Lessons: Acts 17:22-31 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Psalm 66:7-18 The late Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner, struggled with a question that a lot of Christians have struggled with: what does God do with good and compassionate and decent people who don’t go to church? Are those folks rejected by God, will they be punished byContinueContinue reading “Sixth Sunday of Easter by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Tag Archives: The Rev. Martin Elfert
Fifth Sunday of Easter by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Acts 7:55-60 1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 During a recent radio interview with Terry Gross, the standup comic Pete Holmes talked about his upbringing in a conservative Evangelical context and about what faith looks like for him today. The interview is frequently funny (I guess that’s what you would expect inContinueContinue reading “Fifth Sunday of Easter by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Third Sunday of Easter by the Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 Psalm 23 Imagine. Imagine that you are on a road leading away from a city and toward a town. Here on the road you are in neither place, neither city nor town, neither where you came from nor where you are going. You are in between. TheContinueContinue reading “Third Sunday of Easter by the Rev. Martin Elfert”
Easter Sunday by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Jeremiah 31:1-6 Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 28:1-10 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Five Meditations on Resurrection One I am visiting with a woman whose husband of almost fifty years died the summer before last. The woman was young when she and her husband met and married, she was only a handful of years into her twenties.ContinueContinue reading “Easter Sunday by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
The Great Vigil of Easter by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: At The Liturgy of the Word Genesis 1:1-2:4a [The Story of Creation] Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood] Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea] Ezekiel 37:1-14 [The valley of dry bones] Zephaniah 3:14-20 [The gathering of God’s people] At The Eucharist Romans 6:3-11 Psalm 114 Matthew 28:1-10 Yesterday morning,ContinueContinue reading “The Great Vigil of Easter by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Palm Sunday & Sunday of the Passion by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 21:1-11 The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew: Matthew 26:14- 27:66 When my wife, Phoebe, goes out of town, I often take the opportunity to go see horror films. A week ago, Phoebe and our three children were in Victoria, BritishContinueContinue reading “Palm Sunday & Sunday of the Passion by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Fourth Sunday in Lent by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 This is the second of three Sundays on which we encounter a reading from the Gospel of John that the church has long associated with Lent and, in particular, that the church has long associated with the catechumenate: with that period of preparation forContinueContinue reading “Fourth Sunday in Lent by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Ash Wednesday by the Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Joel 2:1-2,12-17 Psalm 103:8-14 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 As a child, I was fascinated with ash. My parents had a home with a fireplace, one of those incredibly inefficient brick boxes built into the wall that doesn’t so much generate heat as it sucks the air that the furnace has heatedContinueContinue reading “Ash Wednesday by the Rev. Martin Elfert”
Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18 Psalm 119:33-40 1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23 Matthew 5:38-48 Three weeks ago, when the lectionary invited us into our month-long sojourn with the Sermon on the Mount, I didn’t imagine that these four weeks would end up being a kind of preaching series here at Grace. I guess that’s because this isContinueContinue reading “Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert”
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert
Lessons: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Psalm 119:1-8 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37 Let’s begin this morning with an exercise. I’d like to invite you to do a mental inventory of those occasions when you have responded to another person in anger. Maybe the anger came in a flash, as it does sometimes when you areContinueContinue reading “Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany by The Rev. Martin Elfert”