Preaching the Scriptures

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 14:22-33   Why Did You Doubt? St. Mary’s, Springfield Center   As he thrashed around in the tumultuous sea, the answer to Jesus’ query seemed rather obvious.   And the doubt in Peter’s mind justified.   And yet, it was in that chaotic moment in which Jesus posed his question.   Because, after all, who doesn’t enjoy a deep philosophical discussion when one is pre-occupied with drowning?   Jesus asked Peter the “why” question.   And I don’t know if that was advisable.   As a parent, I can tell you, experts work very hard to talk that question out of the parental vocabulary.   In books and blogs, they claim it causes shame or fear.   Sometimes a cognitive block.   Often defensiveness.   In the Gospel text, Peter’s response to Jesus’ “why” is not recorded – if there even was one.   It is difficult to talk when one is terrified and choking on water.   Still in th...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 14:13-21   Too Much St. Hubert’s, Lake Pleasant   At the end of the day, it was simply far too much bread.   It is, admittedly, difficult to calculate the necessary allotment for a crowd numbered in the thousands.   And certainly, you don’t want to run out in the middle of the meal.   But as the satisfied masses dissipated, there was somehow still bread everywhere.   It was like standing in a vast field of wheat, but with no assembly required.   In the most mundane of times, life can be pretty unpredictable.   But this was an extreme version of that.   As the disciples collected the bread, five loaves and two fish must have felt like a distant memory.   All their early evening worries, like a silly dream.   By all accounts, it was a good day.   People were cured.   People were fed.   The crowds that circled the lake, on foot, left satisfied.   The expec...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Romans 8:26-39   Nothing Transfiguration, Blue Mountain Lake   This is a sermon about “nothing.”   Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, I have heard many sermons about nothing.   Well, that may be the case.   But this sermon is about a very specific “nothing.”   You see, for all the words spilled about the Christian faith over the centuries, “nothing” matters.   In a world populated by billions of diverse and different, beautiful and broken people, “nothing” matters.   Amidst the unfathomable vastness of creation, “nothing” matters.   When you leave this place today, I hope you leave with “nothing.”   Because this “nothing” I have in mind means everything.   We Church people have a long history of complicating and obfuscating the Gospel.   But it is really quite simple.   We tend to qualify and nullify the power of the Christian message, as if our human ingenuity could some...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 13:24-30, 36-42   In the Garden St. Mark’s, Malone   In the Spring of 2020, I planted a garden.   Property-bound by a mysterious pandemic, my ministry suddenly became work from home.   Screens are inevitable, even in the healthiest of times, but during the earliest days of COVID there was little else.   Morning Prayer and Bible Studies were livestreamed from my living room.   Sermons were recorded for digital upload.   Pastoral care was done by actually talking on the phone.   Everything else, and there was a lot of else, was a seemingly inexhaustible series of Zoom meetings.   The garden became my excuse to disconnect and go outside.   The first thing I planted in my garden was spinach.   I don’t remember why.   Maybe because it can be planted early in the growing season.   Maybe because I was told it is easier to grow than some other veggies.   Maybe because e...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30   250 Zion, Colton   Yesterday we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of our country.   The semiquincentennial is a momentous occasion – a cause for parades, fireworks, and fanfares.   And we live in an amazing part of the country to revel in it.   Our diocese is dotted with blue historical signs pointing to the earliest days of our national organization.   And yet, for many, it was a complex event given the national strife we are experiencing.   In our United States, we feel the weight of our divisions.   Our one country can feel like an uneasy collection of competing ideologies.     We live in an intensely partisan time – one driven by social media, cash infusions, and political theatre.   The partisanship in our nation is exhausting and it is relentless.   At some level it feels like not many of us really like it, and yet we can’t seem to quit...

The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Galatians 3:23-29   A Confirmation Sermon St. John, Massena   Tonight we celebrate the vibrant faith and deepening commitment of our brothers and sisters in Christ, these holy siblings who, moments from now, will bow their heads and open their hearts in expectation.   They are already baptized Christians, already called to ministry in the waters of baptism.   But tonight they are courageous enough to pray for a little more Holy Spirit power.   They are courageous enough to invite the wild influence of the Holy Spirit to undermine any chance they might have had to be ordinary, to be normal.   Instead, they are choosing to live life against the grain.   On this special occasion these precious children of God will reaffirm their allegiance to Jesus and to Jesus alone.   They have determined that their precious lives will be dictated by the demands of love, offered in service to others and in ministry to th...