…

The story is told of Saint Francis of Assisi going down to a village with one his monks. Their purpose was to preach the Gospel. When they arrived at the village they quickly engaged the local folk in conversation and passed their time helping the villagers with their work, sharing stories, entering into the life…

Today the Scriptures confront us with the power of Jesus to heal and our obligation to be the healing hands and presence of Jesus in our world. Considering the Scriptures, each of us can perhaps identify with one of the characters or recognize ourselves in some way: deafness, inability to speak clearly, maybe a sense…

There are sometimes movies released that, for one reason or another, do not receive a great deal of advanced publicity or many reviews—good or bad. But when one of these films, against all odds, proves to capture the attention and admiration of audiences who spread the word about its charms, it is called a “sleeper.”…

For the past four Sundays, we have listened to Jesus speak about himself as “the bread of life.” Today we hear the results of his teaching. Some of those listening to him there in the Capernaum synagogue begin to grumble. “This is more than we can stomach!” they say. “Why listen to such talk?” Many…

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Edmond J. Dunn tells this story: “It was an early October evening in a university town in the late 1950’s. I…

Life is unpredictable. There are probably few people who need to be reminded of that. There are probably few people who have not felt the effects of an unpredictability that sometimes brings tragic consequences. No matter how well people try to plan their lives, there remains the possibility that at any moment something could happen…