Prayers and Blessings for 2021 (inspired by teachings from 2020)

Readings for the Second Sunday after Christmas Jeremiah 31:7-14Psalm 84Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19aMatthew 2:1-12 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 3, 2021. At the beginning of a new year, I like to look back on the Scripture readings and teachings of the previous year and condense the messages of sermons into short prayers and […]

The Son of Thunder Who Heard the Heartbeat of God

Readings for the First Sunday after Christmas Isaiah 61:10-62:3Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7John 1:1-18 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday December 27, 2020. Another reflection on Fr. Shag’s portrayal of St. John the Apostle was published by the Times-Standard under the title “His Light Combats the Darkness.” Worship Program here Merry Christmas, everyone, on this […]

The Wondrous Gift is Given

Readings for the Feast of the Christ Mass Isaiah 62:6-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:1-20 Psalm 97 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka for the Christmas Eve service on Thursday December 24, 2020. You can view the service here. O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, […]

Rejoice in the Advent that Was and Is and Is to Come

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday December 13, 2020. Worship Program here Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday (Year B) Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-111 Thessalonians 5:16-24John 1:6-8,19-28Canticle 15 (or 3) On this Third Sunday of Advent, we light the pink candle of joy and we get to wear the rose -pink […]

Thomas Merton and the Teachings of the Stars

This reflection was shared at an online gathering of Associates, Oblates, and Sisters of the Community of the Transfiguration on December 11, 2020. Yesterday was the feast day of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who was born in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France in 1915. As he says in the first sentence of his well-known spiritual […]

God in the Darkness, the Silence, and the Desert

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday December 6, 2020. Worship Program here Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent (Year B) Isaiah 40:1-112 Peter 3:8-15aMark 1:1-8Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 We have begun a new liturgical year; and with a new liturgical year comes a new Gospel. Last year (Year A), we read from the […]

St. Andrew’s Cross Marks the Spot of God’s Advent

A reflection on St. Andrew the Apostle inspired by the oil painting of Fr. George Leonard Shultz (1896 – 1971). This same reflection was published in the Times-Standard on December 5, 2020: “St. Andrew’s Cross Marks the Spot of God’s Advent” The symbol associated with St. Andrew the Apostle is the X-shaped cross, also known as the saltire […]

Sauntering with St. Nick and Thich Nhat Hanh

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Nicholas This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday December 5 2020 at Freshwater in Eureka. Very little is known about the life of Nicholas, except that he suffered torture and imprisonment during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. It is possible that he was […]

The Kin-dom of Heaven

This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Christ the King Sunday November 22, 2020. Worship Program here Readings for the Last Sunday after Pentecost (Year A) Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Psalm 100Ephesians 1:15-23Matthew 25:31-46 Today’s Feast of Christ the King marks the end and culmination of the liturgical year, which began last December as we here at […]

People of God’s Shalom

This reflection on peace was presented at the Humboldt Interfaith Fellowship Peace Prize Award Ceremony, honoring Humboldt Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich. Watch the entire ceremony here. I want to begin with a fairly provocative statement attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, who in Matthew’s Gospel, says, “Do not think that I have come to […]