Sermons
The beginning of Lent
I grew up in a tradition that did not really do anything with or about Lent. The Canadian prairie conservative evangelicals I grew up around were deeply suspicious of anything that might be interpreted as “not-their-sort-of-Protestantism.” I sometimes wondered what they were afraid of, after all at this remove I think we can say the Reformation was successful. I don’t want to do them an injustice, these people were as…
Mountaintop experiences
Scripture has several stories that revolve around things happening at the top of a mountain. The Lectionary talks about two such stories this Sunday, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. In Exodus we read about Moses spending days and days on a mountain with God. In Matthew we read about Jesus, Peter, James and John spending a much shorter time on a mountain but being joined…
Tricky words
It is all too easy for me to allow almost any discussion to get to the level of words – how they are used, what they mean, what is the philosophy of that word – so I work pretty hard at not letting sermons end up there. However, there are times when we need to take a few moments to look at a particular word, or words, and discuss how…
Choices, choices, choices
It is good to be back after a couple of Sundays away. Three fifths of our family were very unexpectedly given the opportunity to spend a week in Cuba and, not being ninnies, we took it. We had a lovely time with some other family members who were there with us and the Cuban people we met. You may notice the unusual disparity in the lengths of the two sermons….
We all want to belong
Ah, belonging. There are few things more necessary to the psychological health of the human person than a feeling of belonging. We all want to belong, be part of the team, be part of the group, be part of the family. This is simply part of what it means to be human and most of us couldn’t turn it off if we wanted to. There is nothing wrong with the…
More isn’t always good
I have been reflecting on the power of language . . . again. Anyone who knows me will have heard me on this particular hobby horse before, perhaps more than you would like. However, I don’t really apologize for spending time helping us think about how language changes the way we think. Because it does. The texts for this week have a remarkable phrase, “in every way you have been…
We don’t get to say
This is another Liturgical year so we are have another opportunity to think about Jesus’ baptism. This is one of the trickier Sundays of the year because there aren’t any definitive answers as to why Jesus was baptized, at least not definitive for me. I must confess that I wasn’t looking forward to this Sunday but when I looked and thought about the texts I realized there was an aspect…
Happy New Year!
It is a brand new year! For some this is a time to make resolutions that may or may not be kept. For others it is a time of reflection on the year past. For all of us, at least if we follow the Gregorian calendar, it is a new beginning. New beginnings are lots of things, scary, exciting, energizing, . . . it all depends on who you are….
Joseph in a different light
So why would I preach about Joseph, the putative father of Jesus, on this, the fourth Sunday of Advent; the Sunday of Love? There are a lot of reasons I suppose, not least of which is our Gospel lesson. This passage in Matthew is one of the very few places we get a look at Joseph. I have always found Joseph a fascinating character in the Bible, perhaps even more…
Are joy and happiness the same?
In regard to the post title, the short answer is “no.” I like short answers and I don’t think there is anything wrong with them but when it comes to sermons, one word sermons are usually not what people are expecting or wanting. This is the third Sunday of Advent; the Sunday with the odd coloured candle; the Sunday of joy. As I mention in both sermons, it seems odd…