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Trinity Episcopal Church-DeRidder, LA, 629 N Texas Street, DeRidder, LA (2026)

08/29/2026

14 Pentecost 2026 Jeremiah 15:Psalm 26: Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28

When I was trying to help someone get back on their feet, the person seemed to slide back into what is called 'the dark side'. I tried to follow the advice of someone who went through that 'dark side' experience and who told me, 'look for a spark of conscience' and you are not wasting your time or resources. I did that, and saw a spark of conscience in the person. There was that side of the person that made you wonder how in the world could someone like that get into the dark world where illegal activity abounds, when one person is helped with toiletries another person steals them.

Frustrated by my attempts to help this person as well as the mother and siblings, I was told by a lady who experienced the 'dark side' and was dealing with staying on the 'bright side'. 'Sometimes you have to love at a distance. Help by staying in the background and let the person figure it out for themselves. The more you interfere with the best of intentions the more harm you do.'

Paul challenges us today at the core of our being when he says love one another with mutual affection; rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer; bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them; do not repay evil with evil. Then he says 'IF it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.' Then the words '...never avenge yourself, but leave room for the wrath of God..........yet 'do not overcome evil by evil but overcome evil with good.'

The words 'IF IT IS POSSIBLE, SO FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU........are words that justify our loving at a distance and leaving room for God who is Truth to operate. Sometimes we as humans in our efforts to follow the commands Paul tells us to follow can result in our getting in the way of what God who is Truth has in store for the person who has gone to the dark side. Our 'neurotic desire to save' can be an enabling factor, one that feeds into the dark side of the one we think we are loving and helping. People do manipulate charitable people. That is where we have to have the courage to 'love at a distance' so that our love is less about us and more about the other person recovering the truth of their own life.

But, I was told 'are we not our brothers keeper?' It says so in the bible. True, but we are not our brother. Remember, Jesus loved Judas at a distance. When Judas left the Last Supper and went out and took his own life, Jesus did not tell Judas I will be and do what you want, instead Jesus loved Judas at a distance. Jesus is our best example. He loved Judas but did not take upon himself Judas' decision which was different than how Peter responded after denying he knew Jesus not once but three times.

The Psalmist in verse 2 cries out to the Lord 'Test me, O Lord and try me; examine my heart and my mind.' If there comes a time when we must love at a distance, perhaps tune out the cries of the one who is trying to manipulate us, we can have the confidence of knowing the Lord, the Truth, will know our true minds and hearts. Loving at a distance is not abandoning Paul's challenge. In fact it is following Paul's challenge because our minds and and hearts long for the day the person whom we love will come to his or her senses, get help and choose the right path.

There is nothing more painful than to watch someone we love, someone we know and care for not use their talents and not seeing them living a sober, productive and peaceful life. Sometimes we may feel we are at fault for their choices,but then we pray the prayer of the Psalm “Lord I have walked faithfully with you and have not consorted with the deceitful.' Loving at a distance means we never agree with the choices of the loved one, but we do agree that when the time is right and our intentions are not misused we will help the wrong doer rebuild their life.

08/21/2026

13 Pentecost 2026 Isaiah 51:Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew16:13-20in

Ever watch the game show America Says where they have two teams of four members, each with the challenge of filling in the blanks trying to guess what words will complete a sentence? The other day there were four people, one lady with her hair all fancied with different do dads, a bald headed man dressed in a nice suit, next to him an elderly man all dressed up and finally a woman well dressed. The moderator asked the first lady to introduce the team. Well, I am the pastor of our church, God's Place of Miracles. She pointed to the man next to her, 'and this is my husband he's a bishop, then she said the elderly man was also a pastor of the church and the last woman was in charge of the hospitality.

