Ernest F. Campbell Selected Sermons

  Proper 26 All Saints C The Turning Point of Faith October 30, 1983 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell My name is Zacchaeus . I own and manage the little winery at the edge of town, and I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you will recall that for a period in my life I was employed by the Emperor of Rome as a tax collector. I can honestly say that I more-or-less fell into my first position. A friend (who knew my love for keeping personal records) had a friend who was a tax collector. When his tax collector friend needed some time off because of illness he suggested my name and they hired me on a temporary basis. They must have liked my work, because when my friend’s friend returned to work, they gave me a permanent assignment.  I am ashamed now as I think back on those first years…. How naïve I was about the real world of greed. The Romans hired Jews to collect taxes from fellow Jews. You would think the we would have bent over backwards to be fair in our calculations....

  Proper 25 C The Sunday Masquerade October 24, 2010 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Let’s start with the Gospel reading for today: Luke 18:9-14 Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector . The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."   The parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee will work on you until you sink to your k...

Proper 22 C Worthy of love and Belonging October 2 2016 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell Any of you who have been teachers or camp counselor would understand Our Lord’s disciples request to “increase our faith.” Students and campers are acquainted with the crippling effect of their human vulnerability. Who do you think they are?  As we enter a room, we wonder what are all those people looking at us thinking? By the time we reach the age of this group the sharp pain seems to have dissipated, but deep down we know that we are still vulnerable. Who do we think we are? When a young child is learning how to swim there is that scary moment when the instructor coaches them to take their feet off the bottom. Have faith, the instructor says, it really works. Trust what you can see for yourself. Our bodies are buoyant. We float, because that’s the way we’re made. St. Paul would say, “See we are surrounded by a crowd of witnesses. Trust in the truth of how God made us, and you are on your way to m...

  Proper 23 C Cheerful Giving October 12, 1980 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell I want to talk about hard times. I want to talk about the hard times of a leper in the first century .  It was a condition so dreaded that it caused those who had it to be ritually rejected . (To ring your bell and announce that you were unclean). It was generally believed that it’s victims must be hated by God. All of life’s doors were closed; family rejected you, business opportunities vanished, marriage was out of the question , old friends could pity you…. at a distance. You were considered as one who was dead.  In today’s Gospel ten of these retched out-casts see Jesus as He is entering a village and from a distance, they cry out to Him in a loud voice! We need to read between the lines here for a minute and imagine the expression on their faces, the tone of their voices and the urgency of their words – Jesus may never pass their way again – “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!” Jesus responds by s...

  Proper 22 C Hang Around Jesus October 7, 2007 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell The prophet Habakkuk is somewhat of a maverick! Most of the prophets speak God’s word to us. They are preachers calling us to listen to God’s word of judgment. Most prophets insist that we pay attention to God as He is, and not as we imagine Him to be. Habakkuk on the other hand insists that God pay attention to us.  Habakkuk could see that God was about to use the Babylonians , a godless nation, to bring judgment and destruction to God’s own people. “ The Message” translation reads like this: “God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? How many times do I have to yell, help! Murder! Police! Before you come to the rescue? Why do you force me to look at evil and stare trouble in the face day after day?” Habakkuk, I believe, in his bafflement speaks for many of us when it looks and feels like evil is going to...

  Proper 21 C God Gives to Us September 25, 1983 By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell The rich man in today’s Gospel is presented as a figure of indolent self-indulgence. He is contrasted with a beggar named Lazarus who daily lay at the rich man’s gate; hungry, covered in sores and so helpless that he could not even ward off the street dogs which pestered him. In telling this parable, Jesus leaves absolutely no room to rationalize away the poor man’s desperate need, and the rich man’s blind indifference. If we are tempted to think that the beggar was putting on some kind of “act” to cover the fact that he was a lazy good-for-nothing, it would be difficult to overlook the ulcerated sores and his humiliating vulnerability to dogs cruising the town for garbage. If we are tempted to think that the rich man was suffering guilt or any emotional upset over the beggars’ plight, it would be hard to explain how he could step over the starving man at his gate and then sit down to a sumptuous feast…. ...