Sermon.12.24.19 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 9.2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2.11-14; Luke 2.1-20 We long for Christmas to be a joyful and a happy time, but for many of us it is not always so. Yes, we experience good times, but let’s face it, life is messy. Our good times are interspersed with broken relationships, disappointments, tragedy, sickness, death, divorce and grief. We carry these things into Christmas. For some of us, myself included, Christmas bri

Sermon 12.22.19 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 7.10-16; Psalm 80.1-7, 16-18; Romans 1.1-7; Matthew 1.18 In many respects, it has been an ugly week; we have watched two political parties vilify each other and have observed the impeachment of Donald Trump. We have heard the impeachment proceedings compared to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion and to the day of infamy which was Pearl Harbor. It is rare that political parties lack the ability to spin the narrati

Sermon.12.15.19 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 35.1-10; Psalm 146.4-9; James 5.7-10; Matthew 11.2-11 In my younger days, my personality was far more type A. I was impatient. I wanted to be in control; I wanted things to happen on my schedule. If we were on a trip, I had the stops and the mileage all scheduled in my mind, and woe be it to anything that interfered. I was much like one of the two vultures sitting on a tree limb overlooking the desert. One

Sermon.12.08.19 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 11.1-10; Psalm 72.1-7, 18-19; Romans 15.4-13; Matthew 3.1-12 Matthew portrays John the Baptist as the return of Elijah who also wore clothing made of camel hair and ate honey and locusts. John must have been a fiery preacher, for people journeyed into the wilderness to hear what he had to say. He did not mince words: When the Pharisees and the Sadducees came seeking baptism, he said, “You brood of vipers! W

Sermon.12.01.19 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 2.1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13.11-14; Matthew 24.36-44 As a child, it seemed like Christmas would never come! Two of our aunts – school teachers --always asked what we wanted for Christmas. My three sisters and I would spend considerable time thinking about our list. We always knew we would never get everything on our Christmas list, so we had to choose carefully. We would usually receive our request, if it we