Sacred Words and Art

The Power of a Picnic   A Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost July 28, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley   Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, ...

Enemies of Rest   A Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost July 21, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley Texts for Proper 11, Year B   When the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.”   But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now t...

This Generous Undertaking A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost June 30, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley   As you excel in everything-- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you-- so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something-- now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has-- not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure ...

What is Your Storm? A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost June 23, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley   When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Stilling the Tempest, James Tissot   Set in the hills of northern Israel, the Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater la...

Answer the Phone A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost       June 2, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley   1 Samuel 3:1-20          Mark 2:23 – 3:6   Sometimes, when we are in church, someone’s phone will ring, or quack like a duck, or play a great song. This happens because we are blessed with technology and because we sometimes forget to silence our phones. During one of our Holy Week services there was a phone ringing in the vesting room, proving that clergy are not exempt from forgetfulness either. If this ever happens to you, please know that God forgives us. But I also need to tell you that every time it happens, I am so tempted to stop in the middle of the sermon or liturgy and say, “It’s God calling, answer the phone!” Samuel Relating to Eli the Judgments of God on Eli's House, John Singleton Copley   Our reading from the Book of First Samuel is one of many "call narratives" in the Bi...

God Is Not A Banana A Sermon for Trinity Sunday May 26, 2024 The Rev. Robin Teasley   There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born ...