Sermons
What do we see?
There can be a tension between seeing and really seeing, much like the tension between hearing and listening. This tension came up when I began thinking of the Transfiguration. When the disciples who were on that mountain with Jesus witnessed the Transfiguration they saw Jesus in a new light but what crossed my mind was, could they have “seen” the same Jesus without the experience of the Transfiguration? It isn’t a frivolous…
Sure you can
It is good to be back . . . again. I was away for a work retreat (it was in Mexico so don’t waste any sympathy on me) which meant that I missed two Sundays in a row. There is nothing like a bit of absence to help you remember how much you enjoy doing something, in this case, it was good to be reminded of how much I enjoy…
What is wisdom?
Well it is nice to be back in Canada for a few days, which makes it sound like international travel is just a regular part of my life, which it most certainly is not. Notwithstanding it is nice to be back. I was away last Sunday watching Heather’s niece (which makes her my niece too I suppose) get married in a very lovely resort near Cancun. The picture was taken…
Language and theology
Okay, this post should probably be called “Language and theology . . . sort of” but I didn’t want to put that many periods into a title. As I mention in both of my sermons and as is completely and unavoidably obvious to anyone who knows me, I love language. I am limited to the English language, which is actually kind of pitiful, so I love the English language. It…
Favouritism? Partiality? Nope, not here.
Favouritism, partiality, no matter what you call it, NO ONE likes it. Even when the deck is stacked in our favour there is still a little something that we don’t like about it. When someone else gets ahead because of favouritism being directed to them then there isn’t a little something we don’t like about it but a BIG something. So why would I be writing about this on this…
Presents and a New Year!
It is a new year, or I suppose it should be written New Year, but capital letters or not it is very much a new year. Two thousand and fourteen, twenty-fourteen, 2014, no matter how I write it, it just seems weird. I’m not sure why 2014 seems weird in a way that 2013 didn’t but there is nothing to say for the vagaries of the human mind, especially mine….
Christmas!
Christmas is one of the more evocative words in the English language. I don’t want to suggest that everyone’s immediate response to the word is warm and fuzzy but I’m pretty sure there aren’t too many people who don’t feel something when they hear it. For me, the word is a very pleasant one with overtones of laughter and conversation, eating and gifts. As I have gotten older, “gifts” have…
Another word that is more than we might think
This Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent, the Sunday of Joy. Joy is another one of those words that can be kind of tricky. As I mention in at least one of the sermons, it is one of those words that we understand at at trivial level “joy = happiness; happiness = joy” until we take a careful look at the word. Joy and happiness differ primarily in the…
Peaceful and peace are not the same thing. Really.
The juxtaposition of this Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent’s theme is Peace, with the death of Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a few days ago was almost painful. I found the outpouring of grief and the sense of loss mixed with triumph absolutely extraordinary. I am pretty sure this is unprecedented for a, primarily, political figure, even as it is richly deserved. If you have been following this…
Happy New Year! Wait! What?
Happy New Year! No, I am not crazy, or at least no more than usual. This is the beginning of a new Church year. The liturgical calendar begins with the first Sunday of Advent and that is today, so Happy New Year! The four Sundays of Advent are there to help us prepare for Christmas. To prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the unique fully-human / fully-divine…