Lessons: Micah 6:1-8 Psalm 15 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12 Today and over the next three Sundays we will listen as Jesus shares with us what the late Leonard Cohen called, “the staggering account of the Sermon on the Mount – which I don’t pretend to understand at all.” I love that line.ContinueContinue reading “Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Tag Archives: The Rev. Martin Elfert
Second Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm 40:1-12 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42 In her marvellous book, Rising Strong, Brené Brown tells the story of a question that haunted her and that, ultimately, ended up setting her free. The question was initially posed to Brown by her therapist. And it goes like this: Do you think that,ContinueContinue reading “Second Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Christmas Eve by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-20 Jesus just keeps on asking you and me questions. After telling us the story that we know as The Good Samaritan, Jesus asks us, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”ContinueContinue reading “Christmas Eve by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
First Sunday of Advent by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44 Psalm 122 * Keep awake. Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. One of the major gaps in my theological education is that I have never read any of the Left Behind books. Nor, for that matter, have I seenContinueContinue reading “First Sunday of Advent by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Malachi 4:1-2a Psalm 98 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19 We are on the far side of one of the most intense elections in memory. The months leading up this past Tuesday were frequently angry and uncivil and just generally emotionally fraught. And that continued on Tuesday night. Across this nation, we sawContinueContinue reading “Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 1:10-18 Psalm 32:1-8 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 Luke 19:1-10 One of the many things that draws me to Jesus is that he is both someone who tells parables and someone who lives parables. One moment Jesus will be hanging out with his friends and sharing his holy folk tales, his stories of transformation aboutContinueContinue reading “Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Jeremiah 14:7-10,19-22 Psalm 84:1-6 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 Luke 18:9-14 A reading from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We are about a third of the way in to the book. The children have journeyed through the wardrobe and into the wondrous and dangerous land of Narnia. And the three of them (Peter, Susan,ContinueContinue reading “Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Genesis 32:22-31 Psalm 121 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 Luke 18:1-8 Jacob’s story begins decades before this moment. It begins long before Jacob tells his family and his servants to journey ahead and to leave him alone, long before Jacob lies down on the cold ground and looks up at the stars, long before he wrestlesContinueContinue reading “Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost + St. Francis of Assisi + Blessing of the Animals by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Deuteronomy 30:11-20 Psalm 121 Galatians 6:14-18 Matthew 11:25-30 I spent this past week at Bishop’s Ranch, an Episcopal retreat centre located about ninety minutes north of San Francisco. I was at the Ranch as part of a self-directed preaching conference that six colleagues and I organised. During our time together, my colleagues andContinueContinue reading “Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost + St. Francis of Assisi + Blessing of the Animals by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost + Grace Art Camp Sunday + Welcome Back Sunday by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 The story goes like this. There is a man who so much money and so much stuff that he finds it necessary to hire an employee to take care of everything that he owns. This employee – the text doesn’t give him a name,ContinueContinue reading “Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost + Grace Art Camp Sunday + Welcome Back Sunday by The Rev. Martin Elfert”