Fairy Tale – Where the Wind…

Sermon for Sunday, October 25, 2026 || Proper 25A || Matthew 22:34-46

I preached a slightly longer version of this sermon in 2020, but I was in my seventh month of looking into a camera at the time. I have yearned to share this fairy tale with you face to face, and today’s the day.

Long ago in a faraway land, the wise old king lay dying. So the king called his sister, who was even wiser than he, and said to her, “Take my crown and remove the three jewels that adorn it. When my son fills those three settings with ornaments of his own, you shall crown him king.”

“But that’s not fair,” the young prince said, and he stomped his foot in protest. “I am king the moment after you draw your final breath.”

“Not so,” his father said. “I fear I have indulged your selfishness too long, my son. You would turn the whole world upside down just to believe yourself right side up. Therefore, I decree that your aunt will be regent until you present her with three tokens showing you have learned what it means to love with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

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Sermon for Sunday, October 25, 2020 || Proper 25A || Matthew 22:34-46

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I’ve never done this before, but for today’s sermon, I wrote a fairy tale about the great commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Here it is.

Once upon a time there was a young prince who had everything he could possibly desire and never spared a thought for anyone but himself. As his father, the king, lay dying, the young prince sat by his bedside so he would know the moment that he (the prince) would become king. The dying king was a just and loving sovereign, and he lamented that his indulgence had led his son down the lonely path of selfishness. So the king called upon her grace, the archbishop, who had the honor of crowning the new monarch upon the king’s death.

The king said to her, “Take my crown and remove the three jewels that adorn it. Only when my son shall fill those three settings with ornaments of his own shall you crown him king.”

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