sermon – Candle in a Cave

26 July 2026

Sermon: Proper 12 RCL A – “Providence”

Elmer Bendiner, in his book, The Fall of Fortresses, describes a bombing run over the German city of Kassel: Our B-17 was barraged by flak from Nazi anti-aircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. Later, as I reflected on the miracle of a twenty-millimeter shell piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion, our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that simple.

On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of unbelievable luck. The crew chief told Bohn that not just one shell but eleven had been found in the gas tanks—eleven unexploded shells where only one was sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had been parted for us. Even after thirty-five years, so awesome an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest of the story from Bohn.

He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but Bohn eventually sought out the answer.

Apparently, when the armorers opened each of those shells, they found no explosive charge. They were clean as a whistle and just as harmless. Empty? Not all of them.

One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base for a man who could read Czech. Eventually, they found one to decipher the note. It set us marveling. Translated, the note read: “This is all we can do for you now.”

An almost unbelievable story. So how would you categorize the result? Was the B-17 crew lucky? Was it fate? Or was it something more?

Luck refers to events or outcomes that happen by chance rather than through our own planning or effort. Chance is the key element. Spin the wheel and see what happens. Fate, on the other hand, can be defined as a predetermined course of events, unwavering and unalterable. No matter what anyone says or does, good or bad, will have any effect on the outcome. Yet when it comes to luck and fate, where is God? Luck says chance and fate says predetermined. With either, there is no room for free will and there is no need for God.

Yet we know that there is a God who Rules over all things. Saint Paul teaches us in the letter to the Colossians, in Jesus “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17) Therefore, we do not believe that things come about by luck or chance, nor do we believe that the ways of the world have been set on the path of fate from which nothing deviates. Instead, we believe in God’s providence, defined as God’s wise, loving, and continual governance of all creation, by which He sustains the universe and directs history toward His good purposes while respecting our free will. It is God’s providence that allowed Saint Paul to write in his letter to the Romans, which we read today: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

I think that sometimes, when we read those verses, we believe they refer only to good occurrences, but that is not the case. They also include evil, for God uses both to serve his purposes.

Consider the fellows whose plane was shot up with those non-explosive shells. Miraculous. Incredible. They went on to live another day, and that is good. However, consider those Czech POWs in a Nazi work camp. Was that a good thing? Do you think they were thrilled with the idea? No. It was evil, yet God used that evil to bring about good and to serve his purposes.

The greatest example we have of God using evil to bring about good is Jesus. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Israelites, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23) And the why, behind the good that came from this evil, Peter explains in his first epistle, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18b) If God could take the greatest evil ever committed—the crucifixion of His own Son—and use it for the salvation of the world, then there is no evil in your life that is beyond His power to redeem.

All of this points to the fact that much is going on in the world around us that we do not see or even catch a hint of. We see only our small world, but in all of it, nothing good or evil will disrupt God’s providence—His loving care of his children.

This teaches us something about our lives, although it is not an easy lesson or one that is easily practiced—both the good and the evil of our lives are used by God. God did not create the evil—hear that—God is not responsible for the evil in our lives, but He takes it and uses it for His purposes to accomplish His will and our salvation.

And the fact is, both good and evil will come. It is inevitable. So, how do we respond? When it is good, we dance. The more important question is how we respond to God’s providence when the evil comes knocking, because it most certainly will.

There are variations and nuances to the answers, but there seem to be only two options. Option one can be explained with a story. It goes by several different names, so I’ll call it The Devil’s Supply Store.

The legend explains that the devil used to sell his items and artifacts to potential buyers and demons. He would sell them items such as the scent of lust, a collar of greed, and blades that inflicted wounds of anger, along with other weapons that shot pride deep into the hearts of unsuspecting souls. With these weapons and more, demons were able to spread darkness across the world even more effectively.

One day, a potential buyer, another demon, arrived. As he perused the devil’s wares, he saw in the back corner something that caught his eye. On a plain pedestal sat two unmarked items, an old wooden mallet and a very boring-looking wooden spike. He inquired about them, and the devil quickly said they were not for sale. The Demon, even more curious, asked why. “Explain,” he said. The devil said, “They are discouragement and doubt. Together, they become hopelessness. They are my most powerful weapons. When none of my other items work, I employ these two, and they get the job done every time.” “How so?” said the demon, who would know very much more.

The devil sighed, leaned in, and said, “Nothing paralyzes the soul more than discouragement and doubt. While my other items may cause the soul to act out, such as anger or lust, hopelessness, discouragement, and doubt cause a soul to do nothing, which is much more deadly. They are no respecter of persons. They drain their victims of courage and faith, blurring and blocking out their visions and dreams with anxiety and fear. When the soul succumbs to hopelessness, it becomes an empty shell, a sack with only enough energy to feel sorry for itself.”

Option one, when evil comes knocking, is to fall into despair and hopelessness. You can lose your faith and curse God, or—option two—you can understand that when Paul says, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God,” he really does mean all things. Whether good or evil, all things are under God’s providence. This understanding gives Paul the confidence to go on and say, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Saint Padre Pio wrote, “God is our Father, so what have you to fear while you are the child of such a Father, through whose providence not even a single hair will fall from your head?”

