Sermons on Spiritual Life (Page 18)
God’s Own People
1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Hallo my friends. How does it feel to be a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” as we heard in the second lesson? I imagine the “chosen race” part of that probably makes you as uncomfortable as it does me, but the writer was probably talking about our new identity as the children of God not the color of our skin or our ethnic background. As the beloved children of…
Jesus the Gate and the Voice
Acts 2:42-47 John 10:1-10 Jesus the Good Shepherd. The shepherd who calls his sheep and they know the sound of his voice so follow him. It is such a familiar image for us yet the people of the day found it perplexing. “Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” So Jesus went on – I’m not just the shepherd he said, I’m the very gate of the sheep.…
Breathing Peace
Photo by Max van de Oetelaar on unsplash John 20:19-31 Names are interesting things. In our families or social circles we give each other nicknames and sometimes they stick. I am called Caro because when I was a social worker we had a chalkboard on which we wrote when we were next expecting to be in the office. All the others had short names like Ken, Ann, Mary and so there just wasn’t room for Caroline, so it was abbreviated…
Risen
Photo by Andrew McKie on Pexels Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-18 I wonder why Mary did not recognize Jesus? Was it because her eyes were blinded by the light from the angels? Was it because her eyes were filled with tears and in her grief she was not able to see properly? Or was it simply that she did not expect to see him there? This is perhaps one of my favorite gospel passages. I love the simplicity yet the intimacy…
Resurrection
Photo by Pam Riches@unsplash.com Ezekiel 37:1-14 John 11:1-45 The first reading this morning is one which will be familiar to those of you who come to the Easter Vigil, because it is an important story that we often read as part of our Salvation History. It is one of the visions of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah’s – both of them experienced the final fall of Jerusalem and the exile, but whereas Jeremiah was able to…
Walk in the Light
Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn in Unsplash.com 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Psalm 23 I love the readings this Lent. They are all wonderful conversations. Two weeks ago Nicodemus came for a conversation about being born again, then last week the Samaritan woman was offered springs of eternal water and realized she was talking to the Messiah. This week’s story of the blind man, his neighbors, parents and the authorities is almost like an Abbott and Costello sketch. We…
Social distances
Photo by Stephen Hume @ unsplash.com John 4:5-42 I’m sorry I’m not worshiping with you in person this morning though I am participating through livestream. I am not there because I have a very minor chest cold which in normal circumstances I would completely disregard. But these are not normal circumstances. So I am practicing “social distancing” by staying home and I am very grateful to the Rev Susan for stepping in for me. Yesterday the first instance of the…
Born from Above
Photo by Hu Chen @ unsplash.com Genesis 12:1-4a Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 When I was a teenager, I was very certain about many things. I knew, for example, exactly how one was born again and I tried to help other people receive Jesus by saying the simple words, “I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.” I didn’t realize that some people might just say that in order to amuse themselves, or in order to get rid of me,…
Hunting for Fig Leaves
Photo by Sime Basioli @unsplash.com Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Psalm 32 My sister once said,” I think we must have come from somewhere very wonderful or we wouldn’t be so dissatisfied with what we have and filled with longing for something better.” Today we start Lent with part of the ancient Creation story. This narrative was developed by the ancient people as a way of explaining that longing that my sister voices, and explaining how things are. …
Get Up!
Transfiguration Sunday (Last Sunday of Epiphany) Sermon February 23, 2020 St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church, Los Osos, California Message from the Mountain (Invocation of the Holy Spirit, suggested by words in Celtic Daily Prayer) Most powerful Holy Spirit, come down upon us and subdue us From heaven, where the ordinary is made glorious, and glory seems but ordinary. Open our spiritual ears, that we hear a word from God. Amen. Transfiguration is a translation of Greek that happens to…