Year A Proper 12 WED 2026 Easy Words, Hard To Live By

 Year A Proper 12 WEDNESDAY, 29 July 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Easy Words, Hard To Live By”

Collect: O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Romans 8:26-39

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;

we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

One of the hardest lessons I have learned along the way is that God does not call us to be successful. That is one of the greatest heresies, especially of the American Church. If things are bigger, or bolder, or louder, we tend to think of them as more important, or worse, more worthy. Most bad is when we think of them as blessed. That is the underlying lie of prosperity theology. So if not successful, then to what is God calling us? To be faithful. Faithful, not successful. As St Paul said in Romans 4: (vs. 3-5)

For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

Our “work” as it were is to be faithful. God’s work is the success part. Not ours.The one thing we bring to the table is to live our lives in faith. That is our only offering that does not already come from God. We delude ourselves if we think anything else.

In our Gospel reading we see Jesus call us to put everything else behind our commitment to God’s Kingdom. And our Romans’ reading tells us about our attitude and approach to make that so. 

• In our prayers, open your hearts. You don’t even need words. The Spirit knows and hears even our groans and brings them to God’s throne.

• That even the worst can be transformed to the Glory of God, for its says: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Think on it like this. We are walking the path of life, and we cannot see beyond the hill we are climbing. We have no idea where it might lead or what may come. But the one with a heavenly perspective knows where he leads us, and that the road we are on, whatever road we are on, can get us to where he wants us to be. 

• And if you are ever worried, please highlight this in your Bible. Put a bookmark in even. I repeat this because I will never be able to say it better than this.

“If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen

Friends, it has been a joy to be with you for these last ten months. Tomorrow I turn in my keys and my laptop. This time has been a gift, reminding me of what is most precious, and important, and true. We all need reminders along the way. I am thankful. All blessings and goodness be yours until God blesses us to be together again! Amen

Year A Proper 12 2026 Know What You've Got

 Year A Proper 12, 26 July 2026

St George’s Epsicopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Know What You’ve Got”

Collect: O God, the protector of all who trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a 

tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." "The 

kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one 

pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

There are certain moments in life so pivotal that you know they will stay with you forever. If you're fortunate, you recognize their significance even while they're happening. These moments show you what is most important, and what is not.

I had just turned 20 and was living in Hamburg, West Germany—back when there still was West Germany. The campus ministry I participated in at the University of Richmond was part of a large international network that placed summer missionaries throughout Virginia and, in a few cases, around the world. After my sophomore year, I accepted one of those opportunities and began serving as the Youth and Young Adult Minister at Hamburg International Baptist Church, a new church plant in the bustling seaport city. My assignment ran from May through December.

The year was 1989, and Hamburg was celebrating the 800th anniversary of its harbor's commissioning. At the time, I assumed that would be the biggest event I would witness outside of my ministry work.

Then November arrived.

About 180 miles downriver from Hamburg sits Berlin, and for several days in early November, the eyes of the world were fixed on that divided city deep inside East Germany.

Because it was just before Thanksgiving, the missionary couple who supervised me returned home to the United States for a few weeks with family and left this young buck in charge. While they were away, I gave myself two days off and headed to Berlin. I wanted to stand in the middle of history.

My budget was painfully thin. I had enough money for train fare and meals, and not much else. No hotel. No extras. I arrived at the Hauptbahnhof just before the early winter sunset and placed my backpack in a locker. As I turned around, I heard a voice behind me.

"Excuse me," the man asked, "could you tell me the way to Checkpoint Charlie?"

I turned and saw a small, gentle-looking man behind me. He seemed kind, slight, and somewhat vulnerable.

Then he asked, "You are American, yes?"

I definitely looked the part. Baseball cap? Check. Levi's jeans? Check. Nike sneakers? Check. Leather bomber jacket? Check. There was no mistaking me for anything other than an American.

As I looked at this man—perhaps 5'3"—I immediately decided I needed to take him under my wing and make sure he stayed safe.

