Podcasts by A few words from Father Kemper
Weekly homilies delivered at St. James' Episcopal Church in Cedartown, Georgia
Further podcasts by Fr. Kemper Anderson
Podcast on the topic Christentum
All episodes
Don’t let the Second Coming pass you by from 2023-12-03T15:30
Mark 13:24-37 Welcome to Advent. And welcome to a brand-new lectionary year: Year B, to be exact… the year of Mark’s gospel. What do we know about Mark’s version of the Good New...
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Who stands with Judas? from 2022-04-03T14:30
John 12:1-8 Who here stands with Judas? Who among you is thinking: Well, Judas is Judas… and we know the part he’s going to play in Jesus’ arrest and execution… but maybe he has a point in this cas...
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You’ll find your way from 2022-03-27T14:30
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Once, when I was about seven or eight years old, I ran away from home. Some of y’all have heard this story. My mother helped me pack. We lived in a pretty-safe neighborhood in a...
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Repent. Now. from 2022-03-20T14:30
Luke 13:1-9 It seems like folks in Jesus’ time were preoccupied with many of the same concerns as are we in our own: Why do bad things happen to good people? Is it God who causes these bad things t...
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In for a penny, in for a pound from 2022-03-13T14:30
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 A careful study of the socio/historical context of Hebrew Scripture reveals a lot about the relationship God wanted to have with his Chosen People in Old Testament times: one...
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Trust in him from 2022-03-06T15:30
Luke 4:1-14 It’s a pretty familiar story, isn’t it? The story of how the Savior of the world was subjected to the perils of the wilderness: extreme isolation and exposure, hunger, thirst and exhaus...
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Listen to him! from 2022-02-27T15:30
Luke 9:28-36 So… a priest and a rabbi walked into a bar… oops, I mean they were sitting in a coffee shop one day having a theological conversation. We’ll call them Bob and Moishe. They were discuss...
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The good measure from 2022-02-20T15:30
Luke 6:27-38 In last week’s Gospel lesson, Luke introduced the “Sermon on the Plain” by writing: “Jesus came down and stood on a level place.” Jesus didn’t preach from some lofty mountain...
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A world turned upside-down from 2022-02-13T15:30
Luke 6:17-26 Perhaps some of y’all are thinking to yourselves, “Hmmm… the words of today’s Gospel story sound familiar… it’s the Sermon on the Mount, right? The one that has “the Beatitudes” in it:...
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Where to, Boss? from 2022-02-06T15:30
Luke 5:1-11 “There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” That’s what the Water Rat said to the Mole the day they met on the riverbank in Kenneth ...
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Don’t throw Jesus from the cliff! from 2022-01-30T15:30
Luke 4:21-30 Just imagine: there’s Jesus sitting in the synagogue in his own hometown of Nazareth, amongst all sorts of folks who had watched him grow up over the years. Some may have known him pre...
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Have you ears to hear? from 2022-01-23T15:30
Luke 4:14-21 Have you ever been looking and looking for something… only to find that it had been right there — “under your nose” — all along? You might feel pleased, although perhaps a little embar...
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How would God be made manifest in you? from 2022-01-16T15:30
John 2:1-11 Today is the second Sunday after the Epiphany… the Epiphany, itself, being the twelfth and final day of the Christmas Season. We get the word Epiphany (Ἐπιφάνεια, Epiphaneia) from...
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The threshing floor from 2022-01-09T15:30
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Baptisms… and threshing floors. What do they have to do with each other? Do you remember the Gospel story about the time Jesus drove all of the money-changers and mer...
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What is your gift? from 2022-01-02T15:30
Matthew 2:1-12 When I was a child, I remember the Christmas story being very simple and straightforward: God sent the baby Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, to save the world. Jesus was born in a sta...
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Journey, blessings and an Advent benediction from 2021-12-19T15:30
Luke 1:39-55 Today’s Gospel lesson is about journeys and blessings. Not only the journey undertaken by Mary to visit her relative Elizabeth, but also the larger journey she had embarked upon when s...
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What then shall we do? from 2021-12-12T15:30
Luke 3:7-18 Now, that’s some kind of Good News, isn’t it? “You sons of snakes!” I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time thinking of being associated with a brood of vipers… having my heritag...
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Are you ready? from 2021-11-28T15:30
Luke 21:25-36 Happy New Year, Church! Wait… what? I see a couple of folks out there scratching their heads, but you heard me right. I always say, “Happy New Year!” on the First Sunday of Advent bec...
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Christ the King from 2021-11-21T15:30
John 18:33-37 Changing colors, changes to our liturgy, changes in the yearly lectionary cycle: that’s how the Church marks time. From green to white… and next week, to purple. The Gloria will give ...
