Sermons

August 13, 2023

Proper 14A – George Yandell

Richard J. Fairchild tells the story of a man who took his new hunting dog on a trial hunt one day. After a while he managed to shoot a duck and it fell in the lake. The dog walked over the water, picked up the duck, and brought it to his master. The man was stunned. He didn’t know what to think.  

He shot another duck, and again, it fell into the lake; and again the dog walked over the water and brought it back to his master. Hardly daring to believe his eyes, and not wanting to be thought a total fool, he told no one about it—but the next day he called his neighbor to come shooting with him.  

As on the previous day, he shot a duck and it fell into the lake. The dog walked over the water and got it. His neighbor didn’t say a word. Several more ducks got shot that day— and each time the dog walked over the water to retrieve them. And each time the neighbor said nothing, and neither did the owner of the dog.  

Finally—unable to contain himself any longer—the owner asked his neighbor: “Do you notice anything strange about my dog?” “Yes,” replied the neighbor, rubbing his chin and thinking a bit. “Come to think of it, I do. Your dog doesn’t know how to swim.”  

Over and over in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is seen urging his disciples toward increased faith.

Continue reading August 13, 2023

August 6, 2023

Transfiguration Sunday – George Yandell

It’s fascinating to me- the growing number of home repair shows on TV. Once This Old House stood alone, now every station seems to have home make-over shows, contests between families to re-do each other’s houses, and craftspeople of all types showing the world how tools work. There’s even a DYI network. How many of you like to watch those shows?// Why do we like them so much? For me it’s a simple answer- I, for one, love to watch other people work. I get a vicarious sense of accomplishment in watching others work. I often learn some tricks of the trades from the workers, and marvel at the finesse of skilled craftspeople.  

Jesus liked to watch other people work. He was drawn to watching fishermen ply their craft on the Sea of Galilee. He watched as a widow put her gift into the temple tax collection box. And he was a student of farming practices – he often crafted parables about farming and tending vines. He wasn’t afriad to coach people who weren’t doing their jobs too well, especially the schcolars and temple leaders who fell short of doing God’s justice.

Watching Jesus work must have fascinated his followers. As he toured Galilee and Judea, Jesus taught, healed, cast out demons, preached and shared meals with a motley assortment of Jewish peasants. Some think that Jesus himself was a craftsman, a wood-worker.  

Work as I’m describing it is public activity. 

Continue reading August 6, 2023

July 30, 2023

9th Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 12A – George Yandell

Mustard. How many of you really love mustard? And just to give you a definition, to be a mustard lover means you have at least three types of mustard in your refrigerator or your cupboard/ raise your hand. There is something just so good about mustard-even French’s yellow mustard. It isn’t just an elixir, it’s a remarkable condiment. Jesus’ words about mustard contain the only times the word mustard is used in the Bible. He too could have been a mustard lover. But when Jesus talks today of mustard seeds he is making an allusion, he is not talking of the condiment, but he is imaging humans and the way that the kingdom of God grows in and amongst us, as if we were mustard plants. And he is saying that God’s home is good.

The mustard seed is a tiny seed. A handful of mustard seeds might number in the hundreds. The mustard plant or bush can grow to large proportions. In Jesus’ day the mustard plant was a fairly common annual large shrub. It was also cultivated as it is in our day. Interesting is the comment that it can grow so large that the birds of the air, many different varieties, make homes in its branches, when in actuality it doesn’t grow quite that large- maybe an exaggeration to bring home the point that the kingdom of God is much larger than we can imagine.

For humans,

Continue reading July 30, 2023

July 16, 2023

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 10 – George Yandell

When I was 15 I couldn’t wait to get my learner’s permit to start driving. My good friend Ned was (and still is) 2 months older than I, so he got his permit in mid-fall. I asked him how it was going, eager to get some tips. He said, “Turning or going around a long curve is hard. I keep making corrections to keep the car in the lane. I end up making little jagged moves of the steering wheel. The curve ends up looking like a circular saw blade – jagged edges instead of a smooth rounded path.” Two months later I could relate to Ned’s experience – I kept nervously making little mistakes and nervously correcting them. It drove my mother crazy. Maybe you can relate?

The story of the two brothers Jacob and Esau is a classic example of how God faces the dilemma of determining who shall carry on Abraham’s line and serve God’s purposes. God intends to develop a model of society for the world. Jacob and Esau share both good and bad traits upon which to try to build leadership for the future. Jacob and Esau are like the ragged edges of the turns – they keep having to be corrected in the paths they’re taking. 

The Genesis story leaves us with the problem of trying to understand the choice between two flawed individuals and what that means for us, the readers and students of the Bible in every generation.

Continue reading July 16, 2023