I sat there thinking about our gospel passage where Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom and says upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.' I didn't go into the binding and loosing. That's a sermon for another day, answering the question why do we tell our sins to another human being? Lots of bible passages to support that, and places in our book of common prayer. But back to Jesus' command to Peter, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

I looked at the bald headed man and thought he doesn't look like any bishop I have seen. Not like bishops whose pictures hang over the coffee counter in the hall. Or on the walls of fellowship halls or church offices. So, where does this guy,and perhaps most of the churches in DeRidder, fit into the 'my church' Jesus speaks of? I kept listening to the four and they spoke of the purpose of their church 'to minister to youth who are in trouble'. The bald headed bishop said, 'we want to fight Satan and save these young people'. There to me was the unifying element of all churches be the bishop dressed in robes with a hat on his head and a shepherd staff in his hand, or a bald headed man dressed in a suit at a game show. The purpose of all churches is to keep evil, Satan, at a distance within our own lives and those of others.

When you and I come to church, we enter this holy place where the world and Jesus are at one. When we enter the door we leave the cares of the world outside and we place ourselves in an atmosphere of sacred signs and symbols. We have the stained glass windows. We have the altar, the candles, the music and the prayers all of which allow us to put the gates of hell aside and pray that Satan will never take hold of our life.

We might say Jesus' words 'My Church' with all the various denominations with their one purpose of giving glory to Jesus have the common purpose of keeping Jesus as the center of our lives. In his book 'I Am With You Always' the Roman Catholic Monk, Fr. Groeschel speaks of all the different denominations seeking that one purpose to remember Jesus is with us always and thus Fr. Groeschel never speaks ill of any denomination outside the Catholic Church. In fact, as I have said before the Roman Catholic Church in the 1940s severely disciplined one of its priests, a Father Feeney, for saying if you are not Roman Catholic you are not saved.

We pray here at Trinity, that we may all be united in our Christian faith to be like the four members of the church 'God's Place of Miracles', using our gift of faith to not entertain evil in our life, to avoid all selfishness and always find a way of reaching out to others from opening a door, helping someone with groceries, taking a shopping cart from an elderly person and placing it where it belongs, small deeds that make big difference and keep evil from our hearts. With that faith in Jesus the gates of Hades will never prevail.

08/15/2026

12 Pentecost 2026 Isaiah 56;Psalm 67; Romans 11; Matthew 15

By now you know and I have heard many of you say it, 'What is major is major, what is minor is minor.' Sounds sort of lazy for one and liberal for another, certainly one can say it excuses a sort of sloppiness in terms of traditions, customs and liturgical practices in church. If the candles aren't lit or a prayer is overlooked by mistake, some go bananas as if the worship service has been corrupted.

So, what is my biblical basis for having such an attitude? Today's gospel is my basis for looking at what is essential and what is not. “For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander. These are what defile a person, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile.” See,the religious leaders had all these dos and donts when it came to worship or being clean in their eyes. Jesus was saying all that is good, there need be proper order, but that is not essential to having faith as he said of the non-Jewish woman. She pleaded with Jesus out of a mother's love and he played with her mind to test what was essential which was her faith not her belonging to the Jewish religion with its rituals, as good as they may be.

“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Jesus' words seem rather harsh when he says it is not fair to take children's food and throw it to the dogs' In other words since she was not an Israelite, a woman of reproach, she was not deserving of God's mercy. But, she persisted with a mother's love and said 'even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table'. Jesus said 'woman, great is your faith.' Jesus saw what was major.

This passage from Matthew should keep all of us aligned to what is essential in Jesus' eyes. Not this arguing over candles, flowers, missed prayers in the prayer book, or what denomination can pray better than the other, or in some churches the morning service is more alive than the evening one where everyone seems silent and glum. It's the faith within that is major. Some need lots of noise and others need quiet. It's the faith within.

A lady told the story of her father, a life long Pentecostal. After an accident he became bedridden. The lady said her father lay in bed smiling, joking and never losing faith. Jesus has a plan he keeps telling the family. When you hear the story of his and other people's faith in the face of diversity, one's arguing over incidentals is like the blind guides Jesus speaks of. All those externals pass away but what dwells within our hearts doesn't.

