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Tag Archives: repentance
Unbegrudging Jesus
Then Jesus showed up. Just as the light was dawning, just as the sun was rising behind them, the shore becoming shadowy and obscured by the smoke of his charcoal fire, so that they could barely make him out, but there he was. … still providing for them, still tending to them and feeding them, his lambs. Continue reading
Posted in homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Ananias, conversion, Easter 3, Jesus, Paul, reconciliation, repentance, Saul, Simon Peter
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The prodigal
It would be such a simple tale of family forgiveness, were it not for that wrinkle at the end, but that’s what makes it real. If there were no sin, there would be no need of salvation. If there were no rift, there would be no need for reconciliation. That’s why this story calls us to remember our charge as ambassadors for Christ, ministers and messengers of reconciliation, members of the beloved community of Christ that somehow brings together the sinner and the sinned against. Continue reading
Posted in homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged forgiveness, parable, prodigal son, reconciliation, repentance, Year C Lent 4
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Love and authority
A sermon for the parable of the two sons (Year A Proper 21), delivered at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland’s Solemn Sung Eucharist, 1 October 2023 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in … Continue reading
Quality and quantity
This discourse about the community of mercy is exposed, laid bare, solved by Jesus’ unmathematical formula. Seven, the perfect number of creation, used biblically to represent what is holy, is itself multiplied until we no longer know even what the number is supposed to be. Seven, the number that crowns creation with sabbath, with rest, is multiplied toward the peace of God that passes understanding.
It is not the quantity of forgiveness that is in question, then, but the quality. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged forgiveness, gun violence, Matthew 18:21-35, racism, repentance, seventy times seven, Year A Proper 19
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Our hope is in Jesus
We are a house full of sinners. We are hurt and hurting, hurt-full people.
So when Matthew describes how the church is to be, in matters of discipline, order, and offence, it is no surprise that he anticipates that it will not always be easy to repair the breach. But it is telling, I think, that he ends with this promise from Jesus, that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is with us. Continue reading
A special place
To celebrate the day of its harrowing, and because the phrase came up again just the other day … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer
Tagged Holy Saturday, repentance, special place in hell
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Ash Wednesday
Lent is a time, if nowhen else is, not to perform piety, but to practice humility; not to perform beneficence, but to practice generosity; not to perform mourning but to practice grief, for all that is done that should have been left undone; for all that should have been done that has been left undone; with tears and trembling, and the sure and certain knowledge that God, who is compassion and mercy, sees us. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, homily, sermon
Tagged Ash Wednesday, ashes, dust, God, Lent, Matthew 6:1-6 16-12, mercy, repentance
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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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Ash Wednesday comes around again
Ashes line the grate after the great snow storm. Chill strikes down the chimney; a ghost stepping over the grave of last night’s fire. Ashes lift and shiver, settle and sigh, whisper to the warm wood tales of passion; eagerly, … Continue reading
Being human in Nineveh
This byword for sin and evil changed its ways, and its fine robes for sackcloth and ashes, because a prophet, reluctant, inadequate, and very fishy, walked among them. Because he came to see them not as political cartoons, memes, or caricatures, he found himself acting as a human toward them. Continue reading
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