Aug 4, 2026 · 13 min · 5 segments
Listen in to the Rev. Steve Smith's sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, preached at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark on August 2, 2026. To follow along with the lectionary readings that…
Are any of you familiar with Isaac Dennison's short story, Babette's Feast? A few, okay.
You may also know her as Karen von Blixen, the person featured in the film Out of Africa.
But Isaac Dennison wrote this short story, and in 1987, a Danish film was made of it, which won the Academy Award for Best International Film.
So the story, Babette is French, and she flees in the 19th century from counter-revolutionary violence.
And there she is taken in by two sisters whose father had founded a very Calvinistic and conservative sect.
It is a small community, like I said, conservative, Members of the community are aging and dying, and the congregation is dwindling.
As the years go by, the sisters are deeply distressed by the increasing disputes among the members of the congregation.
Babette cooks for these two sisters for 12 years, and she cooks uninspiring and uneventful food.
And every year, a friend of hers in Paris buys the ticket or pays for the ticket for another year.
She wins 10,000 French francs, more money than anyone in the village will ever see.
She says, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of your father's birth, the man who founded the sect, I want to make a real French dinner for you, just this one time.
Are any of you familiar with Isaac Dennison's short story, Babette's Feast? A few, okay.
You may also know her as Karen von Blixen, the person featured in the film Out of Africa.
But Isaac Dennison wrote this short story, and in 1987, a Danish film was made of it, which won the Academy Award for Best International Film.
So the story, Babette is French, and she flees in the 19th century from counter-revolutionary violence.
And there she is taken in by two sisters whose father had founded a very Calvinistic and conservative sect.
It is a small community, like I said, conservative, Members of the community are aging and dying, and the congregation is dwindling.
As the years go by, the sisters are deeply distressed by the increasing disputes among the members of the congregation.
Babette cooks for these two sisters for 12 years, and she cooks uninspiring and uneventful food.
And every year, a friend of hers in Paris buys the ticket or pays for the ticket for another year.
She wins 10,000 French francs, more money than anyone in the village will ever see.
She says, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of your father's birth, the man who founded the sect, I want to make a real French dinner for you, just this one time.
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