Tom Murphy
@tommurphe.bsky.social
Episcopal priest in Baltimore suburbs / Jersey City forever / Baptismal Covenant / My saints include Dorothy Day, Alfred Delp, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Merton, Sam Shoemaker / community organizing / poetry / Orioles
tommurphe.blogspot.com
tommurphe.blogspot.com
"It is no use to say that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts.
(1/3)
(1/3)
December 20, 2025 at 10:20 AM
"It is no use to say that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts.
(1/3)
(1/3)
"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room.
(1/2)
(1/2)
December 19, 2025 at 10:39 AM
"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room.
(1/2)
(1/2)
“The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose beyond ourselves: it is because his manifestation in the world must be through us.
(1/2)
(1/2)
December 18, 2025 at 10:41 AM
“The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose beyond ourselves: it is because his manifestation in the world must be through us.
(1/2)
(1/2)
“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is— limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair.
(1/3)
(1/3)
December 17, 2025 at 10:33 AM
“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is— limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair.
(1/3)
(1/3)
God of hope and joy,
open our hearts in welcome,
that your Son Jesus Christ at his coming
may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
- "A New Zealand Prayer Book"
#advent #christmas
open our hearts in welcome,
that your Son Jesus Christ at his coming
may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
- "A New Zealand Prayer Book"
#advent #christmas
December 16, 2025 at 10:17 AM
God of hope and joy,
open our hearts in welcome,
that your Son Jesus Christ at his coming
may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
- "A New Zealand Prayer Book"
#advent #christmas
open our hearts in welcome,
that your Son Jesus Christ at his coming
may find in us a dwelling prepared for himself;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
- "A New Zealand Prayer Book"
#advent #christmas
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
(1/2)
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
(1/2)
December 15, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
(1/2)
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
(1/2)
My sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent:
Poignant Questions
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD December 14, 2025 Year A: The Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 35:1-10 Psalm 146:4-9 James 5:7-10...
tommurphe.blogspot.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:18 PM
My sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent:
“The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life.”
- Fleming Rutledge, (b. 1937)
#advent
- Fleming Rutledge, (b. 1937)
#advent
December 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
“The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life.”
- Fleming Rutledge, (b. 1937)
#advent
- Fleming Rutledge, (b. 1937)
#advent
“Advent is the time of promise; it is not yet the time of fulfillment. We are still in the midst of everything and in the logical inexorability and relentlessness of destiny...
(1/4)
(1/4)
December 11, 2025 at 9:44 AM
“Advent is the time of promise; it is not yet the time of fulfillment. We are still in the midst of everything and in the logical inexorability and relentlessness of destiny...
(1/4)
(1/4)
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
(1/3)
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
(1/3)
December 10, 2025 at 10:34 AM
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
(1/3)
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
(1/3)
"In the first Advent, Christ the Lord comes into the world, in the next Advent, Christ the Lord comes as Judge of the world and of all the world's thrones and pretenders, sovereignties and dominions, principalities and authorities, presidencies and regimes,
(1/2)
(1/2)
December 9, 2025 at 10:47 AM
"In the first Advent, Christ the Lord comes into the world, in the next Advent, Christ the Lord comes as Judge of the world and of all the world's thrones and pretenders, sovereignties and dominions, principalities and authorities, presidencies and regimes,
(1/2)
(1/2)
"O God who is to come, grant me the grace to live now, in the hour of your Advent, in such a way that I may merit to live in you forever, in the blissful hour of your eternity."
- Karl Rahner, SJ, (1904-1984)
#advent
- Karl Rahner, SJ, (1904-1984)
#advent
December 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
"O God who is to come, grant me the grace to live now, in the hour of your Advent, in such a way that I may merit to live in you forever, in the blissful hour of your eternity."
- Karl Rahner, SJ, (1904-1984)
#advent
- Karl Rahner, SJ, (1904-1984)
#advent
December 6, 2025 at 10:22 AM
December 5, 2025 at 8:44 PM
"It is monstrous for one to live in luxury while many are in want."
- Clement of Alexandria, (c.150-c.215)
- Clement of Alexandria, (c.150-c.215)
December 5, 2025 at 10:37 AM
"It is monstrous for one to live in luxury while many are in want."
- Clement of Alexandria, (c.150-c.215)
- Clement of Alexandria, (c.150-c.215)
December 4, 2025 at 11:57 PM
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.”
- John of Damascus, (c.675-749)
- John of Damascus, (c.675-749)
December 4, 2025 at 10:39 AM
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.”
- John of Damascus, (c.675-749)
- John of Damascus, (c.675-749)
"It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards one's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken."
- Francis Xavier, (1506-1552)
- Francis Xavier, (1506-1552)
December 3, 2025 at 10:38 AM
"It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards one's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken."
- Francis Xavier, (1506-1552)
- Francis Xavier, (1506-1552)
God of hope,
when Christ your Son appears
may he not find us asleep or idle,
but active in his service and ready.
Amen.
- A New Zealand Prayer Book
#advent
when Christ your Son appears
may he not find us asleep or idle,
but active in his service and ready.
Amen.
- A New Zealand Prayer Book
#advent
December 2, 2025 at 10:39 AM
God of hope,
when Christ your Son appears
may he not find us asleep or idle,
but active in his service and ready.
Amen.
- A New Zealand Prayer Book
#advent
when Christ your Son appears
may he not find us asleep or idle,
but active in his service and ready.
Amen.
- A New Zealand Prayer Book
#advent
My sermon for the First Sunday of Advent:
#advent #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore
#advent #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore
Packing Our Bags
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD November 30, 2025 Year A: The First Sunday of Advent Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13:11-14 Ma...
tommurphe.blogspot.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:22 PM
My sermon for the First Sunday of Advent:
#advent #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore
#advent #episcopal #anglican #owingsmills #baltimorecounty #baltimore
"Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other’s faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others.
(1/2)
(1/2)
November 29, 2025 at 11:46 AM
"Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other’s faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others.
(1/2)
(1/2)
Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Psalm 143:10)
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Psalm 143:10)
November 28, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Psalm 143:10)
let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Psalm 143:10)
"What is the harvest of your heart? What is it that you yourself have grown, upon which you nourish your life? For as you have planted, so will the harvest be."
- Howard Thurman, (1899-1981)
#thanksgiving
- Howard Thurman, (1899-1981)
#thanksgiving
November 27, 2025 at 11:00 AM
"What is the harvest of your heart? What is it that you yourself have grown, upon which you nourish your life? For as you have planted, so will the harvest be."
- Howard Thurman, (1899-1981)
#thanksgiving
- Howard Thurman, (1899-1981)
#thanksgiving