What has impressed the daughter is that not once has he said 'it is not fair' nor that Jesus has abandoned him as one might think Jesus abandoned the woman pleading for his help. I think the first and second verses of Psalm 67 which is a universal hymn of praise, summarizes how we should feel in our hearts as does the bedridden father “May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and come to us.' Let your ways be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.”

08/08/2026

11 Pentecost 2026:1 Kings 19; Psalm 85; Romans10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

I remember way back when one of my fourth grade classmates pulled a prank the teacher that made the teacher furious. She made the boy stand up in front of the class and in no uncertain terms told him “You should be ashamed of yourself. Ashamed.” The look on the boys face said it all. Not only was he publicly punished for his misdeed he was shamed. To this day, I shudder if a child is scolded in front of me. Some people like that sort of thing, and sometimes say in a restaurant or church one must quiet a child, but if more discipline is necessary it is not necessary to shame the child in front of others. Go somewhere more private, outside or the like and deal with the situation.

One might ask how this in anyway relates to our bible readings. For sure it applies to Paul's letter to the Romans. How so? As we read the past weeks, and especially last week when Paul spoke of living in anguish over his misdeeds, Paul was expressing a sense of shame, worthlessness. Shame is that point where one takes away any dignity another has left. The boy scolded by the teacher not only felt disciplined, but felt worthless. He sat in his chair, head down, and would not speak to us. It was as if his worthiness had been stripped from him and he was acutely aware of what the class might think of him. Paul was saying to himself,, “shame on Paul” as he kept beating himself up thinking in doing so he was doing something good. That is why Paul tells us obeying the law is proper, but in breaking the law be careful as to how you punish yourself or another.

Webster's dictionary defines shame as a 'feeling of humiliating disgrace, an extreme sense of worthlessness. See what the passage says, 'no one who believes in him will be put to shame'. In other words, believing in Jesus, professing him with our lips and heart has nothing to do with going around asking everyone if they are saved as in doing so you end up shaming the person. Believing in Jesus is about knowing despite whatever we do, there is the dignity Jesus sees in us as part of his creation.

How beautiful were the arms of a couple girls and boys in the fourth grade class who went up to the boy and put their arms around him, guaranteeing him that whatever he did was not right, but he still belonged to the class. Shaming brings with it a scar, a sense of loneliness of not belonging. Shaming isn't discipline its a misuse of power aimed at stripping away the dignity of ourselves or another.

I would like to think verse 10 of our Psalm helps us in our role as parent, teachers, and clergy, and how we look at ourselves. “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Would it have been better for the teacher to have spoken a truth to the young man toned down with a sense of mercy, for she was right in challenging the boys behavior but not stripping him of his dignity.

Shaming, as Paul did to himself, borders on insulting the Jesus we say we believe in. Being too rigid, bragging about being a law abiding citizen which we are called to be, can bring with it the feeling of superiority which we might think is far superior to the Jesus who died on the cross saying Father forgive them, they know not what they do. Discipline yourself and other with a soft heart.

If ever we feel shame, drowning in a negative view of ourselves pray the prayer of Peter who was sinking in the water and cried out in faith, “Lord, save me.” After all, he is the one in charge.

07/31/2026

10 Pentecost 2026: Isaiah 55:Psalm 145; Romans 9:1-9; Matthew 14:13-21

If there is anyone in the bible that you and I can identify with, if we are brutally honest, it is with Paul. Paul, as I have said before, was a man extremely shameful of his actions all done under the guise of being righteous; murdering and shaming people because he was out to protect his religious beliefs with its laws only to find out that he had it all wrong.

Today's reading from Romans as brief as it is, sees Paul pouring out his sense of shame and guilt with the words 'unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people.” What he is saying is he realizes both the horrible sins he committed and at the same time he realizes the immense love and forgiveness that comes with faith in Christ Jesus and he would be willing to give up that peacefulness and pass it on to someone who has yet to know it. Much like the man Bonhoeffer in World War II who gave up his life, was hanged, so that others might live. Paul is saying he would take upon himself eternal loneliness in shame and guilt if it means another fellow Israelite could possess the peace and joy offered by Christ Jesus, the Person whom Paul shamefully offended.

