Sermons (Page 165)
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
The ancient Greeks used to tell a story about an even more ancient society of Phrygia, in modern day Turkey, and a king who ruled there. This king had an insatiable desire for one thing, riches, and more specifically gold. I’m guessing that most of you have heard of this king. His name was King Midas. I know this story is probably not new, but humor me for a minute as I retell the story, trying to shed new light on this old tale. This King Midas, according to one version of the story by the Roman poet Ovid, had found favor with the god Bacchus, god of vineyards and wine. And it was Bacchus who offered the King a single wish. This is the ultimate party game question right? If you had one wish what would it be? Oh and you can’t wish for more wishes, that defeats the point. But seriously, you have one wish. What do you wish for?
Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
This is fun today! Isn’t it great having some pets in worship today? I love the sounds of both pets and children in this space. When I think about my childhood I can’t help but remember the many animals I had growing up. And I’m not the only child with pets, in fact it’s estimated that 4 in 10 children begin life in a family with a pet, and as many as 90% of children live with a pet at some point during their childhood. Yet, by the looks of it here, it’s not just children who love having pets — we adults really enjoy our non-human friends too. We all have reasons why we love pets, or perhaps why we don’t really like pets or why pets don’t like us. Regardless, today’s scripture readings give us three views on animals…
Feast of Michael and All Angels
If you’ve ever been to a planetarium or stared at the sky in a dark place, then you’ve probably noticed the stars. Just imagine right now that you’re looking at a star. A star is a sphere of plasma held together by gravity that gives off light– how cool is that? Of course, our closest star is the sun, but let’s focus on a distant one. That star is likely to have its own solar system of planets around it. That star could be low-mass or high-mass. That light you see could also be from a dead star – after all, the light it emitted could still be traveling to us for thousands of light years away long after it collapsed…