Scripture Readings

Today’s gospel reading marks a turning point in the story of Jesus’ life on earth as recorded by Matthew. It should be read together with the gospel reading from last Sunday, as it continues that narrative while introducing a stark contrast.

Last week, the apostle Peter experienced one of the high points in his relationship with Jesus, when Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus responded enthusiastically by declaring Peter blessed for having received a revelation from his heavenly Father. This week, Peter has suddenly become an obstacle in Jesus’ path, earning a swift and sharp rebuke.

…

Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after PentecostRead More »

Readings for the Day

Today’s reading from Matthew is unsettling to say the least. And a bit chaotic… We begin in the region of Galilee and we’re heading for the region of Tyre and Sidon – a coastal region north of Israel. It would have been a multi-day journey from Galilee – perhaps about as far as from here to Sommerset West. But remember, they were travelling on foot…  

…

Sermon for Sunday, August 20Read More »

Readings for the day

Preached by Br Josias

Today the church commemorates the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord. The feast is also celebrated on a Sunday before Ash Wednesday. I think that is done so to alert us to keep the radiance of God always before our eyes as we enter into the solemn period of Lent. Traditionally the feast is commemorated on the 14^th Sunday after Easter, or the 10^th Sunday after Pentecost, depending on how you look at it. I believe the feast is observed around this time just to remind us that God’s glory is still in our midst. It is also meant to remind us to always keep the presence of God in our daily lives.

 

…

Transfiguration Sunday 2023 – 06 August 2023Read More »

This week the Church keeps the feast of St James the Great. He is an important saint in many ways. He gets the title “Great” however, not as a mark of stature, but to distinguish him from the other James, James the Less, also a disciple… And while the Gospel reading is very specific to James the Great, the name does not appear. Instead, we hear about the sons of Zebedee, also known as the sons of thunder, also known as James and John… 

…

Sermon for the Feast of St James the Great Read More »

Readings for the day

Here we are at the tail end of Eastertide and on the verge of Pentecost. A very important event took place this past Thursday… Jesus ascended to heaven. A very important event happens next Sunday, the Holy Spirit comes to us. So here we are in the space between two momentous events; the interregnum if you will between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is the odd period when, it seems, nobody is in charge… We should be considering what kind of trouble we can get into in this unsupervised time. 

Of course, the truth is we hardly need to be left unsupervised to get into trouble. Some wag has a variation on the Lord’s prayer which says: “Lead us not into temptation, we can find our own way…” 

…

Sermon for the 7 Sunday of Easter (Year A) Volmoed 2023Read More »