A Space for the Practice of Prayer, Reflection, and Transformation within Congregations
(A sermon from October 11, 2020) Today’s sermon is a meditation on Psalm 23. I invite you to find a comfortable position to sit in. Take a moment to relax. You may want to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths before we begin, keeping your eyes closed and listening from your... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 21, Year A Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Matthew 21:23-32 September 27, 2020 “Turn, then, and live” When I was a kid, there was a particular group in the community who we were suspicious of. As kids, we went to school with some of them, and some were even our teachers. ... Continue Reading →
Unleashed It feels like something has been unleashed in our world, something dark and primal that feeds on fear, pulling us apart like gravity dragging down a heavenly body. Powers and principalities, St. Paul called it. What has been unleashed has long seethed within us, since we first sat around fires and looked at another... Continue Reading →
Reality and the Cross A Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Cross September 13, 2020 The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham During these last few months, I have had the chance to go back through my library and pick out titles to read. It is interesting which books stand out to me now, which ones... Continue Reading →
The dead cardinal The thing about windows is that you don’t want them so clean that the birds can’t tell whether it’s an opening to a room to explore or the impending cause of their demise. I have seen some people place stickers of little butterflies there, but I think that’s a bit... Continue Reading →
Increase in us true religion Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28 August 30, 2020 Increase in us true religion. I’m not sure if you caught that line from today’s collect--or if it caught you, as it were--but I am always hooked by this phrase each year when this particular Sunday comes round. Increase in us true... Continue Reading →
But be transformed... Sermon for Sunday, August 23, 2020 Romans 12:1-8 When I was first ordained a priest, I served as curate at St. Benedict’s parish, in Smyrna. The parish was a new church start, brand new, from scratch. It was an incredible place. Still is. We met for the first two years or so... Continue Reading →
Lord Jesus, Have Mercy on Me August 9, 2020 The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Last week, I told Jeremy that I was struggling to give my sermons on the live stream in a mask. With the intensity that we all feel, and our desire to model good, sane behavior, we need to wear... Continue Reading →
Bee Just the other day I was watering the plants in the garden at dusk in the shade when the water had a chance to soak in. My shoulder brushed a shrub I love with violet flowers like paper and a blossom buzzed. I paused and gently tapped several until one spoke back. One... Continue Reading →
What can I do with this shit? Today, when my jaw was clinched so tight for the umpteenth time that it hurt and my ears rang from the pressure that I carry right there in that place where I try my best to keep my face calm and project a facade of “I can... Continue Reading →
