Sermon.04.25.21.Easter4B St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Acts 4.5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3.16-24; John 10.11-18 Let’s look at Psalm 23.6: “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” As I have noted previously, the word “follow” (radaph) is more accurately translated as “pursue.” Also “surely” (‘ aa) is more accurately translated as “only.” Furthermore, the word translated as “dwel

Sermon.04.18.21.Easter3.Earth Day St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Acts 3.12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3.1-7; Luke 24.36b-48 It is the third Sunday of the Easter season, the third Sunday of April, the Sunday commonly called Earth Sunday. It is a good time to consider wisdom and reverence as the gifts of our Creator. The Book of Common Prayer contains a Prayer for the Conservation of Natural Resources (p. 827) which reads: Almighty God, in giving us dominion over thing

Sermon.04.11.21.Easter 2B St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Acts 4.32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1.1-2.2; John 20.19-31 When Judas brought a detachment of soldiers with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees to arrest Jesus, Jesus stepped forward and asked, “Whom are you looking for?” I suspect the translator made an error here, for we all know that Jesus would not have ended a sentence with a preposition! Jesus most certainly said, “Whom do you seek?” Those

Easter Sunday Sermon.04.01.18 St. Paul’s – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; John 20:1-18 Something wonderful has happened! As the psalmist said: “The same stone which the builders rejected [Jesus Christ] has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118.24, BCP). During the Easter Vigil, we read several pas

Easter Vigil Sermon.04.03.21 St. Paul’s – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Genesis 1.1 – 2.4a; Genesis 7.1-5, 11-18, 8.6-18, 9.8-13; Genesis 22.1-18; Exodus 14.10-15.1; Isaiah 4.2-6; Isaiah 55.1-11; Ezekiel 36.24-28; Ezekiel 37.1-14; Zephaniah 3.12-20; Romans 6.3-11; Matthew 28.1-10 The Great Vigil of Easter is the pinnacle of the Church year. No service is accorded a higher place. Thanks for joining us in this celebration. The Easter Vigil has four parts: in the Service of Light we k

Good Friday.04.02.21 St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Isaiah 52.13-53.12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10.16-25; John 18.1-19.42 On Palm Sunday we considered how vastly different was the mind of Jesus in comparison to Caiaphas, Pilate, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, and the mob which demanded his crucifixion. We also noted St. Paul’s exhortation that we put on the mind of Christ: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the

Sermon.04.01.21.Maundy Thursday B St. Paul’s Episcopal – Brookings Fr. Larry Ort Exodus 12.1-14; Psalm 116.1, 10-17; 1 Corinthians 11.23-26; John 13.1-17, 31b-35 On Palm Sunday, we contrasted the mind of this world as embraced by Caiaphas, Pilate, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, and the mob with the mind of Jesus. While those who embraced the values of the world clung to, and filled themselves with, their wealth, power, and prestige, Jesus, although he was God inc