Pentecost

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Love Over All Else

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So what do we make of Jesus saying to hate anyone, let alone your family? Let’s take a step back from this reading for a moment and look at it in its bigger context. Jesus, as that moment in time, is moving towards Jerusalem where he is going to be crucified. He knows that. He’s talking about that, although no one else understands what he is talking about. And as he goes toward Jerusalem he is teaching, he is healing, he is acting in love, and he is getting pushback. He doesn’t get much pushback for the words about love, but he does when he performs actions in love, like when he tries to heal someone on the Sabbath.

Listen to or read BIngham’s full sermon by clicking “Read More.”

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Full of Compassion and Mercy

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What Jesus reminds us, is that with God it’s not about rules, but about compassion and love. As our presiding Bishop Michael Curry is fond of saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” To Jesus, there are no barriers, no qualifications, no “ins” or “outs” for receiving the mercy and healing of God. Nope. That’s not how God works. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness.

Listen to or read the Rev. Ryan Baker-Fones’ full sermon by clicking “read more.”

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The Journey of Faith

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But the part we have for today is Chapter 11. Right before this chapter, there is a line that says, “we are not those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” Salvation comes through faith. This is a profound and important statement that the preacher makes. It is also a statement that raises a lot of questions. One is what is faith, and that is our reading for today. We get the answer to the question, what is this faith in which we find our salvation.

Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost by clicking “Read More.”

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Sitting Under Trees We Didn't Plant

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We all sit under trees we didn’t plant. We all drink from wells that other people dug. It was the faithful Christian Episcopalians in Salem who provided the structure so that as I grew up I would learn and have my faith strengthened. It is thanks to the giving and work and faithfulness of previous members of St. Mary’s going back 170 years that there is a structure here for a faithful community to strengthen my faith, and uphold and support me, Dorothy, our children and our grandchildren in their faith. For all of that I am most grateful.

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Learning to Trust

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I do worry about the impact on our ability to trust in general and the implications of that. Surveys also indicate that we do not trust each other – our neighbors and our fellow citizens as much. And how does that general distrust impact our ability to trust in God? Have we lost the ability to trust?

Listen to or read Bingham’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

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Hospitality and Welcome

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We find in today’s Gospel one of the most familiar Biblical stories of hospitality. Lazarus may have come home early to let his sisters know that Jesus and his friends were coming for dinner. Mary and Martha tidied up the house and began dinner preparations. The guests arrived as one sister prepared the meal and the other sister welcomed the guests and shared in the pre-dinner conversation. This is a scene very familiar to us, especially those of us who have homes without open concept, where one or more are preparing food in the kitchen and the others are in the living room making lively conversation so the guests feel at home.

Listen to or read Deacon Nancy Crawford’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”

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Who Is Our Neighbor

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Now I’m not stupid, and I am human. As committed as I am to the Great Commandment, as hard as I try to live into our Baptismal Covenant, I know I don’t treat everyone I encounter in an equally loving manner. But I have noticed over the years, if I just allow myself to be open to it, situations arise when the invisible barrier that may have existed between me and someone else disappears.

Read Sharon’s entire sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost by clicking “Read More.”

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