This sermon was delivered during Evening Prayer at Enid Community Corrections Center, on the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, Oct. 15, 2019, as part of the prison ministry of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Enid, Okla. Faith, I think, is best described as a passionate love affair between the soul and its Creator — between … Continue reading Faith — Our passionate love affair with God
Wonder or sadness over God’s creation: It’s our choice
It’s not often I experience simultaneously awestruck joy and numbing sadness. I experienced that Monday when I visited for the first time the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City. The Myriad’s Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory is a true wonder. This 13,000 square-foot conservatory showcases 750 plant varieties from across the globe, cascading waterfalls, a sky … Continue reading Wonder or sadness over God’s creation: It’s our choice
Encounters in the border land
Luke 17:11-19 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And … Continue reading Encounters in the border land
St. Francis, Padre Pio, and the power of humility
This is a reprint of a sermon given Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, in advance of the Feast of St. Francis, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, in Enid, Okla. Like many people, my first exposure to St. Francis of Assisi was one of those small images of Francis surrounded by animals. My mother had a ceramic … Continue reading St. Francis, Padre Pio, and the power of humility
The radical, nonsensical nature of grace
Grace makes absolutely no sense. From a biblical standpoint, most of us can accept this. God’s grace for us cannot be earned. We are unworthy. And yet, God poured out grace on us in the blessed blood of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are taught that, most of us, from the earliest days … Continue reading The radical, nonsensical nature of grace
The true cost of our cheap crap economy
I am not, by any definition, a fashionable man. I wear clothes that came off the rack when dial-up internet was the gold standard — only because I’m too fat for the clothes I bought before that. If I’m wearing anything that looks the least bit well-put-together, it was a gift from my wife. … Continue reading The true cost of our cheap crap economy
In the face of darkness and lies, we need the light of brave youth
When an argument has lost all moral footing, ignores all empirical fact and delights in willful ignorance, it usually only has one tack in the face of courage and truth — to delve ever-deeper into immorality, falsehood and ignorance. Such was the case in America’s “welcome” of Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist … Continue reading In the face of darkness and lies, we need the light of brave youth
America needs to stop playing proxy-for-profit in Middle East
Mark Twain once quipped, “God created war so that Americans would learn geography.” I don’t believe God created war — it is an evil and entirely human enterprise — but it does seem America is bound for a costly, and utterly stupid, geography lesson in a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. For any … Continue reading America needs to stop playing proxy-for-profit in Middle East
Faith should be no barrier to mental health treatment
Pastor Jarrid Wilson would have been a good source for any column on depression, mental illness and suicide awareness. Wilson, associate pastor at megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., and co-founder of the mental health nonprofit Anthem of Hope, built a reputation around sharing his own struggles with depression, and trying to break down … Continue reading Faith should be no barrier to mental health treatment
Be present, and let God speak
Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is … Continue reading Be present, and let God speak
