It’s that time of year again—with the start of a new liturgical year comes the publication of a new book I copyedited. Last year I posted about Homilists for the Homeless, which gathers a variety of well-known and lesser-known preachers (like me) to share their homilies in support of a good cause. As you can probably guess from the title, this year’s theme focuses on Matthew 25:37, where the “righteous” ask Jesus, “When was it that we saw you…thirsty and gave you something to drink?” and Jesus replies that whenever we do it for someone less fortunate, we do it for him.
This year’s book includes homilies for every Sunday and feast day in the coming church year (Year C, which means a focus on the Gospel of Luke) that began on November 28 and extends through November 2022. It also again includes a handful of funeral homilies—after all, perhaps even more so after two years of COVID-19, we all need fresh perspectives on hope.
My contributions to this year’s edition are homilies for two feast days: Trinity Sunday and Christ the King. Both of these are homilies I’ve preached here in Tucson, and I’ve reflected on the Trinity Sunday message here as well.
The “good cause” I mentioned above is clean water for those who are thirsty. Donations take the form of contributions to four charities for every book sold.
Three of this year’s charities take a global reach toward those who are thirsty. Thirst Project is active in thirteen countries, including Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), where my nephew studied with United World College a couple of years ago.
Charity: Water focuses on eliminating the distance women and children must walk in rural areas to obtain clean water, recognizing how that takes away from time that could be spent on work and school.
Water for People has embraced the UN Sustainable Development Goal #6, to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” They are doing their part toward that goal in nine countries around the world.
The fourth charity, Clean Water Fund, works in the US to support grassroots environmental leadership to address water-related issues through cooperative change.
I appreciate the opportunity to support these charities by being part of this process—both contributing my homilies and getting to read everyone else’s submissions as we gently formed the whole into a cohesive edition.
If you love good sermons and appreciate the chance to get a variety of perspectives in a single volume, please support this project by purchasing a copy here, and consider whether friends and family might also appreciate receiving a copy for Christmas!
And please say a prayer for all the thirsty people around the world who don’t have easy access to clean water. Thank you.
