Innerdriving

Pentecost 13, Proper 15B John 6:51-58 August 19, 2018 St. Matthias            The last time, Phyllis and I were in Argentina, Lydia and I spent some time talking about her cousins.  At 6 years old she wants to know all about her family.  While her name may be Lydia Marie Lopez, she is also a part of the story of a much greater family tree.  She is - that I can remember - a child of the Lopez, Hall, Turnham, Hobby, White, O’Bryan, Miller, Bailey, and McIntosh families.  She is American, Latino, German, British, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch.  On any given Sunday morning, you will find her extended family worshipping in Episcopal, Southern Baptist, American Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches.  Three of her cousins are Jewish.  We are spread out in a dozen or more states and at least 3 countries and Lydia wants to know her place in the story.  ...

Proper 14B Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2 St. Matthias August 10, 2018 I decided to be perfect when I was 13 years old.  It was a combination of 2 things that led me to this change in life.  First, I was in 7 th grade and we were living in Georgetown, KY.  There was a Roman Catholic Convent we passed on the way to school every day.  I supposed it was about the holiest looking place I’d ever seen.  I had seen Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music and so I knew what I thought all nuns looked like and how they acted.  I decided to be like Julie Andrews and someday to be a monk.  I read in the Encyclopedia that monks lived in monasteries and there was one just an hour away in Bardstown, KY. It was a pretty big step for a Southern Baptist kid and I don’t think I had ever actually been in a Catholic Church – much less a convent or a monastery.  I told my parents and was rather surprised when they kind of took it all in stride.  They told me y...

Proper 13B John 6:24-35 St. Matthias August 5, 2018            Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”            At St. George’s School, I had the unfortunate task of teaching 5 th graders American History during the 3 rd period.  Now don’t get me wrong – I loved teaching 5 th Graders.  I like teaching History.  The problem was that the 4 th period was lunch.  I do not care who you are – there is no possible way you can make the War of 1812 as exciting as lunch period for 5 th graders.  The liturgy would begin about 10 minutes before class was scheduled to end.  Abby Elzmeyer, Laura Colgate, and Anna Rosengarten would together begin the daily Litany almost in unison, Father Hall, we’re hungry!  Can we go to lunch early? ...