bible – Page 7 – Storied Grace

Muddy Waters

A sermon for Epiphany 1: the Baptism of Our Lord
January 12, 2025, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

I’ve only been snorkeling a few times. I’m sorry to say it wasn’t in some crystal-clear water in the Caribbean, or in some beautiful coral reef. No, I went snorkeling in a muddy creek in Missouri. It wasn’t my idea. A friend of mine went all the time and loved it, so I went with him and his dad. We pulled the car off the state highway by a bridge and hopped into the very muddy water. You couldn’t see a thing. The water was brown and dirty, and full of who knows what. Before we got in, my friend’s dad warned us to watch out for cottonmouths. He then told us three or four stories of coming snout to snout with cottonmouths that were at least seven feet long. I learned later that he liked to exaggerate. But it didn’t matter: from the moment I stepped foot in the water, I was concerned about what I would meet.

The 8th Day Promise

Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Name
January 1, 2025, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

Readings: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:15-21

Every proper baptismal font should have eight sides. Don’t worry, ours does. The eight sides are symbolic for the eighth day, the day of resurrection, the day outside the bounds of our normal time, space, and seven-day week. The eighth day is a new day in a new creation.

Shepherds and Angels

A sermon for Christmas Eve
December 24, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

Readings: Luke 2:1-20

Just about every year I was a shepherd. I imagine parents fought over whose children would get to be shepherds at the pageant. The costumes were easier. A bathrobe for the tunic, a bath towel for the headcovering, a stick, and you’re set. Every year, dressed in my bathrobe, I would stand there as one of the teenagers pretended to be the Archangel Gabriel, announcing good news, usually without much conviction: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

In Memoriam: Joe Mouton

A sermon for the Funeral of Alexandre “Joe” Bruce Mouton
November 30, 2024

Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Revelation 21:2-7; Matthew 5:1-10

A joyful man. A gracious host. Someone with a twinkle in his eye that betrayed his mischievousness. A funny, funny person who probably wouldn’t mind if I started today with a Boudreaux and Thibodeaux joke (but don’t worry, I decided not to–if you want to know which one I would use, come see me after). A loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Today we gather to give thanks for the life of such a man. We give thanks for the gift he was in our lives–the gift he will continue to be. Today we commend him to God, the giver of all good gifts, confident that God will pull Joe to himself in grace, mercy, and love. Because Joe was baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, he is marked as God’s child forever.

Pilate or Mary?

A sermon for the Last Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 29
November 24, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Hot Springs, AR

Readings: John 18:33-37

“Are you the king of the Jews?” That’s Pontius Pilate’s question for Jesus. Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday after Pentecost, the last Sunday of the church year. Today is a triumphant day, when we declare that Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. And yet, curiously, our gospel reading is not about Christ seated in heaven, but rather about Christ before Pilate: Christ accused, Christ on trial, Christ on his way to his cross.

From Rubble to New Creation

A sermon for the 26th Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 28
November 17, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

Readings: Mark 13:1-8

I am sure you remember the day; I know I do. It was March 31, 2023. A tornado hit Little Rock and continued east. By the time it got to the delta town of Wynne, it was an EF-3. On the ground for 73 miles, it was as wide as 13 football fields with winds as high as 150 mph. The town was devastated. Four people died; 26 injured. The little Episcopal church in the town, Grace Church, which had been closed for a few years, took a direct hit. The brick edifice was leveled, turned into rubble. Not long thereafter, I joined a team of clergy and lay folks from East Arkansas who went to sift through the rubble and sort those bricks that had been so violently thrown down by the storm.

Go Now to Zarephath

A sermon for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 27
November 10, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Readings: I Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44

“Go now to Zarephath,” God tells the prophet Elijah today. The story from the Hebrew Scriptures takes place in the midst of a famine that Elijah himself prophesied. Elijah and the wicked King Ahab are facing off, and in the background, God is facing down Baal, the false god who was believed to provide rain and harvest plenty. As this false god takes hold in Israel because of Ahab’s leadership, God sends the prophet in to remind the king and the nation not to put their trust in rulers or any child of earth or in any idol that they might make; but to put their trust in God, both in good times and in bad times.

Help Wanted

A sermon for All Saints’ Sunday
November 3, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Readings: Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44

Help wanted. Heaven in need of Saints. You open up the classifieds and you come across this ad. You’ve been looking for work. Help wanted. Heaven in need of Saints. Job description: Praise God for eternity. Pray for those on earth. Compensation: None. You have to buy in some way. It might be through suffering, sickness, and pain. It might be through persecution and blood. But it’s gonna cost you. Benefits: Eternal life. Training required: Extensive on-the-job training with the Holy Spirit. Skills needed: Must be able to carry a cross. Help wanted. Heaven in need of Saints.

The Gospel in Costume

A sermon for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 25
October 27, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

Readings: Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52

In a few days, my street, Prospect Avenue, will be flooded with trick-or-treaters dressed in costume hoping for a sugar high. The neighbors have already put up their decor. Some have terrifying displays with motion-activated screams. There are spiders and ghosts and goblins. Others have tamer displays. One of my neighbors sets up a projector screen to play “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” The costumes that visit the neighborhood will have the same divide. Some will be horrifying, blood-covered, windows into darkness. Others will be whimsical, straight out of the latest Disney movie, full of light. I think all of this has something to tell us. I think that it might just be that the gospel will be there, parading up and down my street, hidden in costume.

Money and Loving God

A sermon for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 23
October 13, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR

Readings: Mark 10:17-31

Last week, divorce; this week, give all your money away. Come on, Jesus, this preacher is just asking for an easy week! We read today that Jesus is approached by a man, whom we learn has many possessions. He is a rich man. He runs to Jesus and kneels before him. We can see his sincerity. Unlike those encounters Jesus has with the Pharisees, this man is not trying to trap Jesus. He really wants to know: What do I need to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus sees this man’s sincerity, his heart, which is why he answers in the way that he does.