Innerdriving

Proper 20C Luke 16:1-13 September 22, 2019 St. Mark’s, Boligee When I was 10 years old – I robbed a store.   It was a gift shop on a school field trip my 4 th grade class took to Dutch Gardens in Louisiana.    I don’t remember a thing about where we went or what I saw that day.   But in that gift shop was a little wooden windmill about 6 inches high and I wanted it.   My best friend had just bought one.   I didn’t have enough money, so I looked all around, stuck it in my pocket, and walked out of the store.   I have no idea if anyone saw me.   No one came running after me.   I didn’t dare take it out of my pocket on the school bus in case someone might somehow know that it was stolen.   When I got home, I hid that little wooden windmill in the back of my closet.   I lay awake that night convinced that at any moment the Dutch Gardens police would come knocking on our door ready to take me to jail.   The next d...

Proper 19C All the Scripture Lessons for the Day September 15, 2019 St. Matthias            I looked at our scripture lessons this week and thought – Oh No!   They are all about sin and we don’t like sin.   Years ago, when I was a new, young, and very inexperienced priest at St. George’s in Germantown TN, I preached on sin and Mrs. Holland who been going to that Church for over 40 years, told me in no uncertain terms that sin was bad and I should only preach about nice things.   Usually there is at least 1 of the scripture lessons that works.   But not this Sunday.            Then I remembered the time I got a makeover.   You see them on TV and in the magazines.   They take some person who looks pretty ordinary and by the end of the show or the article – they look totally different.   That happened to me at St. Thomas in Huntsville....

The New St. Matthias Playground Thanks to Dwight and Carol Lammon and everyone who helped unload and assemble!

Proper 17C Luke 14:1, 7-14 September 1, 2019 St. Matthias Growing up - my seat was in the middle – the middle of the back seat in our family car.   My sister ALWAYS got to sit by the window because she said she would get car sick sitting in the middle.   I’m not sure how we knew that because I don’t ever remember her sitting in the middle.   My younger brother ALWAYS sat by the other window because he was the youngest and would whine the whole trip if he didn’t get to sit by the window.   I tried car sickness.   Another time, I whined.   Neither worked.   I was the oldest and not the youngest and the middle was my place and my parents said that I should be glad that we had a car to ride in because there were millions of poor children in the world who didn’t have a back seat at all.   So, there I sat on every family trip - unhappy.   THEN came the day my Uncle Jim told me that the trick is to WANT the middle seat – to act...