Following Christ, the Merciful King. They said, “We can’t have him corrupting all these innocent people, so let’s kill him.” Then they arrested him, and they crucified him. That is the reading for the celebration of Christ the King.  The church year seems to culminate with death, instead of the light and hope of Easter. Most good music steadily builds towards a crescendo. Yet the church year does not end with Easter, Pentecost, or the eschaton. It ends with darkness covering the land and Jesus dying the death of a criminal.   I would have…

Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee: Responding to Adversity I’m a sucker for those cheesy, “There’s good news and there’s bad news” jokes. I heard one this week that I’m compelled to pass along…  An art gallery owner said to a local artist, “I have some good news and some bad news.” The artist asked, “What’s the good news?” The gallery owner said, “The good news is that a woman came by today who loved your work. She asked if the value would go up after you died. I told her yes. Then she…

We Are Alive! Sermon for Proper 27 That gospel reading… it has it all: Tension, confusion, ulterior motives, power struggles, and dogmatic theological convictions. If I didn’t know better I’d say it almost sounds like national convention.  Let’s begin with honesty and admit this is a confusing passage. Yet, it has a way of drawing us in and making us wonder what’s actually happening. At first it seems like there is a theological argument between Jesus and Sadducees about the interpretation of Moses.  But, I think it’s deeper than that…

All Saints Day Sermon: Lessons From The Saints November 3rd, 2019. Thank you for the way you’ve embraced me and made me feel at home. People have sent messages, cards, posted kind things on my Facebook wall, and sent very kind emails.  The willingness to welcome, accept, and embrace one another is more than the slogan, “The Episcopal Church welcomes you.” It is the beatitudes, and it is the way of the saints.  Allow me a confession: I intended to preach the conventional All Saints’ Day sermon, “Tell some stories about the saints, then say…

Sermon: “I Am A Samaritan” Have you noticed that some preachers have a gift… of preaching the same thing over and over? Well… This is yet another Rian Adams sermon about compassion and mercy. But… Jesus preached it all the time too, so I’m in good company.  This reading seems direct: Jesus healed ten lepers, one returned to say thank you… Say thank you. For the typical preacher, this is an underhanded softball pitch. It’s simple, preach about giving thanks and remind people to thank God and others. That’s a good sermon…

Sermon Audio Faith and Forgiveness Allow me to begin today with some self-disclosure: I do not understand exactly what faith is, or how it works. But I have a couple of ideas from the lesson that might be helpful. More on that in a moment, but first I’ve got to share some humor.  Have you ever heard a story that had to be true because it was just too good to be a lie? It just so happens that I have one of those funny stories too good to be true… but it is true… Have…