Your life is not a matter of luck or fate. It is a fulfillment of God’s providence—God working out His will for your life and the lives of others, and for your salvation. That is what it is really all about. God sees all the good and all the evil and, in His love, uses it so that you might be with Him eternally.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV) Stand secure in God’s providence.

Let us pray: Eternal God! Whose eyes are over all Thy works, especially intent on Thy servants: vouchsafe to turn away from us whatever is hurtful, and grant us whatever is advantageous, that through Thy favor, and under the benign influence of Thy special Providence, we may securely pass through the dangers and difficulties of this life, and happily arrive at the eternal joys of the next. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

20 July 2026

Sermon: Proper 11 RCL A – “Identifying Weeds”

Charlie Brown rests his head in his hands while leaning against the wall. He looks miserable when his friend Lucy approaches. “Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?” Charlie Brown does not even answer. “You know what your trouble is?” Lucy asks. Without waiting for a response, she announces, “The trouble with you is that you are you!” Charlie Brown says, “Well, what in the world can I do about that?” Lucy replies, “I don’t pretend to be able to give advice. I merely point out the trouble!”

Lucy demonstrates a human failing that has truly plagued us from the beginning. According to our assessment, ___ is the trouble. After this determination has been made and solidified in our minds, we decide that something must be done about ___. However, this is not how the Lord would have us operate.

The Lord, speaking through the Prophet Isaiah, describes a great leader. He says,

Thus says the Lord to his anointed…
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed.
(Isaiah 45:1)

Of this anointed one, the Lord declares:

I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways level;
he shall build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
(Isaiah 45:13)

One clue to the person’s identity is the title “anointed.” That word can also be translated as “messiah.” From this, you might think the Lord is speaking of one of the great Israelite heroes: David, Gideon, or Esther. Or perhaps we might think the Lord is talking about Jesus, but as it turns out, the Lord is actually speaking of a pagan king, a worshiper of idols, and a believer in false gods.

For roughly 70 years, the Israelites had been in exile in Babylon after being conquered. However, as with all empires, the next one is already on deck, waiting for its turn to dominate the world scene. Enter Persia, and the anointed one whom God was praising: Cyrus.

Cyrus conquered the Israelites’ enemy, the Babylonians, and then set the Israelites free. Free to return home and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Free to worship the one true God. Cyrus did these things and much more for the Israelites, even though he himself was not a believer.

The Israelites would have looked at Cyrus and been appalled by the kind of person he was. When Isaiah told them who their messiah would be, they were. Even so, the Lord looked at Cyrus and said,

I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
(Isaiah 45:3)

Today in our gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the weeds. A farmer sends out his servants to scatter wheat seeds. However, at night, when no one is watching, an enemy comes in and scatters weed seeds. Everyone believes all is well until the plants begin to mature. It is then that the weeds are discovered.

There is widespread agreement that the weed in question was Darnel, a poisonous grass. I am no farmer, but apparently, the wheat plant and the Darnel weed are nearly identical when young. It is not until the wheat begins to form its head of grain that the problem is identified. Yet by this time, the wheat and the Darnel have been growing side by side long enough that their root systems are intertwined. If you pull up the Darnel, the wheat will come with it. Therefore, the farmer tells his servants to wait until the harvest before doing anything about the problem.

Jesus uses this parable to describe the world around us, and the church fathers have gone one step further, saying it also describes the church—the righteous and the unrighteous growing together side by side. The rub is that, like the farmer’s servants, we are unable to tell the difference between wheat and weed, the righteous and the unrighteous, the evil. Like Lucy, we are remarkably confident in our ability to diagnose everyone who is a problem. However, I suspect that Jesus is rarely pleased with our diagnoses.

Many Israelites, if they had heard Jesus’ parable, could have easily looked at Cyrus and said, “That man is a weed. He needs to be pulled up and cast into the fire.” Yet God looked at Cyrus and said, “You are my anointed.”

Saint Augustine wrote, “How many sheep are outside, how many wolves within! And how many sheep are inside, how many wolves without!… How many are blaspheming Christ who will yet believe in Him!… In like manner, how many are praising within who will yet blaspheme.” (Tractate 45.12)

We see this problem throughout scripture. Think of Saint Paul. He began as one of the church’s greatest persecutors. He was present when St. Stephen was stoned to death and approved of it. Even after his conversion, the young church looked at him with great fear. They saw him as a weed or a wolf. Yet God looked at Paul and saw the Apostle to the Gentiles.

You and I lack the knowledge and ability to know who is righteous and who is not. As for pulling weeds, that particular job is above our pay grade. Jesus said, “Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire.” There will come a day when the wheat and the weeds will be separated. There will come a day of judgment, but that judgment and the casting of the weeds into the fire will not be accomplished by us. It will be accomplished by God’s holy angels.

Now, please don’t think I’m saying those who do wrong shouldn’t be punished or locked up. I’m not saying that at all. I am saying that we can’t truly know a person or their final outcome. Therefore, we must allow the wheat and the weeds to grow side by side until the Lord sends His workers to bring in the crop.