Although East Germans were crossing through the checkpoints into West Berlin, nobody yet knew what would come of the extraordinary events unfolding around us. The border remained heavily militarized. The Wall still stood.

In places, people had chipped away at it, creating cracks and small openings. A few had managed to carve holes large enough to peer through into the infamous No Man's Land between East and West. The night felt almost cinematic, like a Hollywood set. Fog drifted through the air, illuminated by the yellow glow of sodium streetlights. Every time we peered through one of those openings, East German guards stared right back at us.

Over the next several hours, Dr. Carlo Galen and I embarked on an adventure I have never forgotten.

Though slight and unassuming, Carlo embodied the American Dream. Orphaned after World War II, he had been relocated from Italy to New Orleans through Catholic charities, a journey that left him with one of the most unusual accents I have ever heard. He went on to attend Tulane University, earned his medical degree, and built a successful medical practice.

After years of hard work, Carlo and his wife decided to retire in Italy and build a villa outside Rome. But shortly after construction began, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and passed away within months. Heartbroken, Carlo moved forward with finishing the villa, and somewhere along the way developed the same desire for adventure that had brought me to Berlin.

After I guided him to Checkpoint Charlie—the American crossing point into East Berlin—we began walking along the Berlin Wall toward the Brandenburg Gate. The distance was only about a mile, but it took us hours.

Along the way we met a group of French medical students who, like us, had come simply to witness history firsthand. At one point, they found a crowd-control barrier and repurposed it as a ladder. Together, we climbed onto the top of the Wall while East German border guards shouted at us to get down.

I was still young and naive enough to believe the men pointing machine guns in our direction weren't entirely serious.

By the time we reached the Brandenburg Gate, some of the openings in the Wall had grown larger. We began sticking dollar bills through the gaps, hoping to trade with the East German soldiers. The response was immediate: machine gun barrels appeared through the openings.

Still, the trading continued.

I emerged with a belt buckle, a set of epaulets, and a soldier's cap. At that moment, I knew the Wall was doomed. When capitalism starts breaking through the Berlin Wall, the end cannot be far behind.

Those hours remain etched in my memory.

Yet the most transformative part of the trip happened later, in an all-night coffee shop near the Hauptbahnhof.

Carlo and I had several hours to wait before our trains departed—his at 6 a.m. for Rome and mine for Hamburg. After spending the night in the cold, we were grateful for warmth, coffee, and a place to sit.

There, Carlo shared the grief he still carried over the loss of his wife. He told me how Catholic missionary organizations had declined his offers to volunteer because of his age. In return, I shared my own story—how my faith had led me to ministry and why I had come to Germany in the first place.

Then Carlo gave me a gift that changed my life.

This man—an orphan who had come to America with nothing, built a remarkable life, achieved professional success, and returned to Italy to retire in comfort—looked me directly in the eye and said:

"If only I had known at your age what you know now, my life would have been so different."

His words caught me completely off guard.

I admired him. I respected everything he had accomplished. Yet here he was, envying something in me.

What he envied was not my youth. It was not my opportunities. It was not my future.

It was my faith.

Until that moment, I had never thought of my faith that way.

I never saw Carlo again. We spoke on the phone several times over the years, but we never met in person. Yet that night changed me. It reaffirmed my calling to ministry and strengthened my commitment to the path I was already beginning to follow.

I still treasure my fragments of the Berlin Wall and the souvenirs I carried home from that extraordinary night. But the greatest treasure I received in Berlin wasn't a piece of concrete or a soldier's cap.

It was the realization that my faith is the greatest gift I will ever possess.

And that is what I think that Jesus was getting at with our string of one-line parables here. All of them in this batch speak to knowing what you’ve got and its worth. Mustard Seed, Yeast, Treasure in a Field, or the Pearl of Great Price. All these speak to how something small and possibly overlooked could be of the greatest value. The final one, the Net thrown into the Sea, is about many things, but knowing the value of each. And then Jesus gives us the admonition.

