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Category Archives: sermon
On the longest night
We are not alone. This is what our Communion means: we are here for ourselves, but also with and for one another; and Christ is here with and for us.
We are not alone. Joseph, our ancestor, dreamer and dutiful carer, bearer of the burdens of humanity and holiness, watches our dreams, and remembers, and reminds us, that the angels are attending us, too.
We are not alone. God is with us. May it be enough. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, homily
Tagged grief, hope, Incarnation, Jesus, Joseph, longest night, solstice
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God’s gift
We do not get to choose whether or not God loves us. Whether we feel worthy or wormy, God loves us, and we cannot make it otherwise. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, homily, sermon
Tagged Christmas, gift, Isaiah 7:10-16, Joseph, love, Matthew 1:18-25, Year A Advent 4
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The wolf and the lamb
To speak of love is to render it tame; so the word became flesh and took again the fiercer features of life; took flight from the angels, hid instead within the brutish warmth of mother-milk and frailty; the love whose name we dare to speak for fear else of devouring one … Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Incarnation, Isaiah 11:6-9, love
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A broader mischief
I am sorry to say that today is not convenient for revolution. I have Sadducees coming for dinner and some scribes – I did not tell them of each other – I have employed unemployed tax collectors as wait staff and women of repute for the cabaret. Mary is livid, … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Jesus, John the Baptist, Luke 1:46-55, Magnificat, Matthew 11:2-11, Year A Advent 3
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A messiah for the rest of us
A reflection on the coming Sunday’s gospel, John’s question, which is perennially ours; Jesus’ answer, which is ours, too While John took on kings and their consorts, Jesus consorted with the lowly and the leprous. While John baptized gods, Jesus … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Jesus, John the Baptist, Matthew 11:2-11, Year A Advent 3
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Christ, the king we need
At the end, as at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was subjected to the taunts and contempt of the tempter. The voices that surrounded him invited him to abdicate his position as one of us, Emmanuel, God with us; … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Christ the King, kindness, way of the cross
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A crown of thorns
They twisted together a crown with which to anoint his brow. They thought to make a mockery,but had the pliant green twigs not yielded of their own accord, their obeisance and homage to their king, then their hands would have held only dust rubbed into the … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Christ the King, crown of thorns
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All Saints 2022
All Saints’ Sunday 2022; Luke 6:20-31 _____________ According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Laurentius (St Lawrence) was the “principal of the deacons” serving in Rome in the middle years of the third century, when yet another round of persecutions of … Continue reading
Posted in current events, holy days, sermon, story
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Come, let us argue it out
A sermon for October 30, nine days before the US midterm elections. The readings are for Year C Proper 26, Track 2, and include Isaiah 1:10-18 and Luke 19:1-10, the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. ______________________________ What does repentance look … Continue reading
Posted in current events, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged gun violence, Isaiah 1:10-18, Jesus, Luke 19:1-10, repentance, salvation, Zacchaeus
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The cost of mercy
Raw thoughts on the parable of the good Samaritan, heard at Morning Prayer Mercy does not come cheap at two denarii, a night’s unpaid delay, the physical labour of lifting a grown man onto a donkey, walking with bags of … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Daily Office, Good Samartian, Luke 10:29-37, mercy, morning prayer
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over the water 