So what are we to do when we believe the evil, the enemy, is near? We must recall and practice what Paul teaches: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21) When you see evil, a person you believe to be a weed, do not allow their sin to cause you to sin. The enemy of us all has won if you do.

Can this be frustrating? Absolutely. Don’t we all want to go out and yank a few weeds? I’d wager each of you just imagined someone you’d go after first. Yet Jesus is calling us to walk a different way, the way He walked. Why? For there were many who looked at Him and saw a weed that needed pulling, even though He was here for their salvation. Yet they condemned Him and nailed Him to a cross. Did they believe they were doing evil? No. They thought they were clearing God’s field of just one more weed. Instead… they crucified the Lord of the harvest.

Our job is not to go around trying to identify weeds, and most certainly not to pull those we believe we have identified. Our job is to go where Jesus has led the way, to take up our cross and follow Him so that we may also bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

Let us pray:
Lord, enlighten our understanding,
Strengthen our will,
Purify our hearts,
and make us holy.
Help us to repent of our past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help us to rise above our human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.
Amen.

12 July 2026

Sermon: Proper 10 RCL A – “Soil”

As most of you are aware, Chocolate Mint Ice Cream is an abomination unto the Lord. For those who disagree, I’ve come across some really interesting statistics that prove this point and why it should be banned forthwith. Nearly all sick people have eaten Chocolate Mint Ice Cream at least once in their lives. An estimated 99.9% of people who die from cancer and heart disease have eaten Chocolate Mint Ice Cream. 99.9% of people involved in car crashes ate Chocolate Mint Ice Cream. 93.1% of juvenile delinquents come from homes where Chocolate Mint Ice Cream has been served. Among people born in 1839 who later ate Chocolate Mint Ice Cream, there has been a 100% mortality rate. Given the interpretation of these facts, I rest my case.

One of my first jobs out of college was as a Statistical Analyst. I was terrible at math, but once someone gave me the right number, I could make it say and do whatever you would like. The example above is not among my better works. One of the difficulties with Holy Scripture is that we can do the same thing with it. Depending on who you ask, you’ll get all sorts of interpretations of even a single verse. However, today Jesus said, “Not so fast,” and, in a rare instance, told us what he meant.

The soil represents the heart. The birds snatching the seed away represent the devil, who snatches the Good News from the heart of one who hears it before they have the opportunity to grow and flourish. The seed that fell on rocky ground represents one who hears the word of God and believes at first, but has no depth and therefore withers and dies, producing no fruit. The seed that fell among the thorns is like one who hears the word of God, but everything going on around them is so overwhelming that they are choked off. Finally, there is the seed that fell on good ground. It grows. It flourishes. It produces. The Word of God grows within the good soil, within the heart of the believer.

If we are ones in whom the seed has been planted in good soil, then we may wonder what this parable has to do with us. It seems to be only about those who have not yet come to faith. But we know that scripture is multivalent, that is, it has many levels, so not only does this parable speak to those who have not yet come to faith, but it also speaks to the believer. Why? Because at this moment, your heart may be good and producing good fruit, but what about when you leave here? The heart is as temperamental and erratic as the Queen, my crazy cat.

Example: You leave here today and, in your heart, feel the presence of God. You feel at peace, and my goodness, what an amazing sermon that was! It’s all good! Then you head home. When you get home, you discover that the water line on the washing machine has decided to blow out, and when you open the front door, you find everything in the house floating in about four inches of water. In that instant, that bird, the enemy of God’s people, snatches the good fruit, the good work that has happened, right out of your heart.

Or, come Monday morning, having just finished your prayer, you know in your heart that God really heard you. Soon afterward, the dog starts barking, and, given the time of day, you know it’s the mail lady. You go out and greet her with a smile; she hands you a few letters, returning the smile, and says, “Oh. I wonder what the bank wants?” You open it, and stamped in bold red ink across the mortgage payment are the words “Insufficient Funds.” It’s only the 11^th of the month. What am I going to do? The worries of the world, like that thorn bush growing in the field, just choked the joy of God right out of your soul.

The soil of the heart is temperamental and erratic; however, it doesn’t always change as quickly as all that. At other times, it changes more slowly, like the seasons of the year.

I’m not sure if it is the case in Oklahoma, but in western Montana, if you do any digging, you will soon discover the ground is full of rocks. Anyone who cuts hay or gardens knows that one of the first chores in spring is to go out into those fields and “pick rocks.” If you are uninitiated, it may seem that someone has played a dirty trick on you by throwing rocks onto your land, but what has happened is that the rocks have worked their way to the surface.

It is counterintuitive. The rocks should sink because they are heavier than dirt. Yet the soil settles downward, so the rocks rise to the surface. Those who like to garden know that you regularly have to clear the ground of the rocks that have worked their way up, or you’ll end up with a field full of rocks and busted equipment.

The soil of our hearts works in a similar way. The seed, that is, the Word of God, is planted. When it finds good soil, it will grow and produce good fruit. However, if you do nothing to tend the soil, over time the rocks will work their way to the surface, and the once-fertile soil becomes rocky. It has no depth and can no longer support life. The same is true of weeds and thorn bushes. If you don’t tend the soil regularly, weeds and thorns begin to encroach on the good soil and can eventually choke it off, leaving it unfit for growing anything.

