Sermons

Our reading from Genesis this morning is a bit of a quirky story, not because of anything unusual in the story, but because we might rightfully ask why it even exists. After all, it is in many respects a fairly ordinary story of betrothal, with only a bit of a sprinkling of God in the […]

There are many important things to consider when taking a long-distance bike trip. One of the most important, though often not the one that first comes to mind, is water. Because, you need to drink a lot of water when you are biking, but water is heavy and every extra bottle you carry takes up

The problems of the world cannot be solved with the same tools that were used to create them. I received this piece of wisdom at a conference I attended a few years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. I found myself thinking about it again this past week when the bishops of

It was a dark night in the late spring in northern Wisconsin. I bounced along in the passenger seat as we wove our way over rough roads and around the lakes that spill across the landscape. Arriving at our destination, a small boat launch on the water, we found a group of scientists, biologists, already

Are you the one that is to come, or are we to wait for another? John’s words come to Jesus, a question spoken through the mouths of his messengers, simple but powerful. It was not that long ago that the Baptist stood on the banks of the Jordan, delivering his fiery sermons to all who

We live in a time of great grumbling. It was an observation I heard this week, specifically about the state of politics in the United States, but it stuck with me. The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the truth of it. And not just in American politics, but in our society

I was home-schooled in high school. It was a decision my parents came to after the first school shooting in Columbine, a tragedy that has been repeated with terrifying frequency in the years and decades that have passed since then. It was a decision I was fine with but one that had an unintended side-effect—it

In the beginning of all things, when the heavens and the earth were first made, God crouched down in the dirt and pulled together the red clay to form the first human. If you have ever worked with clay, or watched someone else work with clay, then you know that there is a quality of

Everyone knew you couldn’t trust a Samaritan. No one needed to ask why. They spoke with funny accents. Those who knew of such things said that they spelled their words with too many letters. Others said that it was with too few letters. The old women down the corner told stories, whenever the topic came

There was something unclean in their midst. It wasn’t immediately obvious to an outside observer. After all, it was a lovely little community nestled there along the water. Homes and shops lined the roads and in the town centre, children played and old men gathered to trade the news and opinions. It was the sort