Sermons on Spiritual Life (Page 14)

God of Chaos

This year most of our gospel lessons are taken from Mark’s gospel. Although it is the second gospel in our New Testament, scholars agree that it was the first one to be written down. Each of the gospel writers uses a different lens in thinking about Jesus’ life and teachings. Mark’s project is to show that Jesus is God by emphasizing his power over demons, sickness, and in todays’ reading, over the forces of nature. As is clear from the…

All will be forgiven.

Do you remember the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral?  In one of the weddings, comedian Rowan Atkinson plays a young priest who gets his words muddled and concludes a prayer with the words, “in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Goat”. Determined not to make the same mistake a second time, at the end of the wedding he blesses the congregation in the name of, “The Father the Son and the Holy Spigot.” Was…

On Forgiveness

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Ephesians 1:15-23 John 17: 6-19 Today is the 7th Sunday after Easter. It is also the 1st Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension, which was Thursday, May 13th.   40 days after Easter, Jesus ascended to God leaving his followers, for good this time, but promising to send them a helper, an advocate. They are to go to Jerusalem and wait. Today is the Sunday preceding the Feast of Pentecost, so their wait will not be…
View of the Church

What Now?

Acts 8:26-40 1 John 4:7-21 John 15:1-8 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” I imagine that many of us have prayed for something and it hasn’t happened. So what’s that about? Does that mean that we are not really abiding in Jesus? Or does it mean that Jesus…

Kissing the Princess

Bible Readings:Romans 8:18-23  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=485772628Mark 16:14,15  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=485772672 It is said that when St. Francis could not find people to listen to his preaching, he preached to the birds and they listened. The 13th century book “The Little Flowers of St Francis” says that on one occasion he saw a great flock of birds who seemed to be attentive to him so he preached to them of God’s love for them and told them they must sing to show their gratitude and to praise…

Walking In The Light

This morning’s readings are so full and rich that it’s difficult to know where to start. When that happens, I find it useful to look at the collect, the prayer for the day. “God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation, Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith.” That sums up the readings pretty well doesn’t it –…

Sin In Our Favor

Last week while on retreat, I read several books. One of them was Falling Upwards by Richard Rohr. In it he says among many other things that “salvation is sin turned on its head and used in our favor.” Salvation is sin turned on its head and used in our favor. That is what we are remembering today – the ultimate example of sin turned on its head and used in our favor. On the cross Jesus took the sin…

Impatient: 3/14/21

The people became impatient. I don’t know about you but I have certainly become impatient. It’s been a year. Enough already. How much longer will be in this wilderness of Zoom? How much longer before we can once again gather safely indoors to share the eucharist? I don’t know the answers to those questions. I have become impatient. The poisonous snakes have been biting for a year and we are still looking and waiting for God to deliver us. And…