Grace or judgment, you get to choose.A homily preached from the following reading from the daily office lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer:John 7:53-8:20, NRSVThen each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teache...

A homily preached from the following Daily Office lectionary reading from the Book of Common Prayer:John 3:16-21 (NRSV)“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not ...

At Christmas we encounter a lot of "shoulds" and disappointments. This is one of the reasons the idea of Advent is so powerful to me. The church calendar includes a 4-week period of longing. While the world around us hosts Christmas parties and celebrates the season, the church steps into a season where all we have is our desire that things were different.Advent speaks to our longing. It gives room to be in the darkness. It gives us a season to grieve that things don’t seem to be as they shou...

A homily on the following Scriptures from the daily office lectionary In the Book of Common Prayer:Matthew 17:14-20 (NRSV)When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? Ho...

A homily based on the following Scripture from the daily office lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer:John 9:18-41 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is th...

A homily based on the following Book of Common Prayer daily office lectionary reading:Matthew 13:44-52 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a ne...

A homily based on the following Book of Common Prayer daily office reading:Matthew 13:1-9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on r...

A homily based on the Book of Common Prayer daily office reading:Matthew 11:25-30 (NRSV)At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to ...

One of my old favorite homilies from the (pre-podcast) Lenten season, based on BCP daily office readings:Jeremiah 2:1-13 (NRSV)The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride,how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest.All who ate of it were held guilty;  ...

A homily based on the following daily office reading from the Book of Common Prayer:Matthew 9:1-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why ...