Sermon offered on the Tenth Sunday After Pentecost, August 13, 2017, at Christ Episcopal Church, Fairfield, Alabama.
So this was one of those rare weeks that my sermon was finished on Thursday. I printed the pages, and felt pretty good about what I had to say. And then Friday came, and the photos and videos from Charlottesville, VA, started appearing. And Saturday brought more of the same.
I turned to page 5 of my sermon, and drew an asterix (“*”). Now the powerful thing about the Gospel is that I did not have to rewrite my sermon. I could still tell the story about jumping of the pole at Camp McDowell (see featured image). I could still preach about a salvation not of our own doing, but a grace filled gift from God. I could still talk about all call to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. The Good News of Jesus Christ stands in the midst of and against a world that seeks power based on race or money or fear or violence. This is the Gospel that the Church has proclaimed again and again and must never stop proclaiming.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 * Psalm 105, 1-6, 16-22, 45b * Romans 10:5-15 * Matthew 14:22-33
Notoriously Episcopalian 