St. Paul wrote, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” St. Josemaria Escriva put it this way, “The world, the devil, and the flesh are a band of adventurers who take advantage of the weakness of that savage you have within you. In exchange for the poor bauble of pleasure [that is the world] which is worth nothing, they want you to hand over to them the pure gold and the pearls, the diamonds and the rubies, drenched in the living and redeeming blood of your God—the price and the treasure of your eternity.”

The world, the devil, and the flesh want to destroy the good soil of your heart, whether when the seed is first planted or over time. The enemies of God seek to bring death to places where God has sown life. As Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) So how do we defend ourselves?

The answer begins and ends with God. We pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We are asking for God’s protection over our lives and, more importantly, over our hearts. God is faithful to His promises. The question is whether we will cooperate with His grace. Yes, there are random things, like broken water lines, that we can’t control and that work against us, but for the most part, we can handle them. It stinks, but call a plumber. The bigger problem is us. We tend to worry when we should pray. We tend to get angry when we should let something go. We tend to treat our relationship with God on an as-needed basis rather than seeking to maintain and strengthen it daily.

We defend ourselves against the world, the devil, and the flesh by asking the Lord our God to continue in that love and care. But as we do, we can’t be shooting ourselves in the foot and then ask God why it happened. We can’t say, “Oh, Lord! I’ve got this big hole in my foot. Yes, I pointed the gun and pulled the trigger, but Lord, why did you let that happen?” Free will is a beautiful thing, but it comes with responsibility and consequences.

St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b). Salvation is from God, unearned and freely given. And notice, Paul doesn’t say, “Work for your salvation…” He says, “Work out your salvation…” We are not working to earn God’s free gift. So Paul is saying, work out this gift, hold on to it, and nurture it with deep reverence and holy seriousness. God has done and will continue to do His part, but if you want to produce good fruit and not have it stolen, withered, or choked off, you must engage and be vigilant in tending the good soil of your heart.

Our Father has planted a seed in the good soil of your heart. Guard that soil. Tend it. Water it. Keep it clear of predators and of anything that does not belong. Then produce fruit worthy of God’s glory.

Let us pray: Lord, if what we seek be according to our will, then let it come to pass and let success attend the outcome. But if not, Dear Lord, let it not come to pass. Do not leave us to our own devices, for you know how unwise we can be. Keep us safe under your protection, Lord our God, and in your own gentle way, guide us and rule us as you know best. Amen.

8 July 2026

Sermon: Benedict

Frari (Venice) – Sacristy – triptych by Giovanni Bellini – Saint Benedict of Nursia and Saint Mark

In our reading to the Philippians, Paul said, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” So, if I were to ask you, how would you say you are working out your salvation?

Some may have a good plan, while others take the Hail Mary approach. Not the Hail Mary prayer, but the Hail Mary play in football, when you are at the end of the game and behind, so you make one last play and hope you come down with a score. I suspect most fall somewhere in between, but Benedict of Nursia worked out his salvation with a particular Rule. You know it as the Rule of St. Benedict, written around the year 530 A.D.

The Rule has five significant dimensions: silence, prayer, humility, manual labor, and obedience. These can all be studied in depth, but since our time is limited, I would like to focus on humility. In chapter seven of the Rule, Benedict outlines twelve degrees of true humility. He presents them as a ladder, referencing the ladder Jacob saw in a dream, on which the angels of heaven ascended and descended. Each degree, each rung of the ladder, brings you closer to heaven. He begins:

“The first degree of humility, then, is that a person keep the fear of God before his eyes and beware of ever forgetting it. Let him be ever mindful of all that God has commanded; let his thoughts constantly recur to the hell-fire which will burn for their sins those who despise God, and to the life everlasting which is prepared for those who fear him.”

The following eleven degrees read similarly. Briefly, they are:

Doing the will of the Father over our own.
Complete obedience in submitting to superiors.
Remain patient, even in the face of injustice.
Confession of every sin and every evil thought to the Abbott of the monastery.
Be content under even the worst of circumstances.
Consider yourself to be the lowest of all.
Follow the Rule.
Keep silent unless questioned by a superior.
Do not be quick to laugh.
When you speak, do so quietly with as few words as necessary.
To be humble not only in heart but in appearance.

Having climbed this ladder and passed through these levels, Benedict states that the monk will no longer fear Hell but will instead experience total love for Christ.

Returning to your own rule of life, have you begun to climb such a ladder? Perhaps not as prescribed by Benedict, but have you set before yourself an intentional path that will help you develop a deeper relationship with God and lead you into greater holiness, so that you may grow in His image? If yes, good. Keep it up. If not, I can commend the Rule of St. Benedict, even if you only generally seek to incorporate those five significant dimensions – silence, prayer, humility, manual labor, and obedience – into your daily life.

In Book 1, Chapter 19 of The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis writes, “Not everyone can have the same devotion. One exactly suits this person, another that. Likewise, different exercises are suitable for different times, some for feast days and others again for weekdays. In times of temptation, we need certain devotions. For days of rest and peace, we need others. Some are suitable when we are sad, others when we are joyful in the Lord.”

