Readings – Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 Let’s begin today with a series of passages from the Good News according to St. Luke.  First, about Levi, also known as Matthew.  He was an outcast because he was a tax collector for the Roman Empire.  [Luke 5:27 – 31] Levi was invited […]

Readings – Exodus 16:2-15, Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45, Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20: 1-16      Spaghetti and meatballs is one of my favorite meals.  Spaghetti and meatballs.  You see, we had spaghetti regularly growing up, family of Seven, five children.  It was always meat sauce.  Why? Because my mother knew there would always be complaining if there […]

Readings – Exodus 14:10-31; Psalm 114; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35      I am sure that we all have seen the classic poster that first appeared during World War I.  James Montgomery Flagg who used his own face created it.  He wore a blue jacket, a white shirt, a red tie, and a white top hat […]

Readings — Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 149; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20 How many of you enjoy hot dogs?  I do, and this Labor Day weekend I will be grilling a couple.  And do you know the ingredients of hot dogs?  Meat trimmings and fat, meat slurry, salt, garlic, and paprika.  Hot dogs are made of leftovers, […]

Readings – Exodus 1:8 – 2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 This morning we will begin with Miriam’s Song.  Scholars think it is actually the oldest verse of the Hebrew scripture, verbally passed down for centuries until being written down in Exodus 15: 20-21. It was accompanied by tambourines and dancing.              Sing to […]

Readings – Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11:1-2a,29-32; Matthew 15:10-28 Our first reading continues the story of Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel.  Joseph was a “seer”, one who could see beyond day to day events.                          [ Genesis 37:5-11]  So, the brothers of Joseph sold him into slavery, thinking they would never see or […]

This morning I will focus our attention on our reading from the Old Testament, on Genesis.  What first caught my interest was the name change, Jacob to Israel.  How many people change their names?  I had two come quickly to mind. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindar, Jr.  – became Kareen Abdul Jabbar.  At age 23 when he […]

Readings –Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b; Romans 8: 26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Theodore Parker was a well-known and widely quoted New England pastor of the 19th c.  In 1850 he wrote – I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot […]

This Sunday’s Old Testament reading continues the saga of Sarah and Abraham, and of Hagar and Ishmael.  Unable to bear a child and advancing in years, Sarah gave Abraham her Egyptian slave girl, Hagar.  And Hagar birthed Ishmael.  The child Ishmael was in line to inherit Abraham’s clan.  That is until three strangers visited Sarah […]

Our first reading is from Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7.  It is a most complex text, and scholars insist that it has been heavily edited, going through many revisions before it became the version we have before us.  There are four themes that jump out at us today that connect the text to our current climate.  The […]