“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

So fellow citizens of the Kingdom, trained up for the service of it, our task is to know the worth of what we have, and to bring out the best of what we have been given and what we can create. The old and the new. And to make a difference in the world we have been given.

What role does your faith play in your life? 

Is it like a mustard seed, small, but ready to grow when called upon? 

Is it like the yeast that makes everything else in your life rise?

Is it that treasure in the field, where it is worth risking everything else so that it can be yours? Or the pearl of great price, much the same?

Are you able to plumb the depths for the riches that are there, or create new and beautiful things for the Glory of God?

Know what you’ve got, my friends, and give thanks! Amen

Year A Proper 11 2026 Faith at the Movies Series: "Contact"

Year A Proper 11, 19 July 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Faith at the Movies: CONTACT”

Collect: Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel.

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

“Hello.”

“I said, ‘Hello.’”

“Um, did you hear me?”

“Nod your head if you can hear me?”

Have you ever received a message that seemed directed to you? One that no one else could hear? One that seemed so personal, and so direct, that maybe you felt a little crazy or confused, like maybe you were hearing things?

What do you really hear? To whom do you really listen? What messages do you really trust?

We are in a time and space when we are being URGED to NOT TRUST. It has became standard operating procedure to NOT TRUST. And then, to add to the NOT TRUSTING, to label the other “side” as crazy. That they are untrustworthy and their messages are false. God help us!

Friends, Discernment is one of the great needs of a person of faith in this world we find ourselves in. Discernment is for each and every one of us. Not just those who are “called” into leadership in the Church, or those facing a particularly hard trial. But God is speaking to all of us all the time. And the question we have to ask ourselves, do I trust this word that I am receiving? And even more, do I trust the one sending the word I am receiving?

I know many people talk about doing what the Bible says. Yes. Of course. But the Bible does not say a lot, especially it does not say a lot about the things that we have to deal with every day in these times. We can apply biblical principles to our current situations, but then we get into interpretation and applicability. And that leads to discernment again, what do we hear and to whom do we listen.

We are all bombarded with messaging all the time. We cannot escape it. If you make a side comment over dinner, you find yourself getting ads about it the next day. That is weird. And that would be an untrustworthy messenger. While the message might have been of interest, the spying on us through our phones and connected speakers is uncomfortable and creepy. There is that NOT TRUSTING again.

But sometimes we receive a word, something we want and maybe from someone who we do not know.

This week, to wrap up our pop culture sermon series, we are looking at the movie Contact starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. It is and has been a favorite of mine for years. It deals with so much. The potential first contact with another intelligence not from our planet. The division between faith and science. The resolve to stand by what you know when voices are screaming that you are lying or are wrong or are crazy. Months ago when I picked this movie to go with today’s readings, I thought, “That will be easy! I can go anywhere with the movie Contact!” And that, in and of itself is the problem. This movie deals with so much, and I have to limit myself this morning so you can have something of substance to take home. And what made me think of this movie today? The first reading for today fits quite well with it, being about a stairway to heaven, which is what Contact  is about in a really fitting way. 

But looking at the many messages of the movie, and how to apply them, what I want to focus on is Discernment, knowing what to listen to, and to whom. The main character, Dr. Ellie Arroway, portrayed by Jodie Foster, is a tough, and often hard to deal with, astrophysicist. Losing her parents early she has abandonment issues, and pushes people away, even those who love her and may have her best interest at heart. She listens for someone, anyone, who will hear her, and not leave her.

And so, naturally attracted to science, she made listening into a vocation. She is listening hard for a voice in the darkness, and so she goes into SETI, Ess Eee Tee Eye, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. And one night, sitting in the dark underneath the large radar dish array in the New Mexican desert, she hears it. A pulse. A repeated pulse. A repeated pulsing rhythm. It was a deep sound, a sound across octaves. This was not an anomaly, but rather a distinct message, a message from not nearby. Not a satellite. Not a reflected sound. It was a pure voice calling to us from somewhere else.

