A View From The Earth

  Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash This is the sermon that was offered up during Morning Prayer and Eucharist on September 13, 2020. The Morning Prayer service was held via the zoom platform and the Eucharist was held in person with restrictions for St John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. Services were affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first in a series of sermons on loneliness that St. John's was having for their fall sermon series. Dear God, be with us today, wherever we are, whether we are with family or friends or are by ourselves.  If we are alone, let us not feel lonely, we know you are with us and that there is a community that is here for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Think about the last time you sat down and had a favorite beverage with someone outside of your family.  Now, that could be Sunday coffee time, since we have one here over Zoom, or it could be a physically-distanced opportu...

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash This is the sermon that was offered up during Morning Prayer and Eucharist on August 23, 2020. The Morning Prayer service was held via the zoom platform and the Eucharist was held in person with restrictions for St John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. Services were affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scripture readings were Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8, and Matthew 16:13-20. O God, we ask of you today that we may be disciples of the Messiah and that our lives might be transformed by your love and grace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It would have been much easier if Jesus had just asked a simple question like "Do you want mayo or tartar sauce with that fish sandwich?"  or “You want fries with that?” We get asked perfunctory questions like that each and every day and we quickly come to an answer, because we don't have to invest much of ourselves in answering. And there...

Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash This is the sermon that was offered up during Morning Prayer on August 9, 2020. This service was held via the zoom platform for St John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The reason that services weren't held in person was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented the congregation from gathering together. The scripture readings were 1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 85:8-13, Romans 10:5-15, and Matthew 14:22-33. Dear God, may we not be distracted when we pray, may we be able to focus on you and in the silence, hear your voice. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Awkward.  Uncomfortable.  Embarrassing.  We all feel these emotions that we see in today's readings. Like the time in the elevator when someone's stomach makes noises and we pretend we don't hear. At the dinner where two family members with different political opinions stray from the script and start speaking of topics sure to...

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash This is the sermon that I offered up during Morning Prayer on July 26, 2020. This service was held via the zoom platform for St John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The reason that services weren't held in person was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented the congregation from gathering together. The scripture readings were 1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 119:129-136, Romans 8:26-39, and Matthew 13:31-33,44-52. O God, may you be with us as we try to be builders of your kingdom and may we learn together what your love means in our lives and how we can better follow your will. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Fake news! Fake news! Lin Manuel Miranda will never sing again. Regis: his rollicking final months. Joan of Arc buried in the Seine.** Deacon Kevin becomes a traveling duck juggler. Now, at least one of those is actually true. How would you determine the truth? You might chec...