This I Believe
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Year C, Proper 7, RCL)
June 24, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Elijah, in the name of God, slew the prophets of the false god, Baal. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, followers of Baal, swore to kill Elijah, who immediately embarked on a hastily planned sabbatical and left town.
On that journey, he encountered God. Not in the earthquake, wind, or fire ' not...
Sermon
Trinity Sunday
June 03, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
When I was first asked to give a Sermon on the theme of 'comedy,' I did just what any good Episcopalian is supposed to do when presented something to mull over. I mulled. Yes, I mulled, and I stopped, and I pondered over the situation, I analyzed it from several different perspectives, I...
Pentecost-Vision
The Day of Pentecost (Year C, RCL)
May 27, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Pentecost. The word, derived from the Greek, literally means 'fiftieth.' Pentecost. Originally and still a Jewish harvest festival fifty days after Passover. In Christian lore, the fiftieth day following Easter on which the church celebrates the coming of Holy Spirit. Pentecost, then, is an...
Happy Mother’s Day!
The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C, RCL)
May 13, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Today is Mother's Day, our annual celebration of motherhood. Declared, in 1914, a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson. This preceded by the crusade of Anna Jarvis to establish a memorial day for mothers, the first commemoration held on Sunday, May 10, 1908. This originating from the...
What?!
The Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C, RCL)
April 29, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Whenever I read the Book of Revelation, I almost always have an immediate one-word reaction: What?! It's not because Revelation's symbols are beyond the grasp of my comprehension or the reach of my imagination. Yes, some are. For example, it is, at first glance, hard for me to conceive how a...
But
Easter Day (Year C, RCL)
April 08, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
On Friday, Jesus was crucified. It's Sunday now. He's dead and buried. So, what sense does it make, what good will it do now for Jesus' friends ' Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women ' to anoint his body for burial? 'But,' Luke tells us, 'on the first day of...
Getting Hold of Easter
Easter Vigil Service
April 07, 2007
Gene Kendall, Jr.
When I got the call from Sharon on Tuesday night inviting me to be called up from the reserves for one night of active duty, I said yes without knowing quite what I was getting into. I figured it was the least I could to help out my rector who was going it alone this Holy Week. I was...
Finding Home
The Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year C, RCL)
March 18, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Home. That place, really, that state of existence where one feels free to be who one is and to become, to discover who one will be. Home. That state of being in which one dwells secure in the assurance of acceptance in the presence of love.
Home. Earnestly sought, I believe, by all at all...
Who Is Jesus the Savior
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 04, 2007
Helen White
It is early in the morning, and I quickly leave my home for a doctor's appointment. After arriving, I join a group of well-groomed individuals for a ride in the elevator. I notice a woman staring at me, and I become self-conscious'is it my wrinkled clothing, messy hair? Then I remember the...
My Temptations
The First Sunday in Lent
February 25, 2007
The Reverend Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
Jesus was baptized. The heavens opened, God's Spirit visibly descended upon him, and the vox Deus, the voice of God proclaimed, 'You are my Son, with whom I am pleased.' As Luke tells the story, this was divine confirmation that Jesus was the Messiah, God's anointed one, the bearer of God's...