One of the greatest books on faith parallels this movie. If you are my age or younger I am sure you have read it, most likely. Horton Hears A Who, by Dr. Seuss. A very similar message. A lone figure hears a message that only they can hear. And they have to make a stand against most everyone that they heard it and they are not crazy, and that the message they have received is for everyone. Dr. Arroway or Horton, both have to risk their very lives to take a leap of… not fact, but faith. The experience they share is so real and so true that they do not question it. They stake their reputation and their lives on what they know to be true and cannot prove. 

If you have not seen the movie, Contact came out in 1997. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, I was surprised that it was significantly better than the book. A rarity, I know. The book was written by Carl Sagan, who was a great scientist and science communicator, but a so-so novelist. But his ideas found a home in the movie.

And I was surprised when I first saw it how important the role of having a faith is in the story. Not necessarily a certain faith, but ideologically we all believe in something, and that belief is what drives us when we have nothing else to fall back on. For Dr. Arroway, she was dumbfounded by her experience. This hardened scientist is reduced to the babblings of a toddler, and then she says very clearly, “They should have sent a poet.” There is a time and a place for matters of the heart that are more true than 2 + 2 = 4. The etymology of the word science is from the Greek for knowledge. So your con-science is when you decide something “with knowledge” or a “shared knowledge.” Her knowledge could only take her so far, and when she stepped into the unknown, she had to rely on her heart, and on a faith that she did not know she had. Studies repeatedly show that as logical and rational as we think we are, our decisions most of the time are made with our gut, or our heart, or as the Bible puts it, the seat of judgment. We all go there when push comes to shove.

Discernment is based on previous experience, and discernment is based on knowledge we have gained. But at the end of the day, discernment is a hunch. When all is said and done, we all have take that leap of faith.

For Dr. Arroway, she had to believe that the message she had received did not wish her or humanity ill, but that it had our best interest in mind, and for her in particular, that she would be safe and okay.

Friends, when we do not know what is next, we have to know to whom we should look for what comes next. Even saying that is a statement of faith, and like Dr. Arroway, I am reduced to saying that they should have sent a poet up here today to say that the one who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.

Last fall in a sermon I spoke about how God speaks to us in a language we will understand and hear. Discernment is knowing that deep in our bones, and not letting go of it when voices, soooooo many voices attempt to distract us or contradict what we know to be the Truth with a capital T. 

As our Gospel lesson for the day reminds us, there are good seeds who bring forth good fruit, and there are weeds. Like in the parable sometimes it is hard for us to figure out. That is where that Discernment comes back into play. Seeing with eyes that can truly see, hearing with ears that can truly hear. We must try to discern the good from the bad, but it is not our job to sort folks out. That alone remains to God and God’s angels.

So friends, listen. Listen with all you’ve got and all of who you are. And trust God. Always trust in God that the Truth will out, and the Right will prevail. Trust your gut. Listen to that hunch. We are given the task to do the best we can with what we have. God will honor that, for God will be glorified.  Amen.

 

Year A Proper 10 2026 Celtic Service- Ludicrously Abundant

 Year A Proper 10, 12 July 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

Celtic Service “Ludicrously Abundant”

Collect: O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!”

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

We know this story. We know it too well to hear it. Parables are these little nuggets of truth, showing us the nature of things and turning our preconceived notions on their heads. And after 2,000 years you think you know what they are saying. But without the surprise and delight, we kind of miss the point. Somewhere along the way we made it about us.

This parable of the sower talks about two things: the nature of God’s love first and foremost, and the nature of our response. That second part is where, yes, we come in, but ALWAYS look for the twist when you read Jesus’ stories. That is what made his teachings unique to his listeners.