Don't be fooled by those who make fun of the people in the bible. They were imperfect people like you and me who at one time thought they knew it all, scoffed at Jesus, made fun of Jesus when he spoke of giving up his life. Like you and I at times, wondering if all this coming to church, receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is just a bunch of foolishness. If and whenever you think that and are told you are stupid, ignorant and foolish to put your trust in Christ Jesus, don't forget Paul. His letter to the Romans and his other letters are in the bible because they are concrete examples of someone who thought Jesus was a fool, a fairy tale, a rebel, someone not to believe.

Psalm 145 for today is a prayer we can pray when doubts come to our minds and we think we are the smartest person on the planet. Any one of the verses applies to our longing and questioning minds and heart. Verse 15 applies to our reflection for today as we think of the shameful feelings Paul was sharing with us. “The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up all those who are bowed down.”
And in times of doubt, times we think this God and Jesus thing is a farce, a lie, an insult to my intelligence, remember the last verse, a cry of faith. “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all flesh bless his holy Name forever and ever.”

07/29/2026

PRAYER FOR TEACHERS, ANOINTING AND BLESSING OF CARS AFTER CHURCH

We will begin with our prayer for teachers and schools

Let us pray in unison:
Eternal Father, we ask you to bless our schools as we are about to begin the school year for 2026. In particular, we ask you to bless as we anoint those who are called to be true local missionaries, our teachers whose calling is to challenge the minds and hearts of our youth, the future keepers of your creation. May the schools along with the teachers and students be lively centers for sound learning, new discoveries and the pursuit of wisdom. We pray also that these missionaries in the mission field of the classroom may be supported by parents, communities and churches. We ask this in Jesus' name under the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Ceremony of Anointing:

Let us pray in unison: Savior of the world, by your cross and precious blood you have redeemed us. Save us and help us we humbly beseech you. May our receiving this holy anointing give us the strength to live out our calling in the world, knowing your Holy Spirit is our help and our shield.

Come to the altar rail for the anointing with the chrism oil, a sign of strength and courage.

Priest: N... I anoint you with oil in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Concluding Prayer in unison: Almighty Lord, a strong tower to all who put their trust in you, to whom all things in heaven and on earth bow and obey; be now and evermore our strength and defense as we meet the challenges set before us. We ask this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We not continue with the service.

Blessing of cars after church will take place immediately prior to pot luck. I am doing this so that we implore God's help on the highways and roads we travel, to be aware of our surroundings and to drive safely, knowing it is a privilege to drive responsibly.

All cars will be blessed with Holy Water as Fr. Luke prays a prayer for protection and guidance for each driver and vehicle. With all the cars hitting ebikes and ebikes cris crossing in front of cars compounded by texting while driving let alone drinking, I thought a bit of divine guidance might be a good thing. Holy Water, by the way, reminds us of our Baptism as well as the life of Grace. We can live longer without food than without water. I know we all have earthly insurance, hopefully a bit of Divine Double Indemnity will help. Fr. Luke

07/25/2026

9th Pentecost 2026: 1 Kings 3;Psalm 119;Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-52

Our reading from Paul to the Romans hit me right between the eyes as there is no better description of our human condition than Romans 8:26-39. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows that is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

Everyone here who is brutally honest knows that at one time or another they have felt weak before the unseeming challenges of this life. From the lady this past week whose son was killed while riding a bicycle, a hit and run situation to the man banging on his steering wheel in the middle of the night begging for some power, some intervention, to free him from the bo***ge of his weakness, his addiction. I could go on and on as well as anyone of you could as you think of the losses and challenges of your life. Who of us can identify with Paul's words as he, as we read a couple weeks ago, had to face and deal with his guilt, his failings and had to admit his life was unmanageable.

