"Humble" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 29, 2010

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Acceptance of the person…requires a tolerance of imperfection.[i]

My parents are very traditional when it comes to etiquette and, as a result, they passed these social rules to me as I grew up. For one, I was to call an adult by Mister, Misses, Miss, Doctor, Father, etc. This was no problem. But, I became disgruntled learning proper dinner table etiquette. I admit to being quite frustrated with the constant reminders of how to use utensils, keep my mouth closed while chewing, and pass dishes politely. And yet, those lessons formed the way I eat today; I don’t really think about it. I was also corrected when I used a word incorrectly.

This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church August 25, 2010

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"Sabbath" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 22, 2010

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Luke 13.10-17, Hebrews 12.18-29, Jeremiah 1.4-10

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge. (Psalm 71.1a)

I should not be the one preaching about keeping a good sabbath. I struggle, everyday and every week, keeping a discipline for myself. I procrastinate opportunities to relax and to find life’s deeper core of meaning. But the Christian faith teaches, quite enthusiastically, about the need to step away from the busyness of life, in order to find solace in our existence. I do take part in regular worship, some would even say that I am more than regular, but sabbath means more than that.

As I always told my students, the origin of the word sabbath is “seventh day.”

This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, August 18, 2010

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"Seek the Truth" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 15, 2010

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Luke 12.49-56, Jeremiah 23.23-29, Hebrews 11.29-12.22

“Seek the Truth, Come Whence it May, Cost What it Will.”

OK. Today’s gospel is not one that I would choose to preach. We are comfortable hearing Jesus’ sayings about love and peace and harmony and spirit. We like to hear about moral exemplars, like the Good Samaritan, and Jesus’ compassion for the outcasts. These are the emotions that draw us together and inspire our faith in the Almighty God. But not today’s passage, this is one that makes us squirm. Jesus said, “I didn’t come to bring peace but rather, division.” Jesus predicted quarreling among family members; even fathers against sons and daughters against mothers. These are not we hold to be “Christian values;” the set of ethics that paint our perfection

This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church - August 11, 2010

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This Week at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church - August 4, 2010

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"Number" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 1, 2010

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Luke 12.13-21, Colossians 3.1-11

"The Rich Fool" Rembrandt - 1627

What’s your number? Not your phone number, or your social security number, or your personal identification number. “What’s your number?” is the focus of the advertising campaign of a large financial institution. The commercials in this campaign show people, normal people doing normal things, like mowing the yard, driving a car, or playing tennis. And their numbers, actually floating numerals, like 3 million, 1.2 million and 800,000 follow them like a shadow wherever they go. The goal of the campaign is to convince people to set up a strategy that will allow their cash reserves to build to the ‘number.’ In one commercial, a man asks his neighbor what that number following him is and the neighbor explains that it is the goal that will allow him to retire the way he wants. The neighbor then asks, what’s your number and the man, continuing to clip his hedge, answers “a ‘gazillion.’”