The Rule of St. Benedict may not be for you, but it points to our need for an intentional, daily encounter with God so that we may work out our salvation. Therefore, I encourage you to develop one for your own life so that you may grow in the Lord’s wisdom, knowledge, and love.

5 July 2026

Podcast Episode: Sermon: Proper 9 RCL A – “In God We Trust”

Pip: If you've ever wondered what pesto, the Cold War, and the Book of Isaiah have in common, Fr. John has done the research, and the answer is more coherent than it has any right to be.

Mara: This episode follows a single sermon that moves from the origins of a national motto to the harder question underneath it — the difference between believing in God and actually trusting God. Let's start with that journey from Virgil's kitchen to the gates of Jerusalem.

Sermon: Trusting God or Just Saying So

Pip: The sermon opens with a question about national identity, but it's really asking something more uncomfortable — whether "In God We Trust" is a conviction or just text printed on currency.

Mara: The setup begins in an unexpected place. Virgil, writing a pesto recipe around 50 BC, produced the phrase that became America's first de facto motto. As the sermon puts it: "out of many, a single color — color est e pluribus unus — and if we shorten that and add proper grammar, we have the phrase e pluribus unum, which the founding fathers added to the Great Seal of the United States in 1782."

Pip: So the founding motto was essentially a salad metaphor. And it held for over 170 years until the Cold War made atheism the enemy and "In God We Trust" became the official counter-move in 1956.

Mara: That shift sets up the sermon's real question. The motto changed, but the sermon asks whether the trust behind it changed with it. And the answer comes through Hezekiah, king of Judah around 700 BC.

Pip: Hezekiah is a useful case study because he's not a villain. He kept the religious observances, ran the temple, did the visible things — and yet Isaiah records God saying, essentially, I've had enough of your burnt offerings.

Mara: The problem was that Hezekiah believed in God but didn't trust him. When Assyria threatened, he sought an alliance with Egypt instead. The sermon quotes Isaiah directly: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many — but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord."

Pip: It took the Assyrian army standing outside Jerusalem's gates before Hezekiah actually prayed. Which is a very human timeline for getting serious about trust.

Mara: And the sermon draws that line straight to the gospel. Jesus's invitation to "take my yoke" gets read not as shared labor with a partner, but as a replacement — setting down the yoke of sin, self, and fear, and picking up the yoke of discipleship instead.

Pip: The question the sermon lands on is precise: not "do you believe?" — the congregation already answered that by showing up — but "do you trust him enough to remove all those yokes and put on his?"

Mara: It closes with Thomas Merton's prayer, which holds the tension honestly: "I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me." Trust, the sermon argues, doesn't require certainty. It requires the desire to follow, and Merton's prayer suggests that desire itself is already a form of faithfulness.

Pip: In God We Trust — lip service or a way of life. That's the question left sitting in the pew.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is the gap between profession and practice — saying the words and living the weight of them.

Pip: Belief is the easy part, apparently. Trust is where it gets costly. We'll see what Candle in a Cave brings next time.

5 July 2026

Sermon: Proper 9 RCL A – “In God We Trust”

Of all the places to begin a sermon, a cooking recipe seems like a far reach…but things happen. The recipe I have in mind was written about 50 years or so before the birth of Jesus. The author? The Roman poet Virgil. What is the recipe for? Pesto.

Virgil was writing down a recipe for pesto, but I suppose, being a poet and all, he couldn’t just say, “Add four cloves of garlic, so many leaves of basil, and half a cup of olive oil.” No, that would not do. And he certainly wouldn’t say, “Mash it all together until you have a green paste.” Instead, Virgil wrote, “They one by one do lose/Their proper powers, and out of many comes/A single colour, not entirely green…”

In Latin, “out of many, a single color” is color est e pluribus unus. If we shorten that and add proper grammar, we have the phrase e pluribus unum, which the founding fathers added to the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. Therefore, the de facto national motto of the United States of America did not speak of how great and mighty a nation we were. Instead, it essentially declared that we, as the United States of America, are a salad—a bunch of ingredients, tossed together and pounded into something new and tasty.

It was the unofficial official motto and remained in place until 1956, when it officially changed. You can blame that change on the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

In the USSR, if there was a state religion, it was atheism, and the leaders of our nation looked for many ways to distinguish the USA from them. One of those ways was changing the de facto motto from e pluribus unum to In God We Trust. Unlike the battle cry of the Crusaders, “Deus vult” (God wills it), “In God We Trust” was meant to be a humble recognition of our reliance on a loving God. It is the kind of reliance and trust that the Psalmist speaks of.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright. (Psalm 20:7-8)

So, my question to you on this day, when our nation is 250 years old and one day is this: We declare In God We Trust, but do we really, corporately and individually, or is it just like when we slap our money down on the counter and say, In God We Trust, and here’s 100 bucks in case that doesn’t work out?

Understand, the question is not about belief or faith. I’m not asking whether you believe in God or have faith in God. I’m asking whether you trust God. Isaiah shows the problem clearly.

