St. Paul 's

Sermon: PENTECOST 12, September 1st, 2019 In the Name… There’s a story told about one of our past bishops who was noted for his dignity and bearing. Once, at a banquet, a waiter spilled hot soup on him. Closing his eyes, but, maintaining his composure, the bishop asked, “Would some layman please express my feelings?” It can come as a surprise for us to read that Jesus was occasionally a dinner guest at the homes of Pharisees. It’s a surprise because he was often critical o

In the Name... I learned this week why insurance agents don't usually attend Pentecostal churches. They get too nervous when the pastor prays, "Lord, set this place on fire." Fire. The Old Testament is full of references to the God whose "wrath goes forth like fire", and whose “anger burns like fire". And there are some preachers and denominations which have gotten a reputation as being all about "fire and brimstone" because to them the idea of God being wrathful, God bein

Sermon: PENTECOST 5, July 14th, 2019 In the Name… It’s always interesting cleaning up after services. You’d be surprised the things you find. Sometimes, pocket change has rolled out behind the pew cushions. Not a fortune, mind you, but enough to confuse the tellers who have to add, say, a few cents to what was a tidy whole dollar deposit. Sometimes, interesting artwork is left behind, gracing bulletins, visitor cards, or other loose paper surfaces. In one congregation, I

In the Name... The story is told of a Scottish minister visiting an art gallery in Italy. Seeing a painting of the Last Judgement depicting the souls of humans being pulled in a sort of tug of war between angels and demons he was asked what he thought of it. "Well," he said, "it looks like the devils have gravity on their side." This morning's Gospel presents us with the challenge of sharing a vision - the vision of the fall of Satan. The passage began with Jesus sending o

In the Name... A grumpy fellow once complained to a pastor, "I don't go to church because it's full of hypocrites." "That's not true,” the pastor replied, "We're not nearly full at all and I’m sure you’ll find a seat." Our lessons, this morning, share the common theme that there is a vast difference between the way human beings act and think and the way that God acts and thinks. Not so many years ago, we heard a lot about the various gaps in our society. The generation gap

In the Name… Two priests were on vacation at the beach, just strolling along the boardwalk dressed in usual beach attire – shorts, sandals, floppy hats - when a stunning young woman in a bikini passed by and said “Hello, Fathers.” Amazed, the priests stopped her and asked, “Excuse us, Miss. We are priests, but, dressed as we are, how did you know?” She replied, “Don’t you recognize me? I’m Sister Catherine from the school.” “Clothed and in his right mind.” That is how th

In the Name… A friend of mine had a church up in Washington State and one year his choir director found an anthem to use on Pentecost. Musically, it was quite good, but the original text had been written in German and part of the English translation was not acceptable to my friend. It went: “And there arose a mighty wind. Alleluia. Alleluia. It came from where they sat. Alleluia. Alleluia.” True story. But, can you imagine what it must have been like that first Pentecost

In the Name... Queen Elizabeth II is always seen in public with a handbag. The bags vary with each of her outfits, but, it seems that the Queen and her handbag are rarely parted. Have you ever wondered what's in it? Does she carry the keys to the castle? Not likely. And with chauffeurs aplenty, she hardly needs car keys. She probably doesn’t need cash for the drive-through or even a credit card for lunch. Queen Elizabeth simply doesn’t need to carry many of the items mo

Sermon: LENT 4, March 31st, 2019 In the Name... A Sunday School teacher told her class the parable of the Prodigal Son and then asked, "Was anyone in the story sad when the prodigal son returned home?" "Yes, Miss", said one little boy, "The fatted calf." The great statesman Daniel Webster once observed, "Every man has the right to raise his fist to his Creator, but, when he does, he stands at a crossroads, and one road leads to a dark and stormy sky under which, if he should