I have in my hand a book called Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones by a very strict Roman Catholic Monk, Benedict Groeschel who had a doctorate in both psychology and theology. I have mentioned him before because he is so well balanced in things spiritual and scientific, psychological and workings of the human heart. In his chapter on sadness, sorrow and joy he says “to live THROUGH sadness and sorrow is honest, but to live ON sadness and sorrow is destructive.” In other words we feel most weak when overcome with sadness and sorrow with loss over which we have no control. Yet, as honest as our sadness and sorrow might be, we cannot choose to use these to manipulate others, to add destruction on to destruction, negative thinking piled on with more negative thinking. To do so takes away the gift of joy the Holy Spirit wishes to give us, a sense of laughter we all need as well as those around us. That does not mean we cover up sorrow and sadness by denying they exist. That is why we have a figure of Jesus on the cross. We need to be reminded of the sorrow, the sadness as well as the joy that emerges from our weakness. Our joy is a testimony that all things work together for good according to God the Father's purpose.

One can ask of what good is it to know my weakness, to experience sorrow and sadness? The answer is in the word compassion meaning to suffer with others. That is where the last words of today's reading come to play as Paul states “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our suffering with us is as close as we can come to being like Jesus. How, because as Paul says of Jesus, who prays on our behalf, through compassion we pray through our own weakness in order to help others in theirs.

The only way I know of explaining this is to watch people who have recovered from some weakness or setback. As they have worked through their own sorrow or pain they are quick to be of help to others who are going through theirs. The only enemy to compassion and helping others is resentment, the choice to re-feel one's own hurt as if the world, or God, has treated us unfairly. As Fr. Groeschel writes out of his own pain and sorrow “ Resentment is the work of evil, the choice to constantly live with ones hurt and be destructive, choosing to live ON sorrow and pain and s***f out any joy or laughter necessary to be compassionate like Jesus. Like Paul we find happiness in Jesus because we cannot be separated from the Father's love. In your darkest moments pick up your bible and read Romans 8:26-39. This brief passage is good scientific and spiritual medicine for us in our darkest moments and helps us in our social life be it family, religious or political. Resentment is destructive.

07/15/2026

Before I forget, on Sunday, August 2nd, we will have an Anointing Service for all who need the special blessing. We will also have our prayers and anointing for and of teachers. As I say a thousand times, the classroom is the missionary field where the field comes to you. No need to go on mission trips then come home as an educator has nine months of missionary experience in his or her own vicinity trying to prepare children for the future. In some schools the parents have the expectation of a teacher on a mere double figure salary to prepare their precious child to make a high double or six figure salary and are upset if that doesn't happen. Some want teachers to fudge on the grade even if the child does not do the work. I have six educators in the family, wife, step daughter, grandson's wife and grandson as well as the grandson's mother and father. I get all the scoop. Also, the openings in school systems are horribly astronomical. Teachers don't drop from the sky just because you have a precious child. Teachers are humans who decide to teach and many drop out after three years due to parental harrassment and technology burn out. Also, these people don't get certified because there is no return on their money and time spent to get certificaton. People in other fields process life that way. Teachers also process life in terms of what is in it for them. One guy who works at a plant and makes big money plus, told me teachers should do this as a ministry for children. Oh, at little or no pay? I was mad and asked if he would. Is his processing job a ministry to the public? So, August 2nd anointing at Trinity, DeRidder and prayers for teachers. Oh, I don't apologize for my rant. Fr. Luke

07/11/2026

7 Pentecost 2026: Isaiah 55: Psalm 65:Romans 8:1-11: Matthew 13

The past two Sundays we spoke of the lady who quit her job a K Mart because she had the temptation to steal things she needed and she did not listen to those who told her to steal anyway or stay on the job and not steal. We also spoke of the woman who kept being in relationship with men who abused her because she felt she could change them. Both ladies, like Paul, had this temptation to sin or as Paul said the urge to submit to sin. Sin being one choosing to do what is harmful to self or others. But, both ladies in time chose what Paul speaks of, they chose the Spirit of life and began to live in righteousness.