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Called to be saints from 2021-11-07T15:30
John 11:32-44 Can you imagine how annoyed Lazarus must have been when Jesus called him back from the afterlife? He seems to have been a good man who cared about friends and family, especially his s...
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Closer than you think from 2021-10-31T14:30
Mark 12:28-34 Some folks would have you believe I’m a bit of a storyteller. And I suppose I am. I love good stories… and I love passing them on. I’ve got some great stories about my childhood, the ...
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God is God, and we are not from 2021-10-24T14:30
Mark 10:46-53 and Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Imagine Bartimaeus sitting blind and alone beside the road as Jesus and his disciples walked past. He knew who Jesus was: he called him “Son of David” and “teach...
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Are you willing? Are you able? from 2021-10-17T14:30
Mark 10:35-45 Who here is a fan of Charlie Brown? Do you remember when you used to watch Charlie Brown specials on TV, anytime a grown up (particularly a parent or teacher) would talk, all you’d he...
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“Da young guy dat get plenty stuff” from 2021-10-10T14:30
The fellow who approached Jesus in today’s gospel story is variously titled as “The Rich Man” (NRSV), “The Rich Young Ruler” (NASB) or my personal favorite, from the Hawai’i Pidgin (HWP) translatio...
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You’re not toast from 2021-10-03T14:30
Mark 10:2-16 When I looked at today’s Gospel reading, I was a little bit tempted to call in sick. It’s a tough one, isn’t it? Throughout most of my adult life, whenever this reading would come arou...
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Put away the meat cleaver! from 2021-09-26T14:30
Mark 9:38-50 Are you squirming yet? Are you surreptitiously looking down at your lap, wondering what it would be like to lop off a hand or a foot? How would it feel to have an eye plucked out? Last...
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Makin’ the grade from 2021-09-19T14:30
Mark 9:30-38 Do you remember the school report cards you used to get when you were a kid? I came across one of mine from second grade the other day. Given the complexity of some of my more recent “...
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Who do you say that I am? from 2021-09-12T14:30
Mark 8:27-38 “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked the disciples. And they hesitated. Many of the people they had encountered during their ministry in and around Galilee spoke of Jesus reverently...
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Of faith… and works from 2021-09-05T14:30
James 2:1-10, 14-17 “Faith without works is dead” (cf. James 2:17). But… Father Kemper, Father Kemper! I always thought that we we’re saved by faith… not by works. That’s what the Apostle Paul said...
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What would Jesus do? from 2021-08-29T14:30
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 No good deed goes unpunished, right? Imagine… Jesus and his disciples in Gennesaret preaching, teaching, healing the sick right and left… doing God’s work. Worn out from da...
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Better Together from 2021-08-22T14:30
Ephesians 6:10-20 I remember, back when I was in third or fourth grade, one of my favorite toys was a twelve-inch action figure named Sir Stuart, the “Silver Knight,” in Marx Toys “Legendary Noble ...
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The way of wisdom from 2021-08-15T14:30
1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 What’s the first prayer you ever remember praying? Was it “Now I lay me down to sleep…?” Or was it, “Our Father, who art in heaven…?” As you grew older, did your prayers cha...
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Father, forgive from 2021-08-08T14:30
On October 2, 2006, 32-year-old milk truck driver Charles Roberts walked into a one-room schoolhouse in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, took a number of elementary-aged girls hos...
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Bread of Heaven from 2021-08-01T14:30
John 6:24-35 What’s the best meal you ever had? Was it a big, fat steak or a pound-and-a-half lobster tail on your birthday or anniversary? Was it your, or a neighbor’s, soon-to-be-famous back-yard...
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What would James say? from 2021-07-25T14:30
Matthew 20:20-28 Who knows who St. James’ is? Or better yet… who knows who our St. James’ is? It’s a fair question, because there are a number of St. James-es in the New Testament. There’s “James o...
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Don’t just do something, stand there! from 2021-07-18T14:30
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Have you ever felt like you had too much to do and not enough time to do it? Or perhaps you’ve encountered a “rough patch” in your life, or in the life of someone close to you, ...
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The perils of doubling down from 2021-07-11T14:30
Mark 6:14-29 What in the world was Herod thinking? Some might say he wasn’t thinking at all… that he was simply in his cups and did something stupid. And I can go with drunk and stupid… but might t...
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Skandalon! from 2021-07-04T14:30
Mark 6:1-13 “And they took offense at him.” After raising the little girl from the dead in Capernaum, Jesus set out on foot for his childhood home of Nazareth, a distance of about twenty miles as t...
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The last laugh from 2021-06-27T14:30
Mark 5:21-43 “And they laughed at him.” In all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, the language is identical. Death had come calling. The jig was up. It was what it was. Except t...
