Mother Claire's Sermons

In the movie Dogma , the main character Bethany is sent on a mission from God. Bethany does not want this mission. And as she tells her story of why she isn’t interested in what God wants from her - even as she is on the mission she continues to resist  - she shares her grievances. To combine a couple of exchanges for clarity, she asks, “when the doctor botched my procedure leaving me unable to have children, where was God? And when my husband decided he didn’t want to be with a woman who couldn’t carry his children, where was God?” and while she was going through her divorce, her mother said to her, “Bethany, God has a plan,” to which she responded, “What about my plans? Weren’t my plans good enough for God?” It’s been many years since I last watched Dogma , but that scene has stuck with me. Not because her mother’s response, while intended to comfort, ended up causing her more pain - something we have all experienced as both the well-intended giver and receiver. What struck me is...

My colleague Pastor Jill Williams is the rector of St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Ocean City, Maryland. Her parish is preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the city for attempting to shut down their overnight shelter for unhoused people. The fight began last year when Ocean City passed an ordinance making sleeping in public spaces punishable by jail time. St. Paul’s shelter operates from 7pm to 7am and houses about 27 people every night. The ministry, which is mostly funded by donations and the congregation, also offers dinner and breakfast, and helps overnight guests access other resources, such as substance abuse programs and affordable housing assistance. To quote Pastor Jill, “Every evening our doors open to people who need safety, dignity and hope. We believe that serving our neighbors in this way is part of our calling as a church, and we remain committed to that work.” Last week, when the city arrived at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea to issue their fine, Pastor Jill rea...

When my brother and I were tweens, we had an uncanny knack of getting grounded over stupid choices. We weren’t dangerous, just dumb. After a day or two of our sentence, sometimes my mom would approach us and offer clemency. She wanted to show us that although we made mistakes, she believed in our ability to be better. In verse 13 of today's lesson from Matthew, Jesus tells the Pharisees to “go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ This instruction was so important to Jesus that in chapter 12 he tells the pharisees they would have behaved differently “if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” Jesus is throwing shade at the Pharisees. Telling Pharisees to learn what the Prophets mean is like when an eight year old corrects their teacher. They know. So what point is Jesus making? We are reading in English what Matthew wrote in Greek. Jesus probably spoke Aramaic, day to day, but this quote from the prophet Hosea, which is where “I desire...