Hezekiah was king of Judah around 700 BC. He is considered one of the better kings; however, there were several major problems, none of which was their belief in God. The first chapter of Isaiah clearly shows that they were still practicing their religion. Yet God is tired of it because they outwardly serve him while inwardly they are corrupt.

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts? (Isaiah 1:11-12)

That is the first problem. They do everything they are supposed to do, but in short, they are not practicing what they preach.

The second major problem is that they do not trust God. They believe in God, but they do not trust him.

At the time, the Assyrians were the dominant power, and to keep on good terms with them and avoid complete conquest, the nations paid tribute. However, when there was a shift in power in Assyria, Hezekiah and his royal court sought to free themselves from Assyrian rule and attempted to form an alliance with Egypt. The Lord says through Isaiah, “Don’t be stupid.”

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. (Isaiah 31:1, 3a)

Yet it wasn’t until the Assyrian army had conquered all of Judah and stood outside the gates of Jerusalem that Hezekiah repented and truly trusted in God. He prayed, “O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” (Isaiah 37:20)

Hezekiah believed in the Lord, and Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, and the Lord, for his part, sent one of his angels: “The angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” (Isaiah 37:36)

At the end of our gospel reading today, Jesus says, “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.”

Many understand this yoke to be the type designed for two animals that would pull as a team. From this, we can picture ourselves yoked to Jesus, and with Him, we can complete the work. It is a good message, and I have preached it myself. However, this is more of a contemporary understanding of the passage. Not wrong, but perhaps there is a better understanding.

Consider what Jesus said just a short time before: “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38) These are actions required of the individual. This is what it means to be his disciple: do what the master did. Therefore, to take Jesus’ yoke upon us is another way of saying this. We all wear a yoke of some kind—the yoke of sin, self, and fear. Jesus is saying to set those aside and take up His yoke of righteousness, forgiveness, and eternal life. Take up His yoke of discipleship. In our attempt to do as He asks, we face the same question Hezekiah and the Israelites faced: Do you trust God?

Do you trust God enough to set aside sin, to set aside the things of the world, to set aside self, your will, and your ego? I know you believe in Jesus. I don’t think you would be here if you didn’t, but do you trust him enough to remove all those yokes and put on his?

In God we trust. That can either be lip service or a way of life. Take on the yoke of Jesus and walk with God. The author of Proverbs writes,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Trust in the Lord, and you will find healing and refreshment; you will find rest for your soul, for His burden is light.

Let us pray (a deeply honest prayer from Thomas Merton):
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Amen.

1 July 2026

Sermon: Peter and Paul

“Saints Peter and Paul in a vestibule,” etching by Rombout Eynhoudts after Peter Paul Rubens, circa 1630-80 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples on several occasions. Toward the end of Luke’s Gospel, we hear of the disciples on the road to Emmaus:

That same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

Later, in the Acts of the Apostles, we read that Jesus appeared to Paul as he was on the road to Damascus:

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but he could see nothing when he opened his eyes.

The Gospels record several instances when Jesus appeared to Peter. Today we read of his restoration. There is also a legend of Jesus appearing to Peter many years later.

Peter eventually made his way to Rome, and after a time, one of the persecutions of the Christian church began. The legend picks up:

His friends, so runs the story, had entreated the Apostle to save his life by leaving the city. Peter finally consented, but on the condition that he should go away alone. But when he wished to pass the city gate, he saw Christ meeting him. Falling down in adoration, he said to Him, ‘Lord, whither goest Thou?’ And Christ replied, ‘I am coming to Rome to be again crucified.’ And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, wilt Thou again be crucified?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Even so, I will again be crucified.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, I will return and will follow Thee.’ And with these words, the Lord ascended into Heaven.

The encounter on the road out of Rome gave Peter the courage to return to Rome and face his death, which Jesus also spoke of in our Gospel: “When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” You will stretch out your hands—you will be crucified.

Today, I have a question for you. Three different encounters and three different roads. Jesus asked, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” Jesus asked, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus said, “I am coming to Rome to be again crucified.”

Now imagine, if you will: you are walking down an old dirt road in Oklahoma. It is pleasantly warm, the sun is beginning to set, and you are at peace, simply enjoying your time, when you encounter Jesus. You say a little prayer: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

What does Jesus ask you? What does he say?

28 June 2026

Sermon: Proper 8 RCL A – “Empowered Servants of God”

In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change the TV channel and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually, they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “What channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”

My initial reaction to today’s Gospel reading was to shake my head at the liturgical committee that chose it. There is no time, context, audience, or anything provided in the reading to help us understand. So let’s begin by setting the scene, which is a little easier if you were here last week, because this week’s reading is part of that same conversation.

The audience Jesus is speaking to is the twelve apostles, and he is giving them instructions because He is about to send them out.

At the beginning of the chapter, Matthew 10, where our reading is located, we are told, “Jesus called to him his twelve apostles and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1). Jesus gives them instruction on their travels and what to expect: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), and also tells them to “have no fear” (Matthew 10:26) for they are of great worth to their Father in heaven.

Then comes our lesson from last week. Jesus tells them that the message they carry will not bring peace but division, saying, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34b).

