Sermons on Life of Christ (Page 15)

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I Came to Bring Fire to the Earth

I. Backpacking A. One of my favorite summer projects over the past 10 years has been back-packing in the High Sierras of Yosemite National Park. I’ve had to put it aside the past few years but it is still bright in recent memory.  It would all begin after Christmas with careful planning, pouring over trail maps, for a 7 day itinerary in the mountains;  then, gathering our usual group of up to 10 young people and parents; getting a wilderness…

For our sake…

This is Caro’s sermon from this morning; Fr Barry also spoke and his is only available as an mp3 file here.   There’s a young man in my neighborhood who has just graduated from Poly. If you ask him he may tell you his name is Bill.[1] But that’s not his real name. His real name is Mohammed, and although his Mom is American, his Dad is from Saudi Arabia. I tell you this because after the horrific massacre in Nice…

Being an Apostle

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 “The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him…”  In Greek, the word for ‘he sent’ is apesteilon which has the same root as the English word apostle. When we talk about “the apostles” we are usually referring to the disciples after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, when they were sent by Jesus to preach the gospel. But in today’s gospel reading, we see that apostleship is not limited to twelve men; 70, or some…

Practicing Peace

  Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 John 14:23-29 Today our Easter journey with the resurrection Jesus nears its end. This Thursday is the feast of the Ascension which marks the end of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples and in a couple of weeks we’ll be celebrating Pentecost and the beginning of the Church’s ministry. You will remember that Jesus’ ministry started after his time of prayer in the desert and his temptation. In Matthew’s account we read, “the devil took him to…

The Way of Transformation – Good Friday, March 25

The Way of Transformation John 18:1 – 19:42 The Gospel reading for Good Friday tells us the story of a Jewish man who was rejected by Jewish religious leaders and then crucified by Roman soldiers – and in re-telling this story, we have heard the words Jew, Jewish, and the Jews twenty times. This Gospel was written in the late first century by a Jew, for a community of Jews – and when the author wrote ‘the Jews’ he meant…

Contemplative Prayer with John’s Gospel – March 13

Contemplative Prayer with John’s Gospel This contemplative exercise can be done with any Gospel story. You will need a little time, a quiet space for prayer, and your imagination. An introduction to John 12:1-8 If you are reading through the Gospel of John, this chapter comes just after Jesus rescues Lazarus from his grave, and a week before Jesus himself dies on the cross. The story takes place in Bethany – a village whose name probably means ‘House of the Poor’…

Baptism – Saved or Called?

Baptism:  Saved or Called? All four gospels begin their stories of Jesus’ ministry with his baptism. In today’s gospel reading Jesus has come, along with many others, to be baptized by John.  And Luke tells us that When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.  Luke 3:21-22  The book of Acts tells of other baptisms – of all the people who were…

Mary didn’t know it was Easter

Mary is in shock. Something is terribly wrong. She has been distraught since Friday and now she is finally able to go to the tomb where the remains of her beloved Jesus are… and they’re not there. And in her grief she sees Jesus but she does not recognize him. This week we have witnessed the shock and horror of a terrorist attack in Brussels. People just going about their regular lives suddenly had everything turned upside down. Lives lost,…