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Tag Archives: R.S. Thomas
Words matter
Jesus does not want us less than whole. He does not want our bodies abused, nor for our relationships to become a prison or a torment. The instructions he gives us, time and again, are to love God and to love one another; anything more is hyperbole; anything less is parody. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, liturgy, other words, sermon
Tagged expansive language, Jesus, John Keble, Matthew 5:21-37, poetry, R.S. Thomas, Year A Epiphany 6
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Word and witness
It is only the creative order of the Word, of God, that makes sense of the world, that sheds light on the life of the world. It is in Jesus, in the humility of birth and Incarnation, even in the confusion of the Cross, in the victory of Resurrection, the transcendence of Ascension that we find light in the darkness. It is in the light of the Word that life makes sense, with all of its joy and all of its promise, even its pain; with forgiveness and with justice, in the Word it becomes a story we can live with. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Herod, Isaac Asimov, John 1:1-18, R.S. Thomas, Word of God
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Do not give your heart to the ashes
The landscape within which we live is littered with sin, from the scars we inflict upon the earth on up through the twisted veins of hearts that would burn down a church built in the image of God’s mercy. And it is impossible to stand here in an attitude of repentance tonight without acknowledging the complicity of our common life in the deaths of 17 students, children, at a high school in Florida this afternoon. Our participation in systems of sin, as its priests and as its victims, is as inevitable as the ice of winter. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, poetry, sermon, story
Tagged Frank X. Walker, gun violence, mercy, R.S. Thomas, repentance, school shootings, wildfires
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Year A Easter 7: Eternity
The live version of this morning’s sermon included contributions from my wonderful congregation on where they saw God and eternity, which I have not included here. I couldn’t help thinking about the movie The Matrix as I was reflecting on … Continue reading
Year A Last Sunday after the Epiphany: Homeless Jesus and the Transfiguration
Some of you may have seen a news story this past week about a statue that has been installed outside an Episcopal church in Davidson, N.C.[1] The first time she saw it, one neighbourhood resident called the police, thinking that … Continue reading
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