Do not let your hearts be troubled
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,for you are my crag and my stronghold; *for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me. (Psalm 31:3) As we gather today on the fifth Sunday of Easter, our story today from the Gospel takes us back to Maundy Thursday where Jesus has […]
Jesus Himself Came Near
I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him. (Psalm 116:1) Today we hear a much loved story of how Jesus continues to come near following his rising to new life. The story of two disciples, one named Cleopas and the […]
Life-Giving Words and Acts
Life-Giving Words and Acts homily by The Rev. Dr. Stephen L. White Grace Episcopal Church, Great Barrington, Massachusetts March 29, 2020 Sometimes the readings assigned for Sunday seem to be just what we need to hear when we need to hear it. I think that’s true for todays’s gospel story about Jesus life-giving words and […]
Temptation
You are my hiding-place;you preserve me from trouble; *you surround me with shouts of deliverance. (Psalm 32:8) Each one of us knows what it is like to be tempted. We can be tempted in ways that can put stress on our health and well-being—either staying up very late to watch a movie or binge watch […]
Transformation
4 “O mighty King, lover of justice,you have established equity; *you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.” 5 Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our Godand fall down before his footstool; *he is the Holy One. (Psalm 99) We come to the last Sunday after the Epiphany. Epiphany is a season where light and revelation play […]
Looking forward to the consolation of God’s people
How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. Mary and Joseph have brought their infant son to the Temple to present him as their first born child, “to be designated as holy to […]
Drawn to the light
The people who walked in darknesshave seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness–on them light has shined. There is an old story of a farmer whose wife went into labor in the middle of the night. The doctor was called and delivered a child while the farmer held a […]
Be Salty
May the words I speak this day be only God’s. May the words you hear today be only God’s. Growing up on the gulf coast of Texas, I spent a lot of time at the beach. I could not wait to run and jump in the water. I loved swimming and diving into the waves. […]
Baptism, Wilderness, Ministry
As many of you likely know, I am ordained in the UCC tradition, but I grew up Catholic. Like any Catholic child, I was baptized soon after birth. However, it wasn’t until I came in contact with Protestantism, particularly in the UCC, that my baptism came to have new meaning for me. It happened at […]
God is with us
Restore us, O God of hosts; *show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. Christmas comes every year—in peacetime and in war; in times of sorrow and of joy; in sickness and in health. No matter the state of our nation or our world, Christmas comes. And with it the clarion call […]