Today’s Gospel is the conclusion of the apostles’ marching orders, and it can be seen as encouragement, because Jesus tells them that as they go and experience the hardships along the way, there will be people who never preach a sermon, never cast out a demon, never heal the sick, yet by welcoming, encouraging, and supporting Christ’s servants they become participants in the very mission of God. “Whoever receives you, receives me, and whoever receives me, receives the Father.” Good. In other words, when someone receives you as my disciple, it will be like in times past when someone received and helped a prophet carry out their work. Elijah and Elisha provide two very good examples of this.

During the reign of King Ahab, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord brought a drought upon the land, as Elijah had proclaimed. Afterward, the Lord sent Elijah to Zarephath. There, Elijah encountered a widow and asked her for a little something to eat and a drink of water. She responded that she had only a little flour in a jar, enough to make one small cake for her and her son to eat, after which they would die because of their poverty and the drought. Yet Elijah said, “Do not fear… The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 17:14), and it was done according to the word of Elijah. While the world around her suffered from the drought and went hungry, the widow and her son received the prophet’s reward and had plenty.

Later, the widow’s son died because of illness, yet because of her support and kindness to Elijah, the Lord raised the child from the dead through Elijah’s prayer.

Then there was Elisha, who frequently passed through the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and each time Elisha passed through, she would feed and care for him. Elisha asked what could be done to repay her kindness. She would not say, but Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, told him that the woman was childless, even though she and her husband desired one. Hearing this, Elisha promised her the reward of a prophet: “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” (2 Kings 4:16) She was too afraid to believe it, but the following year she had a son.

When Jesus speaks to the disciples about the prophets’ reward and the righteous person’s reward, he says, “You will encounter hardships in following me and doing the Father’s will, but there will be those who help you. Because of their help, they too will receive a reward.”

Why? Not everyone can be called to be a prophet or a apostle, but all can assist the prophet or apostle in other ways.

Saint Paul tells us, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) And remember how, a little later, he asked a series of questions, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?” (1 Corinthians 12:29), and so on. The answer is no. Not all are this or that, but each one has been empowered with gifts “for the common good.” That’s exactly the point Lucy was making, “These five fingers… Individually, they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit…” This same principle applies to Elijah and Elisha, the apostles, and on down through history to us gathered here today. Is this true?

Do you know how many people I’ve asked from this congregation to come up here and preach? Do you know how many times, when I ask that question, the person looks at me as though I didn’t have the sense God gave a turnip? Yet that same person may have taken on another ministry in the church or an act of hospitality. Something I had no clue how to do.

Paul again says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) He is, of course, speaking of the church. When Jesus spoke of those who would receive a prophet’s reward or a righteous person’s reward, he was also speaking of the church, all of its members. This reward from God is not limited to the front person, the one in the dog collar and fancy robes. The reward is for the entire body of Christ, with each member exercising the gifts they have been empowered with.

A few weeks back, we spoke of our baptism and our entrance into the body of Christ. We then spoke of what it means to be loyal to God, not simply a passive relationship but one that is active in thought, word, and deed. Today, we understand that this active faith, as sons and daughters of God, is lived out in the Church, using the gifts we have been blessed with, both individually and corporately.

In The Canterbury Pilgrim, Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey speaks of the church as a building, which he then describes as a symbol of the Church formed by those who become the Body of Christ. Of this Body, Archbishop Ramsey captures exactly what Paul said, “Through the centuries this other Church—the Body of Christ—has stood: human lives united to Jesus, receiving his presence, and showing his goodness, his love, his sacrifice, his humility and his compassion. Living stones – what a mingling of metaphors! It tells of firm, solid, unmovable loyalty, and of persons alive in joy, in freedom, in creativity, in influence. This is the Church that Jesus Christ founded, the Church of which he said that the gates of death would never prevail against it.” (Glory Descending, Eerdmans, p.129)

This is the Church and the great work that takes place within these walls and within the Body of Christ. However, for our participation in it, there’s not just the prophet’s reward or the righteous person’s reward. Jesus says, “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40) Therefore, Jesus says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27) For us, there is more than the prophet’s or righteous person’s reward, there is Christ’s reward, the food that does not perish—the forgiveness of sins and eternal life on the last day.

In your life with God and your life in the Church, use the gifts you have been empowered with and work for Christ’s reward. No gift is too small. No gift is unnecessary. And by combining them, we become the church God desires us to be. Ask yourself, where can I put my gifts to work in the Body of Christ, and then get busy. You are needed, for “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” (Luke 10:2), and we may not all be apostles or prophets, but we are all laborers in this great Kingdom of our God.

Let us pray: Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

21 June 2026

Sermon: Proper 7 RCL A – “חֵסֵד / Hesed”

One of Aesop’s fables tells of two men who were traveling in company through a forest when, all at once, a huge Bear crashed out of the brush near them. One of the Men, thinking of his own safety, climbed a tree. The other, unable to fight the savage beast alone, threw himself on the ground and lay still, as if he were dead. He had heard that a Bear will not touch a dead body. It must have been true, for the Bear snuffed at the Man’s head awhile, and then, seeming to be satisfied that he was dead, walked away. The Man in the tree climbed down. “It looked just as if that Bear whispered in your ear,” he said. “What did he tell you?” “He said,” answered the other, “that it was not at all wise to keep company with a fellow who would desert his friend in a moment of danger.”

