October 23, 2011

One of the most memorable experiences in my life was the first time I distributed bread during the Eucharist. It is one of those roles that in the Episcopal Church is reserved to the ordained. To that point, I had participated in almost every way in the Eucharistic celebration. I had prepared the table, shared the cup with the congregation. What I remember most about that first time, and what continues to dominate my experience of sharing the bread, is seeing all of those hands reaching out to receive the bread—big hands, small hands, hands of every shape, size, and color, hands wrinkled by age, and the hands of a toddler—all of them reaching out in desire, and hope, and hunger. Continue reading →

So, this is some of what I intended to preach this morning…

October 16, 2011

I don’t often get preached at. Around here, I’m usually doing the preaching, and when I’m not, when someone else—Carol, Margaret, or Max, for example—is preaching, they’re not usually preaching with me in mind (except as a critic, perhaps) they are trying to help you understand and hear God’s word. I was at diocesan convention this weekend and in his sermon at the convention Eucharist, the Bishop preached to us, to all of us, clergy and lay people, gathered together to make decisions for the Diocese of Milwaukee. Continue reading →

October 9, 2011

On the surface, the parables we heard this morning seem quite familiar to us. Hearing a story about a king throwing a wedding banquet may conjure up for us memories of the royal wedding last spring. All the more so, because one of the chief fascinations with that event was the suspense about the wedding dress and what all of the guests would be wearing. In contemporary culture, weddings are one of those few occasions we have when people get dressed up in their finest and expect a really good party. Continue reading →

September 25, 2011

I wonder when, if ever, there were that many clergy in clerical collars, at a meeting of Madison’s City Council. I didn’t count the total Tuesday night, but I’m guessing there were at least ten. Why were we wearing collars? As a show of piety? No, of course not. We were wearing them to identify our selves and also to make clear what our offices were and what the nature of our authority was. Clergy aren’t the only ones who do that sort of thing, even if we are particularly prone to it. Most of us on occasion like to assert our authority, to make clear that we have power, and that we deserve to be heard. Continue reading →

September 18, 2011

The kingdom of heaven is like…

This is the way Jesus introduces many of his parables in the Gospel of Matthew. In Luke and Mark, the phrase used is “the kingdom of God is like…” The parables are meant to help Jesus’ listeners—and us, listening in 2000 years later, to catch a glimpse of this new realm of existence that Jesus is proclaiming. The parables are meant to teach, to shed light on this new existence, but they are also meant to shock and unsettle us, for the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is, above all else, something that transcends and challenges all human values, all expectations, all of our comfortable ways of thinking about things and living. Continue reading →