Jesus’ audience was a group of up and outs and down and outs. The up and outs thought they were chosen and had “arrived.” The down and outs were looking for shreds of hope. That is when the “flip” of this parable takes place. The Kingdom of Heaven is open to any and all. It is not something given by a birthright. It is not something we earn by what we do. The Kingdom of Heaven is scattered near and far. And what we do with it is what proves its worth. It is a gift freely given and ready for you to receive. The sower in this story is ludicrous. He scatters the seed hither and yon. We have access to seed, from Southern States or Wal-Mart. But back then, you had to work hard to harvest your seeds. Scattering them willy-nilly makes no sense. There is no rhyme or reason to where he scatters. He is not selective or frugal. Here a seed, there a seed, EVERYWHERE A SEED! This makes no sense unless abundance is the point.

We are not farmers, though. Maybe some of you are gardeners and are closer to Jesus’ story than me. I think of it this way. “Listen! A beloved singer was holding a concert, a concert at the grand theater, and they wanted everyone there who wanted to be there. They announced that there were tickets at Will Call for anyone who wanted to come. Some heard the news and got excited, but then figured it was too good to be true. Some really wanted to go, but on their way to the show they got a phone call and they were distracted and never made it. Some had other things to do, and even though this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, they chose to let the concert pass them by. But some took a chance and went to Will Call, and found there was a ticket that even had their name on it and they went in and were welcomed. They laughed and cried, they danced and sang along to those songs they knew by heart and had the time of their life.”

The unexpected nature of this story, the “flip” that turns it on its head is about the Good News. It really is Good, and better than we could ever imagine. Our responses are not a surprise. Being destroyed, or losing our enthusiasm, being shallow, or actually responding enthusiastically is something we can all actually imagine. This is not news to any of us. But the agape  nature of the love of God we still find amazing and potentially think is “too good to be true.” 

And that is where Jesus adds, “If you have ears, HEAR!” Friends, this life is a precious gift, each and every second of every minute of every day, and so much of it we have no say over. We have no ability to shape the outer events, but what we do have the power to do is decide how we will respond, and then the chance to do it. We can live in that Grace that we have received. We can abide in that ludicrous abundance and have it shape our thoughts and our actions. The only thing holding you back is you! Are you fertile soil so it can grow? Do you have your concert attire ready for the night of your life? If you have ears, use them!  Amen

Year A Proper 6 CELTIC 2026 Could You Do Me A Favor?

 Year A Proper 6 CELTIC, 14 June 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Could You Do Me A Favor?”

Collect: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

There comes a point in any relationship where things take a step deeper.

Sometimes it is moving from the formal to the familiar. From Mr. Jackson to Bob, and there is a level of camaraderie and kinship that comes with that invitation. Some people take that step easily, without thinking about it. “Call me Bob! Mr Jackson was my dad!” You probably have heard something similar. But for some, that invitation to a deeper level of relationship is a serious and important step.

Another one is where we move from being a leader or “over” someone and treat them more as a peer. And in today’s story I think we see that. Jesus’ heart is moved, and the time has come. The Bible way of saying that could be that we had reached “the fullness of time.”

Jesus’ ministry was growing. It was growing too much for any single individual to do, and the more it grew, the more need stepped forward. 

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

And so he looked at the followers he had accumulated along his journeys and found 12 who he could send out to continue and expand the work that he had started. 12 is a number of completion in biblical reckoning, like the 12 tribes and the 12 months of a year. He chose twelve that he could send forth.

Jesus’ commissioning of these twelve shows the next step in their relationship. He trusted them. They had grown and understood what they needed to do and he sent them out to do it.

When my kids were young, one of the big ways I was able to show them I loved them and trusted them was to give them increasing responsibilities. They could set the table. They could cook some things. They had chores. And it showed that they were a responsible and participatory part of what was needed in our family. 

Same things happen when we grow up. With responsibility we are seen as having trust. In sharing the work, we are seen as collaborators and important. When Joe+ left for his sabbatical, I am sure that it was hard for him. He loves this place so much. But he had me come in and work with him for months so that when the time came, he could walk away and let go which is what one needs to do on sabbatical. 

