Ernest F. Campbell Selected Sermons

 Annual Meeting Epiphany 3 C Going His Way January 26, 1992 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell I’ve been a priest for 40 years and I’ve been to my share of annual meetings. To be perfectly honest, I have not particularly enjoyed the responsibility of standing in front of a widely diversified, and in some cases, highly opinionated group of vote packing parishioner who now have the opportunity to talk back. I used to have this nightmarish fantasy that someone would jump up at the meeting and tear into something, or somebody, or me with breath taking precision. It never happened. In forty years, it never happened. But I submit to you that chairing the annual meeting was for me an annual test of my faith. I can see our Lord smiling at me, a teacher of faith, and saying, “Remember: I am with you always… no matter what… even at annual meetings.” The annual meeting, as I remember, with the smallest attendance, was at St. marks in Evanston, Ill. There the Rector insisted that everyone read their r...

 Epiphany 4 – The Beatitudes: The Christian Way of Joy January 29, 2017 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell My old theology professor “Doc” Kramer once reminded us that, “If you’re not having any fun out of life, there’s something wrong with your theology.” I will admit that thought sounded a little off-beat coming from an old man. As if age, would in some way make having fun more difficult. I believe that the point he was trying to make was that our creator, God, did not make this world for suffering and tears at any age. The biblical story of creation makes that intent clear in Genesis. When God had finished putting the land, and sea, and animals, and people all together, what did he say? “It is good!” and if it is good, enjoy it! Old Doc Kramer was right; if you’re not having any fun out of life, take another look at what the Genesis story is trying to tell us. Did you enjoy it? Jesus underlines the whole intent of creation when he says, “I have come that you may have life in abundance.”...

 Epiphany 4 C Watch Over Us on This Dangerous Earth February 2, 1986 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell I was at home preparing something to eat when suddenly the radio blurted out the news… President Kennedy had been shot! I would be surprised if anyone who learned that tragic news did not remember exactly where they were, and what they were doing. It was as if our whole nation came to a stop on a dingle frame of “life’s passing parade.” Where were you last Tuesday when you heard the news that our space shuttle had exploded on lift off killing all aboard? I was in the back room of Logos Book Store for our regular Tuesday morning clergy bible study. We remained silent for some time, while we sorted our feelings, and gathered our thoughts. We were at that moment all focused on a single frame of “life’s passing parade” – all compelled to look at the reality and pain of death. One of the first concerns that came out of our stunned silence was the hope that someone with the right degree of com...

 Epiphany 3 C The Ripple Effect January 27, 2013 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell You have heard me mention the Men’s Proper’s Breakfast: that for the past 40 years has met weekly at 7:00 a.m. every Wednesday (unless Wednesday falls on Christmas or New Years Day) to discuss the lessons assigned by the lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. We pray that we may hear what God wants each of us to hear, and for the will to let God’s word change the direction of our individual and corporate lives. Any and all questions are welcome. A few weeks ago, the subject of the school shooting at Newtown, Connecticut invited comment. What would 15 old men, who consider God’s word every week of the year, have to say about that heartbreaking tragedy? Our discussion turned to guns, mental health and young white males who turn violent. We wondered what wisdom, we, and others, might possess that, if it were systematically being passed on, could possibly make a difference. How do we help young men know that they ...

 Epiphany 2 C The Joy of the Lord is My Life January 18, 1986 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Last Sunday I pointed out that the theme of Epiphany was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world. To be more specific, I shared the plan of the evangelism committee to invite a friend to a series of four sermons during lent, focused on a review of basic Christianity. Our Lord has commissioned each of us to GO.... teaching the Lord, and inviting those outside His family to be baptized into it. In a sense we will be trying to sell someone on the benefits of accepting in faith God’s gifts of love, forgiveness, and new possibilities…. or, as we say in our liturgy, “The innumerable benefits procured on our behalf by His blessed passion, precious death, His mighty resurrection and glorious ascension.” As we make our contact, it will be important to remember that the person we are inviting is looking at us. One legitimate question they might be thinking is whether we might be enjoyi...

 Epiphany 2 C And His Disciples Believed in Him January 20, 1980 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Jesus’ mother knew that there was something special and holy about her son. His disciples knew that there was something special and holy about their master. It was expected of Holy Men and Shamans to possess special divine powers to perform miracles. The miracles gave their teaching authority and were, in the minds of their disciples, the necessary credentials of divine authority. A certain beer advertises that…when you’re out of “their brand” …you are out of beer. At the wedding in Cana, when they ran out of wine, the party was over. In a compassionate response to this embarrassing miscalculation, Mary turns to her son to save the day. Our Lord’s response to His mother, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Makes it sound like Jesus had not discussed with His mother the strategy of timing in His ministry, but none the less, He chooses to accommodate her, and save th...

  Epiphany 1 C Joining Hands January 13, 2013 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell The Epiphany Season reminds us annually that God’s love is for everyone. Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it; especially sitting here in this cozy church with friends we love and who love us in return? God’s love is for everyone. That was and has been God’s message to all the people of the earth. God’s love is universal. There are no throw away human beings. This message has been the same, yesterday, today, and forever. God’s love is for everyone. This was the message the Jewish people understood and whom God commissioned to proclaim. God’s love is for all people. But here’s the problem: All people are not like us, and we don’t want to be like them. When the Jews began to face into that human reality, they felt forced to set up boundaries to define themselves. So, we have the fining laws that must be obeyed to be counted as a member of the “IN” group, “God’s Holy People.” Everyone else, the “Out” group we call...

  Christmas 2 C The Dignity of Man January 2, 1983 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell This past week the Union Bulletin ran a story about two young men in our community who fancy themselves as inventors. In the interview these budding creators explained how they were discovering that trying to promote a new idea is much harder than having a new idea in the first place. It seems that people in general are slow to understand, accept and ultimately invest in something they have been able to live more-or-less happily without. Because their ‘thing-a-ma-jigs’ are not catching on as fast as they had hoped they have decided to move to another geographic area where new ideas seem to enjoy a heartier try. I’m sure you would join me in wishing them every success. One can only speculate on how many good ideas there are out there, gathering dust, for want of the right promotional connection. It is always difficult to get a new idea from one mind into another mind. This is particularly true with somethi...

 Christmas C The Turning Point December 24, 1985 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell We all share a common handicap tonight…. winter. Having lived in Minnesota for fifteen years, I can say, “this is what winter is like. The ground is like iron, travel is treacherous, heating bills staggering.” Yesterday a cattleman shared that he had just purchased 50 tons of hay he did not anticipate needing, and at each feeding takes his shovel to break drinking holes through the iced over creek. Winter’s grip is not discriminating. We are all, in one way or another, forced to cope with its frozen miseries. One way of copping, at least in St. Paul Minnesota, is the annual Winter Carnaval. In the face of the season’s harshness, it is the Minnesotan’s way of laughing at winter. Never mind that the trumpeter’s lips in the marching band are frozen to their instrument…winter can be fun! For me the most appropriate event in the winter carnival was chunk kicking. The idea was to see how many kicks it would take ...