Br Roger Stewart

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

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Scripture Readings

This morning, we are invited to consider again what must surely be one of Jesus’ most familiar parables, one which allows us to imagine ourselves in the role of any of the characters. It is a very rich story, with many subtle aspects, and Jesus tells it in response to a question from a teacher of the Jewish law. It seems that the test the lawyer sets before Jesus is an opportunity for Jesus to prove himself, rather than being some sort of trap intended to undermine his authority. The interaction feels mutually respectful.

In reply to Jesus’ probing response to his initial question, the lawyer seems to say something quite innovative. He combines the two great laws of love into one law, saying effectively that you cannot love God without loving your neighbour, and vice versa. Jesus approves of this, but points out that the challenge is to actually do both, and that doing so is the way to fullness of life.

This just leaves the question of who qualifies as neighbour. Those listening to Jesus might have been taught to define their neighbour quite narrowly as one of those within the community of their kinship group, that is, those who were like them. Jesus challenges any such assumption with his parable involving an anonymous man, that is, any person.

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Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Read More »

Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter

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Scripture Readings

I am intrigued by the resonances I find between two of the readings our Sunday lectionary invites us to consider this morning. Both the passage from Acts and that from the Gospel of John tell us stories of significant encounters with Jesus by men who would later have an important role in establishing the early Church.

In Acts, Saul who would become the apostle Paul is initially set on persecuting followers of Jesus, and goes to considerable lengths in his determination to do so. In John’s Gospel, the apostle Peter is floundering about, seemingly at a loss as to what to do after his denial of Jesus before the crucifixion. Both Saul and Peter are with others when Jesus meets them, but Jesus seems to be confronting each of them individually, as if those with them fade into the background for the moment.

Both encounters have extraordinary aspects, a light from heaven in one, a strange catch of fish in the other. I’m not sure what to make of these aspects, but I suspect they might somehow find echoes in our own lives of extraordinary experiences we perhaps have had of God, experiences that are difficult for us to put into words without seeming to diminish their significance for ourselves, a significance that is no less real for being usually less dramatic.

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Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday by Br Daniel

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Gospel : Matthew 17:1-9

Br Daniel
Br Daniel

I absolutely believe in the power of a hug. There are few things that give as much immediate comfort as a sincere hug. And of course, there is the old saying that goes: “Seven hugs a day for good mental health.” And now we understand why there are so many problems during Covid: nobody may give hugs, anymore!

So, why do I talk about hugs?

Because, ‘Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them … and they were afraid … and Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”‘

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The Second Sunday After Christmas

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Scripture Readings

Unusually, the various lectionaries I consulted regarding the scripture readings for today all had different opinions. As I was reading through the various options, it seemed to me that several of the gospel choices suggested a larger story when taken together. So, rather than select one gospel reading to focus on, I will share some thoughts about three of them and the conversation I imagine them to be having amongst themselves.

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The Second Sunday After Christmas Read More »

Second Sunday of Advent – Sermon by Br Daniel

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Scripture Readings

Brother Daniel
Br Daniel

Todays’ Gospel begins as follows:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

However, I want to paraphrase this:

“Despite Tiberius being Emperor of Rome, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Phillip and Lysanias being provincial governors, and despite Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, God chose to speak to a nobody named John, living in the desert.”

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Second Sunday of Advent – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for the Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 26B)

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Readings for Sunday

For the past several weeks of our journey through Mark’s Gospel via the Sunday lectionary, Jesus has himself been on a journey, his increasingly bewildered disciples following him to Jerusalem. Between last Sunday and this coming one, the lectionary skips over quite a lot of what happens after Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. This Sunday’s gospel reading describes an encounter that takes place after an extended series of disputes between Jesus and various factions constituting much of the religious leadership of Jerusalem.

In some ways, this encounter reminds me of one Jesus had while still on the road with a young man concerned about eternal life. In that case, it seems to me that Jesus’ first response is almost dismissive, until the young man stands his ground and insists that his question be taken seriously. It is then that Jesus really looks at him, and when he actually sees him, he loves him. Of course, Jesus then tells him the last thing he wanted to hear, but that’s another story.

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Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22B)

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Readings for Sunday

Given that the Pharisees supply an answer to their own question readily enough when Jesus prompts them to do so, they certainly don’t seem to have been seeking enlightenment from Jesus. If, as Mark tells us, their question was asked as a trap, it doesn’t appear to have been much of one.

However, I’m told that marriage had come to be regarded mostly as a legal arrangement between families, and divorce raised the question of how that legal arrangement could be terminated. It seems this was a hot topic of debate among religious scholars of the time.

The Pharisees were trying to catch Jesus in a position of unorthodoxy. There was also a deeper trap: John the Baptist had literally lost his head by directly challenging the divorce and remarriage proceedings of King Herod.

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Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22B) Read More »

Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for Trinity Sunday by Br Daniel

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Scripture Readings for Trinity Sunday

Brother Daniel
Br Daniel

The desert father, Evagrius of Pontus, once observed: “God cannot be grasped by the mind. If he could be grasped, he would not be God.”

This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday, and Evagrius might have had this in mind when he made the above statement.

It is certainly true that the doctrine of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has been the source of much confusion, misuse, and controversy through the ages.

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Thursday at Volmoed – Sermon for Trinity Sunday by Br Daniel Read More »

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