Proclaim by Word and Example

This sermon was preached for Sunday, January 29 for Annual Meeting Sunday at St. Mark's Episcopal in East Longmeadow. The texts for this sermon were Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12. Picture this: you’re driving along and the car in front of you does something rather ill-advised. For instance, they slow down suddenly for no reason or change lanes abruptly. But just when you start to feel irritation and annoyance bubble up inside you, maybe even some choice words spring to your mind, you notice there’s a sticker on the bumper that says… “Student driver.” How do you feel now? I often notice that when I spot one of those stickers, my attitude shifts. I’m brought back to when I was a student driver at 17, unsure and anxious, when all the parts of driving that come so automatically now - checking mirrors, turn signals, changing lanes - were conscious, stressful maneuvers. I suddenly have a whole lot more compassion for the driver of the car in front of me. I slow down and give them space....

This sermon was preached for Sunday, January 22, 2023 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in East Longmeadow, MA. The texts for this sermon were:  Isaiah 9:1-4,  Matthew 4:12-23, and  Psalm 27:1, 5-13. My son receives the light of Christ at his baptism in 2021. Back when my husband and I lived in Berkeley, very soon after we had adopted our dog, Remy, we received some devastating news. It knocked the wind out of us on the way home from a party and we had no idea what to say to one another. I just remember being so filled with dread and grief that all we could do was lie on the floor in silence. We didn’t even turn on the lights or take off our shoes, just lay down on the carpet. Our dog, our new addition to our family, a rescue who was still learning to trust us, got up and lay down right between us. I remember being so surprised by how comforting her warm, furry body was. She was a light in the darkness to us in that moment. She didn’t need to understand why we were in shock....

This sermon was preached for Sunday, January 15, 2023 for the second Sunday in Epiphany at St. Mark's, East Longmeadow. The texts for this Sunday were  Isaiah 49:1-7,  John 1:29-42 and  Psalm 40:1-12. PHOTO: DONALD UHRBROCK/THE LIFE IMAGES COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES “What are you looking for?” These are the first words Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John. A question directed to John the Baptist’s disciples. “What are you looking for?” It’s also a question I wish I could ask every person who walks through our doors or tunes into our livestream. It’s a question to ask ourselves, whether we are newcomers and decades-long members. What are we looking for? What is drawing us here, together, today? The answer to that question might change from year to year or even Sunday to Sunday. It might not even be entirely clear to you, either.  What are you looking for? is an essential starting question for any search, whether that be for a job, a partner, a church, a new home, a spouse....

This sermon was preached for the Feast of the Epiphany, January 8, 2023 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in East Longmeadow, MA. The texts for this sermon were:  Isaiah 60:1-6 ,  Ephesians 3:1-12 ,  Matthew 2:1-12 , and  Psalm 72:1-7,10-14 .  Today we are going to create the sermon together.  May the words of all our mouths and pencils, and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, are rock and our redeemer. Amen.  As my husband was unwrapping my Christmas present to him this year, he arched a skeptical eyebrow and asked, “Is this a task gift?” I laughed a little guiltily.   See, in an attempt to appeal to my spouse’s practical and efficient nature, some of my gifts to him have a tendency to be…let’s say aspirational. You know, the kind of gifts that are intended to help someone along the way of where they’ve been hoping to go. They often come with an implicit associated chore or task, hence my husband’s nickname of ...