Homilies and bulletins

Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 8th Sunday after Pentecost A; 07.19.26; G. Miles Smith+ Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do with scripture…even when the language is clear. We effectively talked about that a lot this past Wednesday in the Bible study on the Gospel of Mark which Matteo is leading so very well. Even when the words of scripture are familiar…there can still be a disconnect such that they do not affect us much. Fo

We all have a friend or relative who loves plants, loves gardening, can’t stay away from the soil. For me that person was my paternal grandmother, Fern Abbott, of blessed memory, from whom I got my middle name, and because of whom I gave my son the same middle name. She had a honey-sweet voice, handwriting so beautiful it looked like effortless calligraphy, and she taught me how to do crossword puzzles, which I do every day and so I think of her every day. My point here is th

Gen. 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Song of Songs 2:8-13; Romans 7:15-25a; Mt. 11:16-19, 25-30 6th Sunday after Pentecost A; 07.05.26; G. Miles Smith+ Let me begin this morning by calling your attention to an important distinction…about how Episcopalians observe this Sunday and its implications for our Christian responsibility. And then a few more words about the scripture today. + The Book of Common Prayer (p.16-17) identifies only two national holidays in its liturgical calendar—

Matthew 10:24-39 4th Sunday after Pentecost A; 06.21.26; G. Miles Smith+ Jesus said: “…I have come to set a man against his father…” And “whoever loves father more than me is not worthy of me…” Happy Father’s Day!? It is a fairly rare occasion when this gospel text, which comes back around every three years, actually falls on Father’s Day. But this is one of those years. And it is especially jarring to hear Jesus’ words like this…on Father’s Day. + If w

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7); Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23) 3rd Sunday after Pentecost A; 06.14.26; G. Miles Smith+ So, now that the Vestry has announced their appointment of the Discernment Committee…that will begin working later this summer on the search for your next Rector…I’m thinking that frees up the Vestry…to undertake a new and even more daunting task: the formation of a team of parishioners…to go out into Keswick…“to cure the sick, raise the dead, c

Genesis 12:1-9; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 When Christians invoke Abraham as the beginning of a line that will, eventually, include Jesus, our reasons for mentioning him vary. In genealogical terms, Abraham is the progenitor and we are the progeny, Not in terms of our DNA, but in terms of a human chain of events that begins when Abraham says yes to God: not just the people who can trace their own lineage back to these early desert wanderings, but the even larger number of people

Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Canticle 13; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 Trinity Sunday A; 05.31.26; G. Miles Smith+ As you’ve probably noticed by now from our service, today is Trinity Sunday…a Sunday when the Church is called to meditate upon “the glory of the eternal Trinity.” It always falls on the Sunday after the Day of Pentecost when the Church remembers and celebrates God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. So, Trinity Sunday is timed to remind the Church to put so

Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Canticle 13; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 Trinity Sunday A; 05.31.26; G. Miles Smith+ I know you don’t spend your time thinking about the intricacies of the Christian liturgical calendar -- that’s my job. :) But, the first Sunday after the Day of Pentecost is always called “Trinity Sunday”…a Sunday…as reflected in the Collect of the Day…when the Church is called to meditate upon “the glory of the eternal Trinity.” It is something o

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23 The Day of Pentecost A; 05.22.26; G. Miles Smith+ Today is the Day of Pentecost…a day when most churches commemorate and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. And this may be my last chance to really speak to you about the Holy Spirit…definitely my last Day of Pentecost with you. So here we go. I have a lot to say. And I want to begin by acknowledging…just how very difficult it is…to even speak of

John 14:15-21 There’s a beloved professor at my seminary who likes to say, “The Jesus we encounter in the Gospel of John is so divine, his feet barely touch the ground.” In the Gospel of John there are no earthy parables, no teachings drawn from the nitty gritty of how people make a living. Instead there is a loftiness and an enigmatic quality to the way Jesus speaks in John, and today’s reading is no exception. What does the spirit of truth mean? What does the discourse on

John 14:1-14 Sunday of Easter A; 05.03.26; G. Miles Smith+ The Gospel of John has something…that exists nowhere else in the New Testament. It has been called Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse”. What is so unusual about it…is that it is Jesus…talking to his disciples…for five consecutive chapters. Nowhere else exists such a continuous set of Jesus’ teachings. And what also makes them distinctive is the subject matter…Jesus is concerned about what will happen to his dis

Psalm 23; John 10:1-10 Fourth Sunday of Easter A; 04.26.26; G. Miles Smith+ The Fourth Sunday of Easter, for a number of churches, is called Good Shepherd Sunday. In the Episcopal Church, we don’t actually call today that, but we do focus on this theme in our prayers and scripture every year. So in The Collect of the Day, we prayed about Jesus who is the good shepherd. We also prayed Psalm 23: “The LORD is my shepherd…” The 1st Letter of Peter is addressed

Luke 24:13-35 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” Today’s Gospel contains an image that is a kind of fever dream for people who love to puzzle over texts and their meaning: Jesus himself, the risen Lord, in the role of mysterious professor, or Bible Study leader, or literary critic, with ALL the answers to ALL the questions raised by Scripture. What could be better

Luke 24:13-35 How many Easters have you seen come and go? Probably quite a few. How many Easters have I officiated? Well…quite a few. They come…and the celebrations are grand…and then they go. And then, the stories that the world tells instead about life…and death…become preeminent…very very fast…eclipsing Easter. One may very well wonder then…whether the stories that the Church has been given to tell about Jesus…are merely “idle tales”? One of the benefits of knowing sc

(sermon text forthcoming)

John 20:1-18 I am glad you are here this Easter Day! Because Easter raises some important questions. Why does a human-sized rabbit hide chicken eggs? Are Jesus and the Easter Bunny friends? How long will this service be? Easter does raise some important questions…but those are not the ones. :) The thing about asking questions…is that we have a chance at getting better answers…if we can manage to ask better questions. So it occurs to me t

John 20:1-18 If you were here for any of the telling of the passion story of Jesus since last Sunday…Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, or Good Friday…then…mercy me…you know that it can be hard to listen to. It is long and painful. I understand why there are churches…and Christians…who just want to skip it…and have Palm Sunday on one Sunday with palm branches and hallelujahs…and then Easter on the next Sunday with lilies and hallelujahs…with onl

It is hard to talk about death. It is hard for me to talk about death. And so I begin with the words of another person, one who has spent his whole life around death. Caleb Wilde is a sixth-generation funeral director who has spoken and written extensively about death and how we human beings like to avoid it. He writes, I don’t like being around people who haven’t been touched by death, who haven’t embraced mortality. Death humbles us. I don’t like proud people. Death brings