"Love in Action"

Proper 18.A.23
Romans 13:8-14
The Rev. Melanie McCarley

Imagine what might cause a person to head out on a rainy spring night, when temperatures hover in the mid-forties, to walk along the quiet roads of rural New Hampshire? Insomnia, maybe? A troubled mind? An opportunity for a quiet, albeit chilly and damp self-reflection? These all make sense. However, the truth is far more dramatic…a life saving mission! But one without sirens or flashing lights…just a flashlight.

"Working People"

Proper 17.A.23
Romans 12:9-21
The Rev. Melanie McCarley

Labor Day Weekend is a time of transition. We are shifting from summer into autumn, schools are reopening, and after a Monday of rest, people will return from vacation to work. It’s a fine time to be thinking about how we live and work together. To this end, St. Paul has words of advice for us in his Letter to the Romans:

"Jesus Wasn't About the Bling"

Transfiguration.A.23
Luke 9:28-36
The Rev. Melanie McCarley

In 2002, the actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who was then 43 years old, made the bold (some might say foolhardy) decision to pull back the curtain on airbrushing (the art of touching up photographs). She agreed to be photographed for a magazine spread, but only if the photographer, Andrew Eccles, would also shoot her with no makeup, no manicure, no hair styling, wearing only an exercise bra and underwear.

"Like Treasure Hidden in a Field"

Proper 12.A.23
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The Rev. Melanie McCarley

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Of all the parables told by Jesus, this is one of the shortest, taking up all of one verse…one sentence. But it is the custom of Our Lord, is it not, to say a good deal with few words….and, truth be told…who doesn’t like a good treasure story.

"The Darkness of Easter"

Easter.A.23
John 20:1-18
The Rev. Melanie L. McCarley

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.” Imagine…. perhaps Mary felt the chill of the early morning dew on her feet, maybe she stumbled on the path as she made her way in the shadows. What might she have heard? The wind rustling through the trees? Or the sandy scuttle of creatures scurrying into the underbrush as she walked by. Was it yet too early to hear the birds greet the morning? I imagine darkness and quiet and the weight of sorrow pressing down.

"Sacrifice & The Eucharist"

Maundy Thursday.A.23
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The Rev. Melanie L. McCarley

Whether you envision the Last Supper as sweet and poignant or dark and moody, fraught with betrayal and impending doom, this event evokes profound emotions in addition to a hefty dose of theological speculation. Day by day and all over the globe, this meal (the Holy Eucharist) is being commemorated at any given moment. It behooves us to ask ourselves why? What is it about the Last Supper that has made it such a defining experience for Christians of all stripes.

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