St. James Episcopal Church in Somerville, MA
An Oasis of Faith at a Busy Crossroads
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  • Sermon, 4/27/2025

    2 Easter                 Psalm 118:14–29; Acts 5:27–32; Rev. 1:4–8; John 20:19–31 Over 30 years ago, while visiting the Metropolitan Art Museum on NYC’s Upper East Side with my family, we chanced upon a scene being filmed on a street near the Museum.  A section on the east sidewalk of the street had been cordoned off in …

  • Sermon, 3/30/25: Where have you (mis-)laid your thinking cap?

    Lent 4 Psalm 32; Joshua 5:9–12; II Corinthians 5:16–21 ; Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32 But then he came to his senses. Luke 15:17 Last week, while reading today’s lectionary, which we have just heard, an event from my early childhood crashed through my memory barrier with a laser-sharp force which surprised me beyond belief.  When many …

  • Sermon, 2/21/2025. Lent: Past, Present, and Future

    (first published 2/21/2021) 1 Lent Psalm 25:1–9; Genesis 9:8–17; I Peter 3:18–22; Mark 1:9–15(for 1 Lent 2021; the reading for 2/21/25 can be found here.) God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’ Genesis 9:17 How can it …

  • Sermon, 2/23/25: Put your trust in the Lord and do good. (Psalm 37:3)

    7 Epiphany Ps. 1–12, 41–42; Genesis 45:3–11, 15; 1 Cor. 15:35–38, 42–50; Lk. 6:27–38 This morning, I begin my meditation with a citation from the psalm just recited.  “Put your trust in the Lord and do good.” (Vs. 3)  All of today’s lectionary are appropriate, that is, all guide my thinking in that which I …