Sermon: LENT 2, March 17th, 2019 In the Name... "'Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogoves and the mome raths outgrabe." That was the first line of the poem "Jabberwocky" from Lewis Carroll's, "Adventures of Alice Through the Looking-Glass." It's a wonderful bit of nonsense, full of made-up words. And, in the book, Alice is treated to a commentary on this poem by the character of Humpty Dumpty who makes this telling r

In the Name... Did anyone get an urgent e-mail, this week, from the widow of an African missionary? Well, she told me that she had ten million dollars of his in a savings account over there and she'd give me a million for the ministry here if I gave her my bank account number so she could transfer the funds out of that country. Ah, the Internet. I think it was supposed to enhance our lives by improving communication and increasing productivity. Alas, the information highwa

In the Name... Archbishop Michael Ramsey was once asked, “How long do you pray each day?” Without hesitation, he replied, “About two minutes. But, it takes me about two hours to prepare.” In 1989, Stephen Covey shook up the business world when he published his book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Basically, the book says that people who are effective live by a set of common principles which are universal and timeless. The third principle or habit that he p

In the Name... Mark Twain said he once put a dog and a cat together in a cage to see if they could get along. They did. So he put a bird, a pig and a goat together and, after a few adjustments, they got along too. Then he invited a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a Catholic to dinner and all hell broke loose. Well, one cold morning three African palm fruit farmers were sitting by a fire. Two of them got into in a debate comparing their religions. The oldest farmer sat quiet

In the Name… Some ministers were having a problem with squirrels in their churches. The Catholic priest had tried to exorcise them, but, they didn’t leave. The Methodist tried to trap them and release them in the park, but, they always came back. The Episcopalian, however, baptized them, and he never saw them again. Here we are just about a week away from Christmas and we have that strange character of John the Baptist appearing in our readings again. John is the most unl

In the Name... I greet you this morning in the second year of the presidency of Donald Trump, when Michael Curry was Presiding Bishop, Larry Hogan was Governor of Maryland, and Ron Fithian, Rock Hall Town Manager. There are a number of lessons in our Scriptures today, but, I'd like to start with this one. It's true that long ago, major events were usually dated by reference to local events or leaders, but, there's more to the opening of St. Luke’s Chapter Three than just a d

In the Name... A few guys were sitting around and one said: "I live for today. You never know what might happen. You could step into the road and get run over by a truck. Then you'd be sorry you put off having a good time." At that, one of the other guys said, "Well, maybe you should check what's coming down the road before you step into it". If one was to ask the average person, "What comes after Christmas?", the answer you're likely to get would be, "New Year's." A neat

In the Name... A lion woke up one morning feeling a bit full of himself, so, he went out, cornered a hyena and roared, "Who is king of the animals?" The trembling hyena said, "You are, O mighty lion!" Later, the lion confronted an antelope and roared “Who is king of the animals?" The terrified antelope stammered, "Oh great lion, you are the king!" On a roll now, the lion swaggered up to an elephant and roared, "Who is king of the animals?" Without a word, the elephant sna

In the Name... A grizzled old man stood on a park bench and started shouting, "The world will end soon. The world will end soon." A young fellow passing by stopped and said, “You're a bit old-fashioned, my friend. You need to start a website, get on to social media and, every so often, predict an exact date. Then you’ll get a following. Nobody pays attention to generalizations.” Suddenly, a massive fire ball flashed down from the sky and smashed into the Earth, triggerin

In the Name... And Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes." I had thought of wearing a short one today. But, perhaps the proverb should be, beware of the priest who talks about the word "sacrifice" on the day when we're distributing pledge cards. What comes to mind when we hear the word "sacrifice"? Maybe some movie images of half-naked savages dancing around an altar with a belching volcano in the background. Or, we could think of the se

In the Name... Lake Wobegon is a quiet sort of place, but, you won't find it on any map because it's the creation of author Garrison Keillor and was the setting for his series on small-town life “Lake Wobegon Days.” In this series, we follow the adventures of a kid who shares his observations about being raised in this community. In religion, for example, he says he belongs to a small church which meets in his Uncle Al's living room. "In a town where everyone was either Lu