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St Thomas

Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

By Rector's Corner, Sermons

Christopher Thomas Sermon for Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A – 8/23/20 Exodus 1:8-2:10 Psalm 124 Romans 12:1-8 Matthew 16:13-20 “Who do you say that I am?” Seriously. Who do you say that I am? This is not a hard question, or at least, it shouldn’t be. Who do you say that I am? Do you say that I am? Are you saying to anyone that I am? What does your saying “I am” look like? How are you saying, “I am?” If you are saying, “I am,” why are you saying, “I am?” Have you given any thought to these things? I would venture to guess that this may be one of the most important things Jesus, our Jesus, has to say, to ask, of the disciples (and of course, you realize, that means of us) throughout the entirety of the great Good News of the Gospel. Who do…

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August 23, 2020

Teacher Appreciation

By Christian Formation

I am blessed to know many educators. They are some of the hardest working, most dedicated, and compassionate people I know. My wife was a teacher for many years, having taught in elementary, middle, and high schools over the years. And so I know first hand about the long hours teachers put in, and how much they give of themselves to help our children grow and learn. A call to be a teacher is truly a vocation, and those who answer that call deserve our utmost appreciation. All that I wrote above is what I said about the work of teachers before the pandemic. Teachers, students, administrators, support staff, and parents are now all facing unimaginable decisions and challenges, as students of all ages try to figure out how to return or head off to school. One teacher friend of mine summed up the experience so far this year with…

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August 22, 2020

A starting place for dialogues of change

By Rector's Corner

Dear Doubters of Great Faith, I write from the beautiful confines of our St. Thomas the Apostle inner courtyard on one of the rare August “chamber of commerce” days when the heat and humidity abate, ever so slightly, a bit of crisp freshness hovers briefly in the air, and the hopefulness of fall begins to stir in my own heart. The promise of new beginnings lifts me upward from the heaviness of “Corona-tide” that so often these days seems to keep me moored solidly earth-bound. A hope found birthed in the simplest of locations has, after all, provided the impetus for an entire faith movement! The advent of COVID-19 has borne witness to the confluence of several crises simultaneously, and our mutual isolation, quarantine time, continues to provide us front-row witness to a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a crisis of social injustice. Each is intimately interwoven within the…

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August 21, 2020

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