Sermons on Life of Christ (Page 9)
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A New Earth
Note: the audio starts in the middle of the sermon, about para 5 Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19 In today’s gospel reading, Jesus talks about the troubles that are to come. Scholars have often thought that this, and its parallel passages in the other gospels, were probably added later, after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in the year 70 CE, with words kind of put in Jesus’ mouth. That may be the case, but in the…
Grateful
Photo by Timothy Eberle @unsplash.com 2 Timothy 2:8-15 Luke 17:11-19 The grateful Samaritan – the one person who comes back and thanks Jesus is a foreigner. This is great gospel reading to have in our Season of Gratitude, with the Gratitude Dinner coming up this Friday and the celebration of St. Benedict, our patron saint, next Sunday. So let’s start this morning by thinking about things we’re grateful for. I’m grateful for the Saturday night eucharist, for coffee, for my…
Humility
When we think about St Benedict and his Rule or Way of Life, most of us think about balance or moderation or hospitality. Yet his longest chapter was about humility. In fact, he lists 12 steps of humility. Some of them are not immediately useful for us today, such as the one that says we should speak only when necessary and without laughter – after all we often associate gentle laughter with holiness; or the one that says that humility…
The Way of Love – Turn
Photo by Dewang Gupta@unsplash.com Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) John 21:1-19 I wonder who was the most astonished; Saul – soon to be known as Paul – when the light flashed from heaven and the voice said “Saul, “Saul, why do you persecute me?”; Ananias when he had a vision telling him to go minister to Saul; or the disciples when they saw Jesus and pulled in an overflowing netfull of fish. God broke through into all their lives in unexpected and…
We are the Light of the World – Easter Vigil
Photo by Noah Silliman on unsplash.com I love this service. I love the excitement of bringing light into the dark church and the telling of stories and singing of songs gathered around the ritual flame. Tonight we remind ourselves that we are the people of God, as we recount our salvation history, renew our vows and then celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter, the foretaste of the heavenly banquet when we will all be gathered together and all will be…
Blessed are we…
Photo by Xavier Coiffic @unsplash.com Blessed are we who come in the name of the Lord! Blessed are we who have a King whose idea of a triumphant entry into His Kingdom is on the foal of a donkey. Blessed are we who have a King who allows Himself to be condemned for our sins. Blessed are we who have the Good News of the Light and Life of the Resurrection which the darkness of the cross could not subdue.…
Intimacy with Jesus
Photo by Isaac Taylor on Pexels.com John 12:1-8 This mornings’ gospel reading poses a false dichotomy – should we give money to the poor or give it to God? That’s like saying should I love my neighbor or God and the answer is Yes – both! There is actually no distinction between the two but my relationship with God as God and neighbor as human neighbor are quite different. But this reading raises many other questions which are more perplexing…
God always welcomes us
Luke 13:31-35 Today’s Gospel is a rather odd passage. Some commentators have suggested that it’s two separate sayings of Jesus put together to make one. I don’t know if that’s true, but it certainly comes at a time when the pressure is on Jesus. He is making his way toward Jerusalem when he’s told that Herod is out to get him. You will remember that after Herod the Great died, the country was divided between his sons. Herod Antipas ruled…
Shining like the sun
Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a] I don’t know about you, but that reading from 2 Corinthians makes me uneasy. It makes me uneasy because it sounds so anti-Semitic, and humans being humans, I imagine that the idea that Jewish hearts are hardened and their understanding veiled has been used against Jewish people through the centuries. Some commentators think that Paul was simply mistaken in his interpretation of Moses’ veil and as a result disappeared down a…