6/13 Sermon
Guest Speaker Rev. Lucinda Ashby
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…
Trinity 2021
The great gift that we get as Trinitarian Christians is the understanding that God lives in community. The Trinity is three persons not just one person playing three roles. It’s as difficult for us to understand as it is for a one celled amoeba to understand the cellular complexity of a human being.
Pentecost 2021
Aren’t these wonderful readings? Pentecost is right up there with Easter and even Christmas as a celebration of the amazing and astounding coming of God to heal God’s world. At Christmas we remember the God-child born in poverty, at Easter we celebrate that the new life which has come into the world is not subject to death and now, here at Pentecost, we celebrate the fullness of God with God’s people. The Greek text has a play on the words…
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…
Love Actually
John 15:9-17 Last night as I was thinking about this morning’s sermon I thought “I just seem to be preaching the same sermon over and over again.” And then I laughed because indeed this is the same sermon… we heard in our gospel reading a continuation of Jesus’ last words to his disciples, which is often thought of as a sermon. So it’s not surprising that our reflection this week bears similarity to last week. Thursday of this week is…
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…
Laying Down His Life
Acts 4:5-12 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18 Psalm 23 Todays gospel is such a comforting passage about the Good Shepherd, and one we use for memorial services as we remind ourselves that God’s love never waivers even when we journey through the valley of death. In the words of John’s gospel, Jesus tells us clearly that “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of…
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 –…