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Sermon for Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

By Rector's Corner, Sermons

Christopher Thomas Sermon for Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year A – 8/16/20 Genesis 45:1-15 Psalm 133 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 “Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.” Joseph wept. Right there, in front of everyone. “Get everyone away from me! Now!” He could not control himself. He didn’t try. Joseph’s gut-wrenching wailing rings out, all around, to Pharaoh, the Egyptians, practically everyone. Was he happy? Was he sad? Was he finally just overcome with…

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August 16, 2020

Interconnected

By Christian Formation

Spending time in nature has been my solace during this pandemic. One of my favorite places to visit is the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison, Wisconsin, a 1,260 acre preserved area that serves as a research and teaching site for ecological restoration. The Arboretum was founded in 1932, and its first director of research was the famous naturalist author Aldo Leopold who lived in Madison at that time. Leopold’s most famous book, A Sand County Almanac, has sold over 2 million copies. I first read this eye-opening book as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. It forever changed how I view the importance of land preservation and our interconnectedness with the natural world. I even remember taking my copy of the book to read when I visited the UW Arboretum some forty years ago. A quote from A Sand County Almanac seems especially appropriate to our current time,…

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August 15, 2020

Virtual Tea with the Rector

By Rector's Corner

My Dear Doubters of Great Faith, In the age of COVID-19, it is amazing how time seems to move in a completely different way. It was only January that I was making plans to come join this wonderful congregation, St. Thomas the Apostle, as your fifth rector. Yesterday, and a lifetime ago, all at the same time! One of my first meetings as “rector-elect” was with Bishop Sumner, and as a first-time rector, I inquired as to what he would recommend a new rector do in his/her first call to a church to get to know the parishioners. His answer seemed simple, and beautiful. The Bishop said, “In my day, I would have called on each family in their home, having tea with them around their kitchen table, listening to them tell a bit of themselves and vice versa.” He continued, “Christopher, parishioners will probably get mad at you from…

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August 13, 2020

Sermon for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

By Sermons

August 9, 2020 The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle Dallas, Texas Stephen V. Sprinkle Theologian-in-Residence, and Professor of Practical Theology Brite Divinity School Water-Walking Jesus The Gospel, Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”…

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August 9, 2020

We Make the Path by Walking

By Christian Formation

“Traveller, the path is your tracks And nothing more. Traveller, there is no path The path is made by walking. By walking you make a path And turning, you look back At a way you will never tread again Traveller, there is no road Only wakes in the sea.” I have always loved these lines written by the early twentieth-century Spanish poet Antonio Machado. A slightly different version of the third line is one I often share with people these days, “We make the path by walking.” As the pandemic grinds on, losses are piling up for all of us. Staying with the image of a path, we have all experienced a few, or maybe even many paths in our lives that have been changed, blocked, or ended. Weddings, graduations, vacations, reunions have been canceled, are dramatically changed, jobs have been lost, health concerns have increased, and loved ones have…

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August 8, 2020

Transitions

By Rector's Corner

Dear Doubters of Great Faith, It is good to be back among you, my Doubter family, if even only virtually, after some much-needed, much-appreciated time away. The excitement of going away is heightened by knowing that there will always be a joy-filled homecoming, a safe place of landing that is St. Thomas the Apostle! Holiday during the time of COVID-19 is a strange, perplexing thing for us “do-ers.” The adventure of going and conquering some foreign place and space is fully consumed by the reality of what is, “to be.” And so, this “do-er” had a whole lot of time to just “be!” Alone. With God… As a forward-thinker, always planning, my thoughts turned to transitions. In Corona-tide, the season that seems endless, the transitions of life continue in spite of the virus. Lent and Easter came and went. The Church’s program year came and went. We already look toward…

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August 6, 2020

Sermon for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

By Sermons

August 2, 2020 The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle Dallas, Texas The Reverend Stephen J. Waller From the Book of Genesis: “Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me. So he said to him, “What is your name? And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “ You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there…

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August 2, 2020

Integrity

By Christian Formation

Take a moment to bring to mind some people who have inspired you, and who have had a significant, positive impact on your life. As you reflect on who came to mind just now, whether they were a parent, friend, sister, brother, family member, teacher, coach, boss, spiritual leader, or political leader, I imagine that there is something they all have in common—each of them was a person of integrity. The word integrity shares the same root as the word integration. A person with integrity has a high degree of integration between what they say and how they live. Such a person “walks the talk” and embodies in their actions what they say with their words. Integrity is based on the highest spiritual values of what it means to live a good life, transcending political, religious, and other differences. People from different perspectives will be open to listening to and…

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August 1, 2020

Community

By Outreach

For my entire life I have been seeking “community” one way or another. We are not put on this Earth by God just to be alone among all the others God created. We are put here to be “in community” with one another… Life Together is what “Life” is about.
 The Church, God’s Beloved Community, has been that place where my longing for Life Together has found soil in which to grow. For that I am grateful to God and to the communities of Faith in which I served throughout my “active” ordained ministry. Each one of the six parishes where I served gave me a sense of Life Together. Each was a different manifestation of Life Together. Each taught me more about living in God’s Beloved Community.
 Perhaps because my tenure at St. Thomas the Apostle in Dallas was nearly 25 years, that parish did more to reveal the…

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July 30, 2020

Sermon for Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

By Sermons

July 26, 2020, Year A: Proper 12 The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle Dallas, Texas Allen M. Junek, Seminarian-in-Residence + In the name of the one, holy, undivided Trinity. Amen. Think for a moment about the expanse of God’s love. Its height. Its width. Its breath. This love that welcomes us, and calls us each by name. Now once you’ve considered this Love, I have a question: Who does God love more…the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, or the President of the United States? This question rose in my mind earlier this week while I was meditating on today’s lectionary passages, particularly the epistle reading, and it has haunted me ever since — mainly because I don’t like my answer. Now, I don’t know about you, but I have a complicated relationship with Paul. Some of the things he writes I think are beautiful, and others make…

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July 26, 2020