Question. How do you or I know at this moment if we are striving to live in righteousness? I can give some examples. When all of you young people come to Trinity, put on the white robes and help me, you are living in righteousness. Why? You and your families could be doing something else.. You could be forgetting this is Jesus' day, a day we remember His love for us. Also, when any of you help the older ladies set up the altar with altar guild duties, that is a small part of living in righteousness. When you do your chores at home and on the farm, or your best at school. That is living in righteousness.

Paul, as I said before was addicted to killing people. He was drawn to that like the lady was drawn to men who abused her, thinking she was called to make them change, only to be abused. I watched men in pool halls lose their homes and their cars gambling. I saw people at the race track in Vinton lose thousands and thousands of dollars betting on a man riding a horse. These people forgot about their families, they disregarded church, but in the end the very things they despised were the very things that would make them happy. They eventually gave up these destructive ways of life and as Paul cried out to Christ who life to their mortal bodies, beginning to live in the Spirit of righteousness. That is what we try to do each Sunday here at Trinity. We try, as Jesus tells us in Matthew, to be the good soil that yields a hundredfold as we serve at the altar, help the ladies do their altar guild duties and give thanks to Jesus and pray we stay on the path of righteousness, not giving in to what can destroy us.

Let me close with this. All of you young people who come each Sunday, put on the white robes that symbolize righteousness, carry the candles and cross, you are performing, not only an act of righteousness but you are giving all of us a taste of the kingdom of God. I have been told no other, if any, churches as small as we are have as many youth participating as all of you do. Now, don't get the big head, but you are doing what Jesus calls being the good soil upon which righteousness grows and joy and happiness abound. Our prayer is that you will always be known to worship and a source of joy and hope for those who gather with you to worship Christ Jesus whose Spirit gives you true life.

06/27/2026

5 Pentecost 2026 Jeremiah 28; Psalm 89; Romans 6:12-23;Matthew 10:40-42

Many years ago when Kmart was still on Ryan street I asked a lady how she liked working there. I had thought about applying. “I am not there anymore. I quit.” I asked her why and her answer surprised me. “I wanted to steal some of the nice things I could not afford and wanted so badly. I need a new dress, I need some jewelry. I need new bath towels. I wanted to take those but I thought to myself this would be stealing for one thing and if I would get caught I would have to face my family, nor could I face myself. I decided to quit, get away from the temptation and pray to the Lord to help me find work.”

That story has stuck with me for several reasons. First, it made me think about myself and what I might be tempted to do. Second it explains what Paul has written in our second reading from Romans when he speaks of sin and giving into it. Last, and tied into the first two, her story is an example of how we value ourselves and how we live out the kingdom of heaven on earth.

The challenge this lady had was everyone she told her story to told her she should have taken what she wanted because Kmart wouldn't know the difference. This is what Paul means when he writes “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience that leads to righteousness.” In other words was this lady going to listen to those who told her to take what she wanted, to steal and disobey one of the Commandments, get caught, go to court, pay a fine or go to jail, have her children have a mother as a thief? This is known as spiritual death, losing one's own dignity. The lady chose righteousness, quitting her job, being obedient to God and not being a slave to her desires. A very tough decision on her part.

Don't write this passage off as some weird bible teaching with no foundation in real life. Everyone sitting here, from the youngest to the oldest, more than likely has faced that choice. With that in mind, I will ask you in the next couple weeks keep that lady’s story in mind. The lady who quit her job at Kmart because she knew in her heart she wanted to steal clothes and jewelry. A real life story and as we shall see next week, a real life story Paul speaks of as we read more of Paul’s letter to the Romans, people used to doing as they please, all leading to an unhealthy life style for themselves and others.

Trinity Episcopal Church-DeRidder, LA

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