Sermons
Why did St. John write?
Asking why someone writes, or wrote, is a tricky question. I am a writer and I don’t always have a good answer to this question. When we start asking the question about people who have been dead for any length of time, let alone hundreds and hundreds of years a satisfactory answer may simply not be possible. St. John was writing in the first century. He is the only eye-witness…
How do we know about ourselves?
It is a rare person who never doubts what they know about themselves. We all need reassurance in something at some time. We might need to be reminded we are good parent/sibling/child/. . . . We know these things but we don’t feel them at the moment. It is common for people who are in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit to wonder about…
God is what?
So do we even need to ask this question? For that matter, does it have an answer? Surely God is too big, too much, to fit into such a simple question. Well of course this is the case. The question isn’t intended to get at an exhaustive answer as that is beyond us. Rather, the question was to help us think about how God is described in part of St….
More things we want to know
There are always things curious people want to know. The most curious of people, namely toddlers, reportedly can ask up to 400 questions a day . . . this comes as no surprise to anyone who has cared for a toddler. Those of us who are no longer toddlers may not have as many questions but we still have questions. Last Sunday I applied the question of “How do we…
We all want to know sometimes
There is something fundamental about the human desire to know things. Let me take a moment to assure you, if needed, that you are always “allowed” to ask questions, even about and to God. We each have things of special interest to us but there are some things with a wider appeal. The three readings from the New Testament this Sunday are opportunities for us to look at how the…
John’s first letter – John’s declaration
If this Sunday was closer to the Fourth of July I might have thought to play around with John’s declaration of non-independence but I only thought of it now so we are stuck with what I was thinking before. John is not the most opaque writer in the Bible but he definitely makes the short list. 1 John opens with him saying “I declare to you . . .” and…
Good news or best news?
Everyone likes good news. Whether it is a profound as the safe delivery of a new baby or as simple as the news your team won a game; we all like to hear good things. Today is Easter Sunday also called Resurrection of the Lord. Jesus’ resurrection is good news. New Testament Greek has a single word for good news and the word is “Gospel.” So the book of John…
What’s so good about it?
Is there any day, at least on the initial look, less well named than Good Friday? If there is, I can’t think of it off the top of my head. This is the first time I have been in a position to lead a Good Friday service in many years. I am very glad I was able to. The churches have traditionally included the sacrament of Holy Communion with a…
Is it okay to celebrate?
Celebration is a good thing so why would I be asking if it is okay to celebrate? I assure you I am not crazy. It is a question worth asking today, Palm Sunday, as we are on the cusp of Holy Week. Is it okay to celebrate Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem when we know what happens to him less than a week later? Obviously we aren’t going to rebuke…
Humility, how do we get it?
Links and documents from the service As I mentioned in today’s service, heather has a blog where they (they/them/their are heather’s pronouns) discuss some of their story in more depth, the link is below. The Reverend Amanda Currie’s pastoral letter is also below and, depending on how your browser manages pdfs it will open or download it when you click the button. As I also mentioned, heather and I are…