sermons

I hope you were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather earlier this week. I found myself with an open couple of days after the busyness of Christmas and the new year, and decided to put together an impromptu camping trip. Winter camping in Arkansas is just about the best kind there is. The cool temperature during the day makes for nice hiking, and the near-freezing nights can make for ideal sleeping conditions (if your sleeping bag is up to snuff, of course)....

There is a story that has been trying to work its way into one of my homilies for awhile now, and I think today may just be the day for it. The event that I’m going to recall for you actually happened a couple years ago, right during the height of the pandemic. You remember how it was. No one exactly knew how to interact socially. We weren’t hugging or shaking hands, and awkward nods or waves were the best we could manage as we attempted keep our germs to ourselves....

Apocalypse. It’s a word that many of us have a sudden reaction to. Different images or phrases surface in our minds. “End of days,” “revelation,” “destruction,” “zombies,” or how about “rapture,” or “a thief in the night”? The apocalypse, commonly thought of as the “end of the world,” is a topic of much interest in our society. You might even say we’re obsessed with it. Countless movies have been made about it, and books have been written–of varying quality I might add....

Some of you know I like to ride bicycles. And the people in this diocese may have heard a sermon or two from me in the past that has to do with the subject. For me, biking is about more than just transportation, and I’m sure the same is true for those of you with whom I share the hobby. It’s about exercise. It’s about being outside. It’s about personal challenge....

Spending a lot of time in the car traveling across the diocese to visit congregations on Sunday mornings gives me the opportunity to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes: listening to FM 89.1, NPR. After all, as an Episcopalian, being fluent in “NPRese” and having the ability to make a witty reference at any moment to the featured interviews and stories of the day is akin to a Baptist’s abilities with the Bible....