Rev. Jonathan R. Thomas Nov. 1, 2015 All Saints (B) Isaiah 25:6-9 Helping with God’s Work Coming to the Episcopal faith only in my adult life, understanding the place of the saints was a bit of a challenge for me. I just never really got them or their importance growing up. To be…
I was never blind like Bartimaeus, who we read of in our Gospel today, but I was born with a strabismus, or crossed eyes, which made my vision very weak. Many of my early memories involve going to pediatric ophthalmologists and children’s hospitals for surgeries. After multiple surgeries, my left eye became strong but my…
Re. Jonathan R Thomas Oct. 18, 2015 Proper 24(B) Is. 53:4-12, Ps. 96, Mk. 10:35-45 We Will Sing A New Song As I read today’s gospel passage, I almost feel for the sons of Zebedee. They are so relatable and understandable. They are in a place to ask Jesus for anything, and what…
Rev. Jonathan R Thomas Oct. 4, 2015 – St. Francis (B) Gal. 6:14-18, Matt. 11:25-30 In the Footsteps of St. Francis While it has been a good week for celebration at St. Paul’s with the bishop’s joining us to celebrate new ministry here and the wonderful event of the blessing of the animals yesterday, in…
Today’s readings are linked by a couple common themes that are still well known to us today – fear of others and the related fear of scarcity. Our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel both tell us about our own fears and how God sees our world very differently. In our Gospel passage,…
Rev. Jonathan R. Thomas Sept. 21, 2015 Proper 20 (B) Mark 9:30-37 The Call to Greatness This gospel passage is a pretty classic story of Jesus’ interactions with his disciples. Jesus tries to explain to them what his ministry is really all about and what that means about how things will end for…
Worthy of the Miracle This week I have been reading a number of articles about the plight of the Syrian refugees. There are more than four million people, over half of them children, fleeing their war-ravaged Syrian homeland looking for a place to settle, a people to take them in, a nation that will…
