Proclaim by Word and Example

This sermon was preached on Sunday, February 22, 2015. The texts for this sermon were:  Genesis 9:8-17 ,  1 Peter 3:18-22 ,  Mark 1:9-15 , and  Psalm 25:1-9 . We’re talking a lot in church about wilderness this Lent. If you were with us on Ash Wednesday, you may have picked up a little Lent kit bag of your own piece of wilderness to take home with you. As I was setting up that devotional space in my own home, carving a nice, neat spiral in the sand, I realized I carry a lot of ideas about what wilderness is already even before I open the Bible. Sometimes I like to think about wilderness as a beautiful, pristine place, unspoiled by modernity or urban life. I picture an idyllic, sun-lit meadow, filled with chirping birds and no evidence that any other human being has ever existed—not even a footprint! I carry that image of wilderness somewhere within me each time I venture into nature. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out in nature filled with peaceful sereni...

This sermon was preached on Sunday, February 15, 2015 for the Feast of the Transfiguration at Grace Episcopal Church in Medford, MA. The texts for this sermon were:  Exodus 34:29-35 ,  2 Peter 1:13-21 , and  Luke 9:28-36 . I don’t know about you but I’ve gotten pretty tired of things getting transfigured by dazzling whiteness. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my darndest to stubbornly hang on to my childhood wonder and joy at the sight of each new snow-covered world storm after storm. But the enormous effort that takes has somehow robbed me of my ability to connect to Christ’s transfiguration with emotions of awe and astonishment. Then I came across some writing by an Episcopal theologian named Martin Smith that made me question if that was the only way to access this story. Martin Smith wrote about his experiences as a spiritual director—a kind of life coach who helps people grapple with their spiritual practices and beliefs. Part of his job was to ask people the right que...