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Peace, be still from 2021-06-20T14:30
Mark 4:35-41 I guess most of us are familiar with this Gospel story, in which Jesus stills a storm and saves the day for his disciples. It’s in all three of the synoptics (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark and...
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Will we take the cure? from 2021-06-06T14:30
Mark 3:20-35 So, I guess Jesus may have been a little bit ticked off in today’s Gospel lesson. What do you think? His manner and tone were a bit out-of-character… at least they seemed that way to h...
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The Blessed Trinity from 2021-05-30T14:30
John 3:1-17 The Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit Trinity Sunday always rolls around about this time of year. It’s the first Sunday after Pentecost… and helps ease us out of the Great Fi...
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Get moving! from 2021-05-16T14:30
Acts 1:6-11 and Luke 24:44-50 I’m going to tell you a story: Forty days after the resurrection, when Jesus and his disciples were together in a place outside of Jerusalem, near the Mount of Olives,...
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Love ’em all… and let God sort ’em out from 2021-05-09T14:30
Acts 10:44-48 and John 15:9-17 The Acts of the Apostles is not only the story of the things the followers of Jesus of Nazareth did as they began their work of spreading the Good News of Jesus Chris...
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Of vineyards and vines from 2021-05-02T14:30
John 15:1-8 Oh, for heaven’s sake… there goes Jesus with another of his “I AM” metaphors: I AM the bread of life (John 6:35). I AM the light of the world (John 8:12). I AM the gate for the sheep an...
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One flock, one Shepherd from 2021-04-25T14:30
John 10:11-18 and 1 John 3:16-24 In case you couldn’t tell, it’s “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Today’s Scripture readings are chock full of references to shepherds and sheep, and sacrificial love… and sa...
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Joy comes with the morning from 2021-04-18T14:30
Luke 24:36b-48 I wasn’t very good at math during my elementary and high school years. Oh, I could add, subtract, multiply and divide, but when it came to algebra and variables and quadratic equatio...
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Peace is with you from 2021-04-11T14:30
John 20:19-31 Our Easter Sunday Gospel ended with Jesus revealing himself to Mary outside the empty tomb and telling her, “Don’t hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go...
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The end of the story is us from 2021-03-28T14:30
Mark Chapter 15 Oh, what a difference a week makes in the lectionary/liturgical cycle of the church… five days, really. We don’t know exactly how long it was between Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jer...
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Keepin’ up with Jesus from 2021-03-21T14:30
John 12:20-33 It must have been difficult keeping up with Jesus. I don’t mean physically… as far as we can tell from Scripture, Jesus’ disciples were all pretty fit, and able to match him step-for-...
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God’s sustaining wisdom from 2021-03-07T15:30
John 2:13-22 You may have heard me say before that I sometimes scratch my head about how the folks who establish the lectionary readings for each Sunday put it all together. Sometimes, the readings...
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After the smack down… from 2021-02-28T15:30
Mark 8:31-38 “It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea. A mile from shore a fishing boat chummed the water, and the word for Breakfast Flock flashed through ...
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Wilderness journeys from 2021-02-21T15:30
Mark 1:9-15 The wilderness of the Bible is a vast, uncharted place. It sometimes takes the form of a limitless desert populated by shifting sand dunes as far as the eye can see. It might be a remot...
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If the shoe fits… from 2021-02-07T16:30
Mark 1:29-39 When last we saw Jesus of Nazareth, he was in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath, teaching (and preaching love, I think) with authority. And while he was there, he had healed a ...
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Strange blessings from 2021-01-31T16:30
Mark 1:21-28 “What is this? A new teaching—with authority!” Jesus was in the synagogue in Capernaum, presumably “going about his Father’s business” (Luke 2:49 NKJV)—teaching—as he had so many years...
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Second chances from 2021-01-24T16:30
Jonah 3:1-10 So… “The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’” Jonah had been chosen by God f...
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Promises Made from 2021-01-10T16:30
Mark 1:4-11 Goodness, we’ve been hearing a lot about John the Baptizer lately! Think of it: in the last five weeks, beginning with the second Sunday in Advent, we’ve heard about John the messenger:...
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Step into the bucket from 2020-12-13T16:30
John 1:6-8, 19-28 “Who are you?” the Jewish priests and Levites asked John. He had the manner and many of the eccentricities of a prophet. He dressed and lived simply… he ate simple food. He called...
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Prepare the way from 2020-12-06T16:30
Mark 1:1-8 The Jews back in Biblical times often had trouble walking a straight path. As far back as Moses, the Jews tended to wander in a wilderness of their own devising… making only incremental ...
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Of sheep… and goats from 2020-11-22T16:30
Matthew 25:31-46 After reading this passage from Scripture, I suppose many of us might be prone to ask ourselves: “Am I a sheep…? Or a goat? But no worries… here’s a short quiz to help you figure i...
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