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St. Pauls - Proper 23 - October 11, 2026 Sometimes, the most honest response to a story from Scripture is regret. Regret, repentance, and reorientation. This is especially true of Bible stories we inherit from other people — stories that someone else hands to us, wrapped in layers of interpretation so thick, we can’t tell where the interpretation ends and the story begins. To put this another way, sometimes, we need to unsee a Biblical text before we can see it. New Testam

St. Paul’s - Proper 22 - October 4, 2026 Where is God when tragedy strikes or evil is perpetrated? Why won’t God heal the divisions in our country today? When will we have peace on earth? Why doesn’t God do something about …? Fill in the blank with whatever you see happening in your life or the world today that concerns you. I know the heartbreak, disappointment, sorrow, frustration, and anger behind those kind of questions, and I’ll bet you do too. I’m betting every one of u

St. Pauls - Proper 21 - September 27, 2026 If there had been an inquest into Jesus’ death, the parable of the two brothers would probably have been presented as one of the things that got him killed. According to Matthew, Jesus told it during the last week of his life in Jerusalem—after he had stolen a donkey to ride into town on, after he had chased the merchants out of them temple, after he had cursed the fig tree for failing to bear fruit—Jesus went back to them temple to

A few years ago, Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal, two zoologists at Emory University, decided to study the evolution of fairness. They wanted to explore where our distaste for unfairness comes from. Is it a cultural add-on, or is it hardwired? To study this question, Brosnan and de Waal designed an experiment using capuchin monkeys. Pairs of monkeys were placed in adjacent cages where they could see each other, and trained to take turns giving small granite rocks to their

St. Pauls - Proper 19 - September 13, 2026 With the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:2) Most of you probably remember the story of Snow White. Written down in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm, the story has been adapted over and over again. But the Disney version most likely has influenced most of us. No matter the adaptation, the story is essentially the same. Baby Snow White’s mother dies, and her father remarries. As Snow White comes of age and becomes mor

St. Pauls - Easter 3 - May 4, 2025 This week’s Gospel reading begins with shame so thick, it makes me cringe. It begins with the...

St. Pauls - Proper 13 - August 2, 2026 At a crucial moment in the classic film 101 Dalmatians, Pongo, Perdita, and their fifteen puppies are huddled together in a small room, watching television, waiting for the right moment to escape from the wicked Cruella de Vil. One of the puppies, Rolly—despite being totally captivated by the screen—looks up and says: I’m hungry, Mother. I’m hungry. Perdita, tired and anxious, replies: Now Rolly, you’ve just had your dinner. But Rolly in

St. Paul’s - Proper 18 - September 6, 2026 We need to talk. How do you feel when someone says these four words to you? What happens in your body when you hear them? Most of the time, if another person approaches us with those words, they’re not saying they want to chat about the weather, or relive highlights from yesterday’s football game, or share the latest celebrity gossip. They’re saying, Something is broken between us, and we need to sort it out. There are many Christ

Part of me flinches away from our Gospel reading this week. I don’t feel up to writing about suffering and loss, about denying ourselves and taking up our crosses, about losing our lives in order to save them. During these days that feel apocalyptic already, I wish I could focus on a more soothing passage of Scripture. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, or, He leads me besides the still waters, or, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. But no. This

St. Paul’s - Proper 16 - August 23, 2026 Do you remember in school when the teacher would come in and say, “Please clear your desks. We’re having a pop quiz today?” As Matthew tells the story, Jesus (being an excellent teacher) asks two questions in his pop quiz. He prefaces his zinger question with an easier one: Who do people say that I am? In other words, what’s the word on the street? What have you heard? What do the opinion polls suggest? I don’t know about you, but I

St. Pauls - Proper 15 - August 16, 2026 The world has always been hungry for good news, but right now, I think we might be starving for it. We’re exhausted by the onslaught of devastating headlines—one after another after another. The rise of infectious diseases. Earthquakes and fires. The rising cost of living.. The ailing planet. The catastrophic wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The Immigration dilemma. The desecration of Big Bend National Park and state park. I could g

St. Paul’s - Proper 14 - August 9, 2026 Add verses 4-8: But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water.

St. Pauls - Proper 13 - August 2, 2026 At a crucial moment in the classic film 101 Dalmatians, Pongo, Perdita, and their fifteen puppies are huddled together in a small room, watching television, waiting for the right moment to escape from the wicked Cruella de Vil. One of the puppies, Rolly—despite being totally captivated by the screen—looks up and says: I’m hungry, Mother. I’m hungry. Perdita, tired and anxious, replies: Now Rolly, you’ve just had your dinner. But Rolly in

St. Pauls - Proper 12 - July 26, 2026 Me or we? It’s a question each of us faces and answers everyday as we say our prayers, make decisions, establish priorities, and live our lives. Do we live as insulated and isolated individuals or as a person connected to and interdependent with others? Me doesn’t just apply to a single individual. Me could be a group, a parish, a business. So me or we is also a choice made by churches and religions, political parties, corporations, and n

St. Pauls - Proper 9 - July 5, 2026 Yesterday, our nation paused to celebrate Independence Day. We gather to honor civic freedom, self-determination, and the liberty to forge our own paths. We celebrate the strength it takes to build a nation, the grit required to sustain it, and the heavy sacrifices made to secure our rights. For four Sundays now, we have been inside the longest speech Jesus has given so far in Matthew’s Gospel — the discourse on sending. In our lectionary t

St. Pauls - Proper 8 - June 28, 2026 "Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward." When I was a kid my grandfather often said to me, Mike, I can read your tracks before you make them. Sometimes he could see things about my life I couldn’t see for myself. Other times he told me what I already knew but it made more sense when I heard it from him. Sometimes we had difficult but meaningful conversations and other times he told me truths I

St. Paul’s - Proper 7 - June 21, 2026 Love triangles. I want to talk with you today about love triangles. You know what I am talking about right? You’ve seen the pictures and headlines on the tabloids in the grocery store check out lines. Love triangles are often the subject of movie plots and sometimes they are the circumstances in which a crime is committed. They are also a part of our lives. The question isn’t whether we are in a love triangle. We are, probably several. Th

St. Pauls - Proper 6- June 14, 2026 There’s a lot of pain in the world today. But you don’t need me to tell you that. It’s an everyday reality; physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain, and the systemic pain of violence, injustice, poverty, racism, to mention just a few. We read about in the news. We see it in the tears of others and hear it in their voices. Every one of you could tell a story about pain you have lived through and pain you are living with today, whether

St. Pauls - Trinity Sunday- March 31, 2026 What I am about to tell you may sound a bit strange. It might even sound as if I am being unfaithful and inappropriate, especially today, the Feast of the Holy Trinity. I think it’s important, however, even necessary. Ready? Stop thinking about God. You probably didn’t come here today expecting to be told to stop thinking about God so let me explain what I mean. Last week I met with a gentleman who comes to see me for spiritual direc

St. Pauls - Pentecost - May 24, 2026 Jesus showed them his hands and his side. That doesn’t sound a lot like Pentecost. When we think of Pentecost we usually think of the rush of a violent wind, divided tongues of fire, speaking in other languages, intoxicated by the Spirit. That’s how Luke describes it in The Acts of the Apostles. But John’s account of Pentecost tells about locked doors, fear, wounds, peace, a shared breath, being sent. Luke tells us that the disciples were