Sermons by The Very Rev. Kathleen Murray (Page 21)
May We Abound In Love: Advent 1
Advent 1, December 2, 2018 Year C, Advent 1: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-9; Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 There was no recording for today’s sermon. It has officially begun. The Christmas Rush! From now until Christmas Day will seem like a 100-meter dash with the rush of Christmas and all its demands, distractions, details, dilemmas, delights and duties. For retailers, it’s a “make-or-break” time of year. Or maybe it’s make-and-break, because the more exhausted and overworked they become, the better their…
Christ’s Kingdom Is All Around Us: Christ The King Sunday
Christ The King Sunday, November 25, 2018 Year B, Last Sunday after Pentecost: 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132:1-13 (14-19) ; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37 CLICK HERE to listen to this sermon. Someone asked me earlier this week about this Gospel passage. He found it rather ironic that we should have this particular reading from John as the Gospel lesson for today. We’re a week away from Advent, and a month from our celebration of Christmas, and yet here we have…
The Real Test Of Faith: Pentecost 26
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, November 18, 2018 Year B, Proper 28: Samuel 1:4-20; Canticle: The Song of Hannah (Samuel 2:1-10); Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8 There was no recording of this sermon. If you can imagine the first time you went to a city like New York or Miami, or if you’re like me the first time you saw real mountains and the awe you felt, you get something of what Jesus’ disciples must have felt when they saw…
God Is The Great Multiplier: Pentecost 25
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, November 11, 2018 Year B, Proper 27: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 CLICK HERE to listen to this sermon. The second part of today’s Gospel is often referred to as “The Widow’s Mite” and is quite often used in relation to stewardship and sacrificial giving. The widow gives of her poverty, putting everything she had into the temple box. Jesus draws the attention of his disciples and out attention to a woman…
Hope Is Stronger Than Death: All Saints Day
All Saints Day, November 4, 2018 Year B, Proper 26: Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34 CLICK HERE to listen to this sermon. I generally don’t recommend Wikipedia as a highly reliable reference source, but its article pertaining to All Saints’ Day is pretty good. What the article says is this: “Christians who celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day do so in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful, spiritual bond between those in heaven…
Transforming Blindness: Pentecost 23
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, October 28, 2018 Year B, Proper 25: Job 42:1-6, 10-17;Psalm 34:1-8;Hebrews 7:23-28;Mark 10:46-52 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. This morning we hear that Jesus is on the road. He has set his face towards Jerusalem. He knows he is going there to die. His apostles and other disciples are on the road with him, although they do not have the same certainty about what is to come. The original twelve have been joined…
Open Hands Can Receive And Give: Pentecost 21
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, October 14, 2018 Year B, Proper 23: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. As I was thinking about today’s readings, I couldn’t help but think about the last several weeks and it suddenly occurred to me. Are all the material things I have here to serve me or am I here to serve them as I desperately look for storage spaces for more clothes than I…
Are We Humble Enough To Serve? Pentecost 19
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 30, 2018 Year B, Proper 21: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22; Psalm 19:7-14; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. “We tried to stop him because he was not following us. We saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” Today’s gospel lesson is a continuation of last week’s gospel. And it’s not just the next scene—it’s part of…
Jesus, The Hopeless Fanatic: Pentecost 18
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 23, 2018 Year B, Proper 20: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 54; James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. In today’s Gospel passage from Mark, Jesus is teaching his disciples the difference between being considered great in the world and his expectation as how they are to be great in the Kingdom of God. Our reading today begins with, “They went on from there and passed through Galilee.” Jesus and his…
Commnity Is Central To The Christian Life: Pentecost 17
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 16, 2018 Year B, Proper 19: Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. What a time we’ve been having here on the East Coast. There hasn’t been much sun, we’ve had 40 inches of rain in Shenandoah County since June, yet we can count our blessings as Rosemary Clooney used to sing. We are not in the path of what was Hurricane Florence and will likely…
We Are Not Alone: Pentecost 14
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 26, 2018 Year B, Proper 16: 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” I don’t know about all of you, but I often have this very same reaction. Whether it was about the math I had to do for the appraisal classes and my degree in Finance or whether it was about an abstract…
God Can Hold Our Pain And Be The Bread Of Life: Pentecost 13
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 19, 2018 Year B, Proper 15: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14; Psalm 111; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58 CLICK HERE to listen to the recorded sermon. I hope you’ll indulge me in a story this morning. Once upon a time, there was a wise prince. Following his father’s death, the prince assumed his divinely appointed throne, married a beautiful princess from a neighboring kingdom, and settled down to govern his people to the glory of God. Soon afterward, God appeared…