Faith in Progress

July 17, 2010 Pentecost 5, Proper 11, Year A Genesis 28:10-19a – Jacob’s Ladder It might be because I am not the best sleeper, but I have very vivid dreams. Most of them are anxiety dreams, unfortunately. At least every few nights I dash out of bed thinking one of the kids is in danger and I need to save them – last night Maya was about to fall down the stairs. Once I had this horrible dream that Holden was cheating on me and I woke up incredibly angry with him and couldn’t shake the feeling for hours. Often the dreams are just silly and make no sense – like the kind where you dream about one person but you somehow know it was really someone else. Every once in a while, though, my dreams are gifts from God. I feel a little uncomfortable saying that out loud, frankly, but I absolutely believe it. And so I appreciate Jacob’s experience that we read about this morning. Granted, Jacob is not the most sympathetic character. Many of the great forerunners of our faith were not. Last w...

July 10, 2011 4 Pentecost, Proper 10 Matthew 13: 1 - 9, 18 – 23 I considered reading just the first part of the Gospel and not the ending because I think the ending throws us off track. The ending of the reading, with its ostensible explanation of Jesus’ parable of the Sower, seems to fly in the face of everything Jesus was about. He so often spoke in parables because he wanted his listeners to really take in and think about what he was saying. Jesus rarely made things easy for his listeners. He wanted them to get inside the stories he told, maybe even to be shocked by them, but to come away with lots of questions and keep pondering them for their lifetimes. But instead, the early church couldn’t resist throwing an answer in there. Most commentators agree that this interpretation of the parable that takes up the second half of our reading this morning is a later addition. It’s an explanation of the parable that suited the Church in the time and place where it found itself. And it’s...

July 3, 2011 Pentecost 3, Proper 9, Year A Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (I ended up not doing my sermon from the pulpit, so it wasn't exactly this, but close enough.  With some quiet for reflection after the questions.) Our Gospel reading for this morning includes the passage commonly known, in the Episcopal Church, anyway, as the “comfortable words.” “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” These are beloved words, and they are comfortable words. So reassuring. Such an open invitation. They are words for all of us who have experienced weariness (running from morning ‘til night, striving, schlepping, organizing). They are words for all of us who carry heavy burdens (care of a loved one, painful memories, sickness, fears, heartbreak, yearnings). These are words that ...