St. Peter's Episcopal Church400 N. College - McKinney, TX

A leper calls out to Jesus, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus responds, "I am willing" and then heals the man with a touch.

I believe in the miraculous power of prayer, but what about all those times we pray and pray and pray, and there is no healing. God is always at work in the world, taking that which is broken and making it whole. God's promise is that in the end all things will be made whole.

In the meantime, we are left to wonder why God answers some prayers but not others.

And we keep praying, trying to connect our will with the will of God.

Audio: Miraculous Power of Prayer Readings (Sixth Sunday After Epiphany)

Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fisherman. One morning as they were going about their work, Jesus walked by and called out over the waters to them. "Come follow me!" God calls to each of us as we go about our lives of running kids around, meeting client's demands, and grocery shopping, and commuting. God calls us and asks us to do His work in the world. He needs us to do his work. As St. Teresa said,

     Christ has no body on earth but yours;
     no hands but yours;
     no feet but yours. . . .
     Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
     Yours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.

How will you be Christ's hands and feet in the world this week?

Audio: Hands and Feet Readings (Third Sunday After Epiphany)

Jesus invites Phillip to follow Him. Phillip invites Nathaniel to 'come and see'. As Christians we are followers of Christ, and we invite others to come and see for themselves.

The most effective form of evangelism is invitation.

Audio: Invite Someone Readings (Second Sunday after Epiphany)

So Jesus goes down to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptizer. This baptism marks the beginning of His earthly ministry. Our baptisms mark the beginnings of our ministries as well. Baptism is a call to arms for followers of Jesus to take part in His redeeming work.

In the Episcopal church, every time we participate in a baptismal service, we recommit our Baptismal Convenant. Check it out in the Book of Common Prayer, starting on Page 303. This is the work to which you have been called.

Audio: The Baptism of our Lord Readings (First Sunday after Epiphany)

This Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Name of our Lord. Mary and Joseph followed the Jewish tradition of circumcision and naming of a male infant on the eighth day of life. He was named Jesus, God saves, just as the angel instructed Mary at the Annunciation. Jesus is the light of the world. We who are baptized into the name of Jesus are called into a life of action: to pray, to persevere in resisting evil, to repent, to proclaim the Good News, to seek and serve Christ in all persons. May you carry the Holy Name of Jesus with you in all that you do in the new year. Audio: The Light of the World Readings (Christmas II)