Sermons
Epiphany? What’s that?
So what does “epiphany” mean? I don’t generally turn to the dictionary for definitions of words of theological significance, but in this case I did. The American Heritage Dictionary proved quite helpful. I case you are wondering why I am using this dictionary, it is because it was the first one I found and I liked what it had. Epiphany is: The part of the definition I am most interested…
What about Joseph?
We are into the church year’s season of Christmas, which is pretty short all things considered. The lectionary texts continue to draw from Isaiah and Matthew, with prophecies perhaps about Jesus and birth narratives definitely about Jesus. I thought I’d use this Sunday to talk about the most forgotten person in the stories about Jesus’ birth, namely his step-father, Joseph. I wish there were some way I could meet Joseph…
Love and Christmas
There is something about Christmas that brings out the best in many people. You might even say it brings out more love in people. I am okay with this. I went through a stage when I was younger of thinking (and actually saying) any “extra” love showing up at Christmas was false because “where was it the rest of the year?” A not overly-surprising kind of thought for a young…
Is joy simple?
As I was reflecting on the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of joy, the question above became my sermon title. It’s deceptively, well, simple, isn’t it? Is joy simple? The more I thought about it, the more I was taken with the question. It seems the answer is more complex than the question, which is usually the case when we are dealing with profound things like joy. One of…
What does peace look like?
I am not sure I actually know what peace looks like. My favourite and least favourite definition or description of peace is “Peace is the word needed to describe the occasional and brief moments between war.” I can’t remember to whom the quotation is attributed or if it was actually said by any of the famous people attached to it. It sums up a rather bleak view of the human…
New year, new hope?
It is a new church year. As I mentioned in the message, the church doesn’t have its own year to complicate things; it is just how we do things. The church year begins with the four Sundays of Advent. The first Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of hope. I wasn’t frightened of the topic of hope, but when I first thought about it, I was, to be perfectly honest,…
How do, or how should, kings act?
Today is the last Sunday in the liturgical/church year. Next Sunday a new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent. The last Sunday of the church year is called Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday. When I think of kings or of people reigning my first thought is always to the historical figures who have held those titles. Yes I know Canada has a new head of…
How should we be?
This Sunday is Restorative Justice Sunday but, in the end, I was not able to come up with a sermon up to the task; so, I went in a different direction. The Lectionary texts prodded me to think about what we should do. This was the beginning of the process that got me to “How should we be?” with a brief consideration of Francis A. Schaeffer’s book and subsequent film…
Vindication?
Today is Remembrance Sunday. It isn’t Remembrance Day, that’s November 11, of course, but St. Mark’s has a tradition of marking Remembrance Day on the last Sunday before November 11. As I read the texts for this Sunday, in more than one translation, one word kept coming up for me, “vindication.” Vindication is one of those words I use correctly, but did not have a good, pithy definition, so I…
What makes a saint?
What makes a saint? Today isn’t actually All Saints Day, but it is All Saints Sunday. I’m sure there are lectionary purists or specialists who would abominate this, but the world in which we live doesn’t have the same connection to the church year that it once did. We can fulminate against it as much as we like, but it is unlikely the world is going to change for us….