Jesus by sending out his 12 was really asking them, “Can I get your help? Can you help me further this idea I have? The Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. The Kingdom of God above our earthly concerns and distractions. Can you help me let people know that it is right here and right now available to them?”

Jesus loves us. Jesus trusts us. The disciples were sent out and so are we! Jesus still wonders, “Hey, can I get your help here?” That hasn’t ended. The three-hundred plus year history of this place is all about that. Here at the corner of Princess Anne and George Streets Jesus’ helpers have been preaching and teaching, giving and caring, healing and praying for hundreds of years. And the work continiues. In John 15:15 during the Gospel of John’s account of the last supper: I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. If you can hear my voice, you can get in on this, too. Jesus wants you to. He trusts you to do what needs to be done. Thanks be to God! Amen

Year A Proper 6 2026 Kingdom Come and Kingdom Sent

 Year A Proper 6, 14 June 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Kingdom Come and Kingdom Sent”

Collect: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Genesis 18:1-15

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

Romans 5:1-8

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

Good morning, friends. This morning I am going to talk more to those who are insiders. While I pray and trust that what I say is applicable to any and every person this morning, but if I go a little “inside baseball” please forgive me. Even our Collect for the day, the little prayer we say when we begin our liturgy, speaks to God’s “household the Church.”

We see in our Genesis reading a family in want of an heir with Abraham and Sarah, and a promise of one. They had given up so much hope that Sarah actually laughed when the promise was made and got called on it. We all ponder the legacy we leave, the things that will remain when we are gone. I paraphrase the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, “Man is the only animal that knows he’s going to die.” And we ponder our legacy once we get to a point of acquiring to turn our faces to what we will leave behind.

Abraham and Sarah wanted an heir to inherit all that they had accumulated and to carry on their family name. God wanted a chosen lineage to honor God, and to have a chosen people to be a blessing to all of creation. Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, and that faith lineage continues on in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

We think of the grand heritage of this place, this household of faith that has lasted multiple generations. We are older than our country. While the USA celebrates her 250th in the coming days, St George’s predates that, coming up on our 306th birthday. Huzzah! But as you were coming in today, you saw the scaffolding that is up,m and part of the sidewalk closed. While we are a strong and firm institution, we still need to do the work to keep the beautiful but old girl up. It takes work to keep any institution healthy and strong, especially after so many generations have passed by. So we take the time, money, and talent to ensure that what we have been given is passed on as good as we received it, if not better. For us to keep things going, we have to change to ensure it keeps going. Such is the contradiction of life, the paradox of any institution.

We have the calling of the Twelve in our Gospel reading. Jesus established the foundation of his “called-out-ones,” the Chosen, to be his apostles in the world. 12 people who were selected and sent. While given in bible language, he is clear what they are to say, what the Gospel, the “Good News” is. 

‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

Now that may sound bible-y, but how might you say it? 

“Dude, where’s the remote.”

“Thy remote is at hand!”

No, no, no, no.

“Dude, where’s the remote?”

“The remote is right next to you.” Or, “The remote is within your grasp.” Or, “The remote is yours for the taking. Right there!”

That’s the promise of Jesus. Each of us, each and every one of us has the opportunity and the ability to join in on the work of God and have it go to work in our lives and change us in the ways we need to be changed.

Jesus sent the apostles out, and they began the work that continues on to this day. For 2,000 years the Church, Jesus’ “called-out-ones,” continues in that Gospel work, though its means have shifted.

We are still called to give, and serve, and heal, and resurrect. All of the things he sent out the apostles to do. Jesus sends us, too! But we are in a different context. We are sent with the same mission, but we have a home base from which to work. Our fields are still white unto harvest, but the fields often come to us. As Jesus puts it still, 

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Every Sunday, you who are called by God and baptized in God’s name are commissioned. Whether it is “Let us go forth, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit!” or “Let us go forth in the Name of Christ!” and we respond “Alleluia, alleluia! Thanks be to God!” And thus we are sent.

