Words of the Mouth and Meditations of the Heart

 Pentecost 18, 2021 sermon, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY. Text: Mark 9:38-50 The disciples approach Jesus with a concern in the reading this morning. They complain (or almost whine) to Jesus that someone else is casting out demons in his name, but isn’t a part of the group following Jesus. They aren’t with the “in” crowd, they aren’t one of the “cool kids” who hang out with Jesus and follow him everywhere he goes.They think that this person is committing a sin. But the sin here is not about breaking a religious law or laws, it is instead the sin of jealousy and possessiveness, and of working against others who do Jesus’ work. Curiously, Jesus’ response to their complaint is “So?” He is not too impressed with their concern and looks beyond it to why they are concerned. The disciples are focused on appearing pious or righteous rather than being focused on sharing their gifts from God with others, and they sound jealous, or at least defensive about this oth

  Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, 2021, text here . Delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY. I received an email from my Human Resources department a few weeks ago. The email informed me that I was about to max out on my paid time off, and that I should consider getting away from work for a while to rest and recharge. Not taking time off has snuck up on me, and it is something that I intend to act on in the weeks to come. When I read this morning’s Gospel passage, I could relate to Jesus, who was trying to get away from the busyness of his work. In Mark's Gospel readings, Jesus has been constantly teaching and being approached by crowds asking him to heal them. He gets no relief, and is getting tired. He needs to get away from it all and recenter himself. Last week, we read about him being challenged by religious authorities about not following rituals before eating, and he sets them straight on someone’s actions being more important than their inte