Six New Oxen – From the Daily Office – May 25, 2013

eric May 25, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Gospel of Luke: Jesus said, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, “I have bought five yoke …

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Worthy of Double Honor? – From the Daily Office – May 24, 2013

eric May 24, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the First Letter to Timothy: Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves to be paid.” Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. (From the Daily Office Lectionary – 1 Tim. 5:17-19 (NRSV) – May …

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Climax on the Threshing Floor – From the Daily Office – May 23, 2013

eric May 23, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Book of Ruth: At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Ruth 3:8 (NRSV) – May 23, 2013.) There are some parts of the Bible that I am thankful I don’t generally have to read aloud in public. The story of Ruth seducing Boaz is one of them, especially this verse. I get to this verse and I’m “laughing out …

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The Kingdom of God Is Like – From the Daily Office – May 22, 2013

eric May 22, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Gospel according to Luke: [Jesus] said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?” (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Luke 13:18 (NRSV) – May 22, 2013.) Jesus used parables and metaphors and analogies to try to explain the kingdom of God to his followers and sometimes they got it and sometimes they didn’t. Those of us who follow Jesus as clergy and as preachers have joined him in …

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Ralph says:
Thank you! In so many ways we all struggle to hear and understand God’s... more
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Life Is Like Time Magazine – From the Daily Office – May 20, 2013

eric May 20, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Book of Ruth: In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the …

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Y’All Ain’t Gonna Believe This! – Sermon for Pentecost Sunday – May 19, 2013

eric May 19, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF ==================== This sermon was preached on the Feast of Pentecost, May 19, 2013, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio, where Fr. Funston is rector. (Revised Common Lectionary, Pentecost (Year C): Genesis 11:1-9; Psalm 104:25-35,37; Acts 2:1-21; and John 14:8-17,25-27. These lessons can be read at The Lectionary Page.) ==================== I was told once that there is a difference between Yankee fairy tales and Northern fairy tales, and the difference is found in the way they begin. Yankee …

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In the Vice-Principal’s Office – From the Daily Office – May 17, 2013

eric May 17, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Psalter: Some went down to the sea in ships and plied their trade in deep waters; . . . . (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Psalm 107:23 (BCP Version) – May 17, 2013.) I cannot read this verse of Psalm 107 (today’s evening psalm) without remembering a poem, Sea Fever by the 20th Century English poet John Masefield: I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all …

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Something Is Wrong! Something Is Broken! – From the Daily Office – May 16, 2013

eric May 16, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Psalter: They asked, and quails appeared, and he satisfied them with bread from heaven. (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Psalm 105:40 (BCP Version) – May 16, 2013.) Once again I find this serendipitous connection between one verse in the Daily Office psalm and a news item in the daily papers. Psalm 105 is divided into two parts and our lectionary bids us read the first at Morning Prayer and the second at Evening Prayer. The …

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Dwelling in Cinderella’s Castle – From the Daily Office – May 15, 2013

eric May 15, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Psalter: Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight. (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Psalm 101:7 (BCP Version) – May 15, 2013.) There’s a homiletic maxim attributed to Karl Barth that clergy should preach with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. These days, that sort of describes how I say the Daily Office. I use my laptop …

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Evil Lies in Our Own Voice – From the Daily Office – May 14, 2013

eric May 14, 2013
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Follow @FatherEricF From the Gospel according to Luke: [Jesus said to his disciples] “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (From the Daily Office Lectionary – Luke 10:16 (NRSV) – May 14, 2013.) I’ve been thinking a lot about this listen to voices stuff. A few weeks ago, the Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21, 2013), we heard one of the “good shepherd” lessons …

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