It is still good news that the Kingdom of God is within our reach! It is still good news that we are asked and encouraged to be a part. Thanks be to God!

Being a white, cis-gender male I have about all the privileges checked. I hold an American passport and received a fantastic education, mostly in public school and university. But I remember one time when I was not seen that way. It was just after I had graduated from college and a former roommate and I were backpacking around Europe for a few weeks. We found ourselves in Zurich on a Sunday morning, and our train got cancelled. We were stuck. We had hours to kill and no museums or anything were open. I remembered that there was a seminary of my former denomination just outside of town, and decided I would go to the seminary and look around. I then saw there was a church on the grounds so I decided I would stay for their morning services. Because we had been on overnight trains a couple of nights, I was not at my best. I had not showered in a couple of days, and my decent clothes were dirty and in my backpack which I left in Zurich. I had not intended to go to church. But I did not really think about it, and went in.

I sat down in the back, trying to be as inconspicuous as a 6’5” guy can be, in shorts, and not smelling or looking my best. A family a row ahead of me turned and saw me, and actually got up and moved across the church. Maybe I smelled worse than I thought. Then I started noticing the looks, the people turning to look and whispering. That made it clear, that I was not wanted. Okay, I thought, and I was starting to get up when a man came over bringing me a bulletin. He sat with me and asked me about myself. He made sure I knew that he welcomed me and wanted me there. That the Kingdom of God, at least in that place and time of that church was within my grasp, and that I was a beloved child of God. No matter how I smelled or looked.

I learned at the coffee hour (which he made sure that I was welcome at and he stayed with me and introduced me to many people) that he was a seminary professor. And when he learned that I was bound for seminary and had found my way from Zurich with diligence and purpose, people looked at me differently. It took the professor practicing what he preached and taking the time for people to see me for who I was. But why? Why did it need to be that way?

We have a God of abundance. As Jesus said in our passage, 

You received without payment; give without payment.

We have been blessed to be a blessing. Dragons hoard. Saints give. Which do we want to be?

Friends, we have been so abundantly blessed. An organ that sings praises to God. A building over a century and a half old with glorious windows proclaiming the story of a God who so loves us. A gathering of people who have been given to in abundance. We have so much to be thankful for, and so much that we can share.

Jesus promised that when we do anything for someone else we do it for him, but that it is the same as if we do it to him. Our fields that are white unto harvest actually come to us. At our Community Dinner. At The Table every Tuesday. At the concerts we share. At the services Sunday in and Sunday out. Every soul that walks through these doors is a gift from God.

Often we have neighbors who are our honored guests walk in looking for a place out of the rain, or the cold, or the heat for a few minutes. The world says be wary. Jesus says “Welcome home!” For those of us who have been here a long time, you have seen so much happen, and it is still changing. Yes. It is. As we age, that drive for comfort and “same-ness” goes with the territory. I caught myself saying the other day, “Ah man, why did they have to go and change that.” I get it. There is comfort in stability and same-ness.

But I invite you to think of those apostles who were sent out, how they went out with nothing, intentionally nothing, and all that came back was a gift from God. And through the generations and across the millenia we come to today, at the corner of Princess Anne and George Streets. A three-hundred year old institution, fixing and mending to prepare for the next three hundred years, a place which opens its doors for friends and neighbors, for seekers and the saved, for all children of God. We can offer a cup of water in Jesus name, or a warm cup of coffee. The Bible promises we could be entertaining angels unaware. Every soul that comes through our doors for a moment of respite or to attend Vacation Bible School should be as welcomed and loved.

As we depart, you are being sent out to do the work Christ has given us to do, with grateful hearts and thanksgiving. If we pray, thy Kingdom Come, then Jesus prays my Kingdom Sent. Thanks be to God! Amen