Sermons

Sermons preached at various occasions by Brothers of St Benedict’s Priory

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

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Scripture Readings

I like the way today’s gospel reading begins, with Jesus going out to sit beside the sea. I can easily imagine that, as sitting beside the sea is one of my favourite things to do. I generally prefer my own company when I do that, so I would have been less happy with the crowd that gathered around Jesus. He doesn’t seem to mind, though; he just gets into a nearby boat, using it to create a bit of space while he tells the crowd some stories.

The crowd hears only the stories, we are told, while any explanations, such as in the second part of today’s reading, are reserved for the disciples. Perhaps that’s how one became a disciple, by listening to the stories Jesus told and finding oneself sufficiently intrigued by them that one later goes to Jesus and asks him what he’s talking about. Listening is what Jesus asks the crowd to do; hearing what his stories are really about is what Jesus invites the disciples into.

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Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after PentecostRead More »

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Read More »

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

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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…” 

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

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

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

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Scripture Readings

Our Gospel passage this morning continues the conversation Jesus has been having with his disciples as he tries to prepare them for life without his physical presence after his departure to return to his heavenly Father, an event we will commemorate on Ascension Day, this coming Thursday. Last week, we heard Jesus talking about the need to believe that he is the revelation of God the Father to his disciples, so that they have come to know the Father as they have come to know Jesus. Perhaps even more startling is that Jesus tells his disciples that those who do believe in him will do even greater works than he has done, while waiting for Jesus to return to take them to be with him in the place he will prepare for them in his Father’s house.

This week, we hear Jesus assure his disciples that he is not abandoning them. The loving relationship of believing and knowing that Jesus has established with his disciples will continue through the agency of one he refers to as another Paraclete, in the form of the Spirit of Truth. The word Paraclete seems to have its origins in a legal context as an Advocate, one who comes alongside to speak on another’s behalf, but it has acquired broader associations as Helper, Guide, Comforter, Teacher, Counsellor. Jesus has been all of these to his disciples, but now the Spirit will continue in those roles, the initiation of which we will commemorate on Pentecost Sunday, in two weeks.

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Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Read More »

Fourth Sunday of Easter 2023 at Volmoed

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Readings for the day

When I was growing up the Cold War was raging, and the US was in a particularly fearful and paranoid way. Communists, or as we said back then “godless communists” were spotted behind every shrub. The Soviet Union was the great instrument of Satan and all things bad – and so the US was the great instrument of God and all things good. The rest of the world, at least in the American mind, was left to fit into one or the other sphere of influence, the good sphere (ours) or the bad. In the US we like things to be very binary, very black or white.

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Fourth Sunday of Easter 2023 at VolmoedRead More »

Fourth Sunday of Easter 2023 at Volmoed Read More »

Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter

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Scripture Readings

This past week, we have enjoyed having Benedict and Sabine Schubert here with us at Volmoed. I have been privileged on several occasions during the week to listen to them telling parts of their story in various contexts. I have appreciated how rich their story is, and how effectively they tell it. By speaking of the ways in which God has been present in the complexity of their lives, they invite their listeners to reflect on God’s presence in our own lives.

I think that this morning’s Gospel reading does much the same for us. The evangelist Luke lets the story unfold much as life does as he tells it, but he understands where the story is going and invites us to bring our lives into the light of the story he is telling. As we relate to the characters in Luke’s story, we can let their experience enrich our understanding of the mystery of our own lives.

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Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter Read More »

Triduum at Volmoed 2023 

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Readings for Maundy Thursday

Readings for Good Friday

Today we embark on a three-day period known as Triduum or Three Great Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday… the days that lead up to Easter. 

The name, Maundy Thursday, comes from the Latin of the anthem that was part of this day’s liturgy in ancient times: Mandatum novum do vobis. It is from the Gospel according to John; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another…” The Latin word for commandment is mandatum. Perhaps in ancient times this was known as ”the Thursday when we sing Mandatum Novum… “ 

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Triduum at Volmoed 2023  Read More »

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

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Scripture Readings

Jesus loves Lazarus, and he loves Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. The evangelist John tells us this, and the sisters remind Jesus of this in their message to him. Jesus himself refers to Lazarus as “our friend” when telling his disciples about Lazarus’ demise. It is clearly a close set of relationships.

Real friendships invoke real responsibilities of caring about and for one another. The sisters, having sent Jesus an urgent message about Lazarus’ severe illness, expect an equally urgent response from him. They also share a confident certainty that Jesus would be able to keep Lazarus from dying if he came in time.

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Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent Read More »

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent

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Scripture Readings

I wonder what Nicodemus was thinking when he went to Jesus that night in Jerusalem. I wonder what he was hoping for.

I find myself feeling quite sympathetic towards Nicodemus. He was an elite member of his society who had a lot to lose. We are told that he belonged to a respected community, that he was a recognized leader and an admired teacher. It would have taken a certain humility for someone with that status to approach a seemingly uneducated upstart from unfashionable Galilee as courteously as he did.

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Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent Read More »

First Sunday in Lent – Sermon by Br Daniel

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Scripture Readings

Br Daniel
Br Daniel

We all have an identity.  Be it as someone’s brother, sister, mother, uncle, cousin. We all have some kind of relationship to someone.   It is tempting to think that our identity is very personal, and that we have even created our own.  I’m sure we’ve all have spells of “finding ourselves”.  Yet, despite all our efforts at finding ourselves, it turns out that our identity is firmly and unavoidably rooted in our relationships.  We cannot be a child without parents, we cannot be a friend without friends.  You get my point.

So pretty much everything we might say about ourselves involves other people, and sometimes even animals! And who we are ultimately evolves from our relationships with so many other people.  Above all, our identities are also rooted in our relationship with God, and especially being his beloved children.

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First Sunday in Lent – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Sermon for February 12

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Readings for the day…

Jesus seems to be on a bit of tear this morning… He seems to be saying “let’s take the various demands of the law of Moses and up the ante. For example, you know you should not commit adultery – but I say if you’ve even looked at another person, you have already committed adultery.” It sounds like trouble for those of us who are human.

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Sermon for February 12Read More »

Sermon for February 12 Read More »

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