Sermons on Life of Christ (Page 11)

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The Ascended Christ

  When I was in elementary school, my mother took me out of school once a year on a Thursday to go to church for the feast of the Ascension so I totally agreed with St Augustine who called it the crown of all Christian festivals.[1] The Ascension is celebrated on the Thursday that comes forty days after Easter, but we no longer have a service that day. So it is the focus of our worship this morning instead. The…

Why?

Acts 3:12-19 Luke 24:36b-48 Why do you wonder at this? Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Both this morning’s readings ask why. Why are we surprised at the way God works among us? Why do we doubt when miracles happen? The first reading this morning from Acts is a short passage taken out of its context in a longer story.  In the exciting, heady days of the early church, Peter and John were going…

It is not yet the end

Alleluia The Lord is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! We often think of Easter as being the end of Jesus’ story.  After years of preaching, healing and challenging the religious authorities, he was betrayed and died. But then, like all good heroes, he turned the tables on his opponents in the ultimate triumph and rose from the dead. This morning I want to suggest to you that the resurrection is not even the climax of the story, let alone…

HOW DO WE KNOW JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD?

Tonight I would like to share one of many theological theories regarding the idea that God had a master plan at creation, and how the manner of death, burial and resurrection of Jesus was an integral part of that plan.  This theory says that God, being omniscient and knowing that man would sin and perish without divine help, had prepared a plan for salvation for us to be reconciled with God.  This salvation was to be through the death and…

For God so Loved

Once a year, usually the week before Holy Week, the clergy of the diocese meet together to renew our vows and to bless oil to be used for healing and blessing in the coming year. When we met last week, the Bishop shared a TED talk by academic and author, Brene Brown. Brown has spent hours interviewing people about guilt and shame. She distinguishes between the two by suggesting that guilt is when you feel bad for something you did…

The Big Picture

This is the final sermon in my Lenten series about the nature of atonement and the meaning of the cross. I have been pointing out that although we sometimes think there is just one way to understand crucifixion and salvation, understandings have differed over the years, and in these post-modern times there are multiple sometimes conflicting, sometimes overlapping meanings. The earliest understandings are grouped under the heading of Christus Victor. These suggested that through his death and resurrection, Jesus the…

Mimetic Desire

This morning I’m continuing the Lenten series on the meaning of the cross and of atonement. Today I’m going to focus on the work of Rene Girard. Much of Girard’s early work was in literary criticism, and he became a Christian through studying the work of Dostoyevsky. Later he formulated a specific theory which he and others have applied to theology. It is known as the “mimetic” theory. Girard says that we all imitate one another. In fact, we want…

Metaphors

When I was ordained, many people kindly gave me gifts. I was amazed at how many crosses I was given. Crosses to go on the wall, crosses to go on the sideboard, crosses to hang around my neck, crosses to put in my ears. Now please don’t get me wrong, these were beautiful crosses and lovely gifts. But it amazed me that the symbol which Paul describes as a scandal, foolishness and a stumbling block has become an ornament. At…