Sermons on Environment (Page 2)
More than Coffee and Cookies
Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 The Sunday before last, we heard that Jesus sent his disciples out on a mission journey with the instructions “proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.” Then last week we heard the continuation of his charge to the disciples where he told them that his teaching was controversial and would lead to divisions…
God is Right Here
Photo of Skogafoss Falls by Sorasak on Unsplash Genesis 1: 1-25 John 1:1-14 Today we are celebrating Earth Sunday and what beautiful weather we have for it. Our readings this morning reflect God’s total involvement with creation. Do you remember that Bette Midler song “From a Distance”? The lyrics go like this: From a distance, the world looks blue and green And the snow-capped mountains white From a distance, the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight…
A New Earth
Note: the audio starts in the middle of the sermon, about para 5 Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19 In today’s gospel reading, Jesus talks about the troubles that are to come. Scholars have often thought that this, and its parallel passages in the other gospels, were probably added later, after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in the year 70 CE, with words kind of put in Jesus’ mouth. That may be the case, but in the…
St Benedict
Photo by Danna Joy Images Luke 14:27–33 Today we are celebrating our patron saint, St. Benedict. Just as a quick reminder, Benedict was born towards the end of the 5th century, the son of a wealthy Italian family. He was sent to Rome to study, but found life in the city to be self-indulgent and immoral, so he retreated to the countryside and on the advice of a monk became a hermit, and lived in a cave for three years.…
St. Francis
Francis preaching to the birds, Painting by Giotti, 13th century Today we celebrate St Francis Day. There are three things that I associate with St Francis: his connection with birds and animals his church reform movement which became the Franciscan order and included taking vows of poverty the understanding that Christ is in all of creation You may remember the story of how Francis had a mystical vision in the forsaken country chapel of San Damiano, just outside Assisi, in which the Icon…
Staying Grounded in a Time of Climate Crisis
Last year our Earthcare group asked Bishop Mary how we might encourage other churches to get more involved with Creation Care, and she suggested that we organize a conference for the diocese. That conference happened yesterday in Salinas, and for the last week we have been hosting the keynote speaker, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. Margaret, who has been a long time climate activist, is Missioner for Creation Care for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. During this week on the Central Coast she…
Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life
Photo by Kristina Rogers on unsplash.com 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 John 20:1-18 Alleluia! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! Happy Easter! and Happy Earth Day! Tomorrow is the 49th celebration of Earth Day and today is approximately the one thousand, nine hundred and ninetieth celebration of the resurrection. It’s unusual for Easter and Earth Day to coincide since Earth Day is always remembered on April 22, but the date of Easter changes depending on the first full moon…
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 This morning we come to that wonderful story which many of us learned in Sunday School and which has been so beautifully portrayed by numerous artists including Rembrandt – the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Prodigal is not a word I use very often so I looked it up and found that it means “spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.” In the story, the younger son takes his inheritance in cash, goes away and…
St. Francis
Photo by Taneli Lahtinen on Unsplash Today we complete the Season of Creation as we celebrate the feast of St. Francis. As a young man, Francis rejected his wealthy family and took seriously, and literally, Jesus’ instruction to his disciples to take nothing extra for the journey when he sent them into the villages to preach. He began his ministry in 1209, wearing the clothes of a peasant and preaching repentance. Soon others joined him, and they lived in a deserted leper colony…