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susan mcgurgan
24 hours ago0 min read
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Easter 2 C ~ "Mercy Finds Us" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min.
Last Sunday, we found an empty tomb. This Sunday, we find mercy. Perhaps it is better to say that this Sunday, mercy finds us. The...

susan mcgurgan
1 day ago3 min read
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The Resurrection of the Lord, Mass of Easter Day ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD
It is very early on the first day of the week when Mary Magdala comes to the tomb. In fact, it is still dark. She does not come with any...

susan mcgurgan
Apr 155 min read
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Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion ~ "Deep Wounds" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min.
I read the passion of Jesus and I am convicted by one question. How shallow is my faith? When I hear of the arrest, the trial, the...

susan mcgurgan
Apr 92 min read
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Lent 5 C ~Jn 8:1-11 ~ "Crossing the Kidron" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD
The span of earth from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives is etched into our spiritual geography. The heights of the Holy City are capped...

susan mcgurgan
Apr 18 min read
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Lent 4 ~Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 ~ "Robe, Ring and Sandals" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min.
One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures was the first reading last Sunday. The passage shows Moses going up the mountain, taking...

susan mcgurgan
Mar 243 min read
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Lent 3 C ~ Ex. 3:1-8a, 13-15 ~ "Holy Ground" ~ Susan McGurgan
A young Ukrainian violinist, standing alone in a basement in Kyiv, plays a haunting arrangement of an old Ukrainian folk song, filming...

susan mcgurgan
Mar 203 min read
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Lent 2 C~ Lk9:28b-36 ~"Beloved" ~ Susan McGurgan, D.Min.
From his miraculous birth to his baptism in the waters of the Jordan— from the feeding of the five thousand to the empty tomb on Easter...

susan mcgurgan
Mar 124 min read
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Lent 1 C ~ Lk 4:1-13 ~ "Company in the Wilderness" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD
St. Luke sets the scene quickly and with attention to the key details. Jesus has been baptized at the Jordan by John and now a new drama...

susan mcgurgan
Mar 56 min read
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8 OT C ~ Lk. 6:39-45 ~"The Store of Goodness" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD
In his sermon on the plain, Jesus provides sayings that instruct his followers in the way of life. We hear him tell us, “Good fruit”...

susan mcgurgan
Feb 256 min read
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7 OT C ~ Lk 6:27-38 ~ "A New Vision" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min.
A friend of mine is a judge and we were talking one day about the sacrament of reconciliation. She said that my job was a little like...

susan mcgurgan
Feb 183 min read
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6 OT C ~Lk 6:17, 20-26 ~ "A New Lens" ~ Susan McGurgan, D.Min
When I was in grade school, our Brittney Spaniel reached up to snatch a ball I was throwing, and her claw scratched my cornea. During the...

susan mcgurgan
Feb 124 min read
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5 OT C ~ Is. 6:1-2a, 3-8; Lk 5:1-11 ~ "The Deep" ~ Susan McGurgan, D.Min.
For Simon and James and John, it had been one of those nights. One of those long, cold nights when every fish in the sea seemed to be...

susan mcgurgan
Feb 44 min read
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"A Reflection on Method" Preparing a Homily for the Feast of the Presentation ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD
As I prepare to send this homily for the Feast of the Presentation to Susan McGurgan—wonderful friend and homiletics colleague—I hunched...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 318 min read
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The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Lk 2:22-40 ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, PhD.
There is a structure to biblical praise. Patterns and rituals order the prayer and praise of God’s people. So, in faithfulness to...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 286 min read
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3 OT C ~ "Fulfilled" ~ Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21, Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min
Last Sunday we heard the first words and the final words of the Mother of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Today, we hear the first words...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 213 min read
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2 OT C ~ "Tidal Wave" ~ Jn 2:1-11 Susan McGurgan, D.Min.
Who knows what really happened that day? Maybe the guests were unusually rowdy, or the party, unexpectedly fun. Maybe the host scrimped...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 153 min read
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The Baptism of the Lord C ~ "Walking in the World Wet" ~ Susan McGurgan, D.Min.
The Gospel of Luke takes us into the wilderness this week, to the banks of the Jordan River, a holy spot of remembrance and hope for the...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 73 min read
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Shaping a Homily for the Epiphany: An Exercise in David Buttrick's Homiletic ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger, Ph.D.
When it came time for David Buttrick to offer a sample of his distinctive method of preaching, he selected the Gospel Lesson for the...

susan mcgurgan
Jan 212 min read
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The Epiphany of the Lord C ~ "Following the Star" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger
These Magi are probably Persian and would be devoted to studying the stars in order to find learning in the events here on earth. They...

susan mcgurgan
Dec 31, 20246 min read
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