Lessons: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Psalm 93 Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37 We are in the bustle and the heat that is Jerusalem, the most distant and forgotten corner of the Roman Empire. Inside the headquarters of the occupying forces, Pontius Pilate sits at his desk. Pilate is thirty-five years old. He is a mid-level government bureaucratContinueContinue reading “Last Sunday after Pentecost Christ the King by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Tag Archives: Pentecost
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Daniel 12:1-3 Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25 Mark 13:1-8 What do we do when we hear a reading like the ones that we encounter today in Daniel in and Mark? Daniel says: Michael shall arise. There will be anguish. Many of those who sleep in the dust will awake, some toContinueContinue reading “Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Phil Brochard
Lessons: 1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 SOLACE IN OUR FIERCE LANDSCAPES RIGHTEOUS APPEARANCES GIVING WHAT YOU’LL NEVER MISS A POOL IN THE DESERT GIVE FOR LOVE SOLACE IN OUR FIERCE LANDSCAPES Near the turn of this century, the theologian Belden Lane wrote a provocative book called The Solace of FierceContinueContinue reading “Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Phil Brochard”
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Corbet Clark
Lessons: Jeremiah 31:7-9 Psalm 126 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:46-52 The last thing I do before I leave the sacristy to begin a service is to check my cell phone to make sure it’s turned off. Cell phones are a wonderful form of communication, that give us access to all kinds of information anywhere in theContinueContinue reading “Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Corbet Clark”
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 The comedian Hasan Minhaj is a second generation American. His father, like me, is an immigrant to this country. I come from Canada: Minhaj’s Dad, Najme, comes from India. Unlike me (I grew up in a stable and peaceful context in Vancouver, BC), prior to comingContinueContinue reading “Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Amos 5:6-7,10-15 Psalm 90:12-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31 The blogger and comedian Gaby Dunn talks about engaging in a do-it-yourself social experiment. Dunn’s experiment involved going up to strangers in coffee shops and other public contexts and saying: Can I ask you two questions? Most folks said “yes,” and so Dunn began. HerContinueContinue reading “Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost by Rachel Sanborn
Lessons: Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 Worship in Pink The chance of winning the Powerball lottery is 1 in 175 million. Yet people play. A LOT of them play. We take our chances. The chance of being struck by lightning in a lifetime is 1 in 14,000. Yet people walk inContinueContinue reading “Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost by Rachel Sanborn”
The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Blessing of the Animals by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Jeremiah 22:13–16 Galatians 6:14–18 Matthew 11:25–30 Psalm 148:7–14 I’ve been struggling these past few days. Maybe you have been struggling too. Watching and listening to and reading about Thursday morning’s hearings was hard. Witnessing the kind of pain we saw on Thursday morn, the kind of grief that we saw, the kind ofContinueContinue reading “The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Blessing of the Animals by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Jeremiah 11:18-20 Psalm 54 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37 A professor emeritus from the University of British Columbia by the name of Dennis Danielson has taken on an unusual retirement project. Danielson decided to examine curricula and student handbooks from educational institutions across Canada. Danielson reviewed these documents looking for a particular word.ContinueContinue reading “Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Corbet Clark
Lessons: Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 116:1-8 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 I’m feeling a little strange so far this Fall, because this is the first Fall in thirty-five years that I haven’t been working in a school. I’m so used to the rhythm of school – of the school year and the school day. I realize thatContinueContinue reading “Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Corbet Clark”