Reflecting on our Gospel lesson this morning led me to consider the loyalty we owe to God. This thought, in turn, brought me to the Hebrew word for loyalty: hesed.

To explore the meaning of hesed further, I turned to Strong’s Concordance. If you haven’t heard of it, Strong’s is essentially a very in-depth dictionary of the words in the Bible. It states, “חֵסֵד (chesed) saturates the Hebrew Scriptures as the hallmark of God’s covenantal character and the standard for covenantal response among His people… Of its approximately 247 occurrences, over half lie in the Psalms, yet it shapes every major section of the Old Testament, from the Torah to the Post-Exilic books.” (Source)

Despite at least 25 years of serious study of Holy Scripture, I would have come across such an important concept, but… not that I remember.

But as I dug in, I realized that the trouble with the word hesed is that there is no single English word that fully captures its meaning. Loyalty is only one aspect; so, in scripture, we often find it rendered as steadfast love, loving kindness, mercy, faithfulness, and loyalty. One of the most popular verses where the word appears is Psalm 23:6,

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.”

Given the richness of hesed, we can now see that this verse offers far more than we may have realized at first. ‘Surely God’s goodness and God’s steadfast love, God’s loving kindness, God’s mercy, God’s faithfulness, God’s loyalty shall follow me all the days of my life.’ Still, for God’s mercy or faithfulness to count as hesed, it must not only reflect these qualities but also be specifically connected to the covenant relationship God has with his people. The covenant is beautifully expressed in Deuteronomy: ‘Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.’ (Deuteronomy 7:9)

This all points towards the covenant relationship that God has made with his people. In other words, God’s mercy, loyalty, faithfulness, and the like are not just words. These attributes come with action and proof. God says, “I’m not only going to tell you that I am faithful, but I am also going to show you that I am faithful. I am not only going to tell you I am loyal, but I’m also going to show you. I’m not only going to tell you that I love you, but I will show you that I love you.” And we know that he has—“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

That single verse, I believe, is at the heart of God’s hesed toward his people. It is love, faithfulness, mercy—in action. This action is not cheap; it is very costly. For us, it is not earned, bought, or demanded; instead, it is freely given as a grace because God chose us as recipients of his love and grace. That is the covenant he has made with us.

Yes, this week’s Gospel reading got me thinking about loyalty—just a few of the things I learned. We’ve been speaking of God’s hesed toward us, but what about our hesed toward God?

Our Gospel lesson from Matthew 10 does not use the word hesed, but as I learned more about its meaning, what Jesus describes looks remarkably like the covenant loyalty the Old Testament often calls hesed—showing steadfast love and kindness—in our relationship with him.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword…. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Luke’s Gospel puts this in even harder words, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27)

In both passages, Jesus insists our relationship with Him goes beyond lip service. It must be accompanied by real action and commitment.

Last week, we explored how our baptism brings us into a new allegiance, a new identity, and a new life with Christ Jesus as King, savior, and master. This week, we see what that covenant demands of us—it demands nothing less than what God demands of Himself. God says, ‘I will show you unwavering faithfulness; therefore, you must show me unwavering faithfulness.’ God says, ‘I will show you 100% loving kindness, loyalty, all these things; therefore, to be in a covenantal relationship with me demands that you show me 100% loving kindness, loyalty, etc.’

When Luke says we are to ‘hate’ father, mother, wife, and children, he is using exaggeration to emphasize a point: we must place God above all else. By doing this, God can then teach us and give us the grace necessary to ‘love one another,’ as He has loved us. So, being in this covenant relationship with God 100% also enables us to be in a covenant relationship with each other. In this way, hesed becomes not only a word that defines a relationship but also the defining characteristic of a life lived to the glory of God.

But here’s the rub. I said that God demands 100% loving-kindness, loyalty, and the rest from us, but the reality is we never do. I believe we try, but we fail. Adam and Eve failed, David failed, Peter failed, we fail. There’s no excuse, but when we fail to fulfill this covenant with God and one another, there is hesed again—there is mercy, God’s mercy to us. As the Psalmist says, God’s “mercy…His hesed endures forever.” (Psalm 136) As God shows us covenantal mercy, we show it to each other.

Aesop’s bear made a very good point: It is “not at all wise to keep company with a fellow who deserts his friend in a moment of danger.” This speaks to one aspect of what we should look for in a friend, but it also speaks to our understanding of God’s relationship with us, as proven time and again. Jesus has called us friends (John 15:15). Ask yourself, “Am I the kind of friend to Jesus who would abandon him under any circumstances, or regardless of the cost, would I remain faithful?”

In discovering the answer, we begin to see whether we are worthy of Him, whether we are His disciples. And, if necessary, we rely on His unfailing mercy to restore us to Him and seek to fulfill our part of the covenant—the hesed—we have entered into.

Let us pray:

May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
Against the snares of the evil one.

May Thy Grace, Lord,
Always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

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Sermon: Trusting God or Just Saying So

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