love

Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

I wonder how you felt, how you responded within yourself, when you heard these words from Luke’s Gospel read this morning? Did Jesus really just tell would-be disciples in the crowd around him that they had to hate their family members?

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Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Read More »

Pentecost X – 17 August 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel

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I do not have any children, but sometimes I do wonder about them. What would they have looked like? Would they be as obtuse and difficult as I am? What music would they have liked? What would their lives look like? Most importantly, however, I often wonder how I would have loved them.

As it happened though, I had dogs, mostly Great Danes, and lately our mutt Molly of beloved memory. I also have a lot of nieces and nephews, and I can only extrapolate from how much I love them and their children and have loved my dogs, how I hopefully would have loved my children.

Those of you that do have children and grandchildren, know how much you love them. If we believe what we read about the God of Love in the Bible, how much more does God not love us?

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Pentecost X – 17 August 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Pentecost V – 13 July 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel

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Those of you who have been around the monks since Thursday would have heard a lot about St Benedict, since Benedictines worldwide celebrated his Feast Day on Friday, the 11th of July. I won’t repeat all that was said, except that he lived in very turbulent times in 6th century Italy and was fairly disgusted by the way society had collapsed around him. Sounds familiar? Except, unlike us, he withdrew to a cave to find himself and, fortunately for us, he found so much more than just himself.

So, as a Benedictine monk, with the above in mind, I pondered what St Benedict would have to say to us in today’s world about today’s Gospel reading. My guess is, as in all things, he would have admonished the example of Jesus, and of course, prayer.

Let us then look at this familiar story of the Good Samaritan and see how it challenges us to live out our faith with love and compassion, and how St Benedict might lead us in a way of life grounded in humility, community, and attentive listening to God and neighbour.

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Pentecost V – 13 July 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent by Br Mpumelelo

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Let us pray: Make us to know Your Ways, O LORD JESUS CHRIST; teach us Your Paths. Lead us in Your Truth, and teach us, for You are the LORD of our Salvation; for You we wait all day long. Amen.

EVERY SOUL IS PRECIOUS TO GOD, EVEN YOURS! That is what the Gospel is trying to tell us this morning. The Pharisees and the Scribes are criticizing JESUS, because He received sinners. They are astounded that someone like JESUS would spend His time with “publicans and sinners.” They are stunned that He would receive such wicked and evil people. In response, JESUS tells them three parables. Each of these parables is designed to teach the same great truth: “Every soul is precious to GOD, even yours!”

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Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent by Br Mpumelelo Read More »

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – Sermon by Br Daniel

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I wasn’t going to prepare a sermon for today, because this was rather a different week and our Superior preached a wonderful sermon on love and discernment yesterday, taking care of the Corinthians reading. So, I was going to find a nice sermon online and just read it for today.

I wasn’t going to preach on being known and being consecrated by God before he formed us in the womb. How we are not to be afraid, because the Lord is with us to deliver us from those who might hurt us when we do our Good Lord’s bidding. I wasn’t going to preach on the incredible love which God confesses for us in this Jeremiah passage.

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The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

The First Sunday after Christmas – Sermon by Br Daniel

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We tend to live our lives from one happening to the next. We all have diaries or reminders on our cell phones or laptops or tablets, or whatever electronics we use. We have lists of stuff to do. And once we have attended to the schedule, we delete it with satisfaction; job well-done. And so, it seems with Christmas: it was on the list and now it is done and deleted; job well-done. Thing is, John has a different understanding of Christmas. John invites us to contemplate a Christmas that fills us with hope and joy the whole year.

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The First Sunday after Christmas – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Sermon for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

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I wonder what the disciples were thinking when they asked Jesus about when his prophecy of the destruction of the temple would come about, and what signs they should look for. Such a massive building erected over so many years: Was there perhaps some scepticism in their questioning? How could it all be destroyed so completely?

We know that the temple was in fact destroyed some years later. The unthinkable did happen. The centre of their practice of faith, the place where heaven and earth came together, where God was most surely to be found, was no more. They should have asked another question: What will we do then? Where will we find God afterwards?

What do we do when what we had thought to be the centre of our world, the source of our security, is no more?

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Sermon for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Read More »

Homily by Br Luc for Sunday, November 3, 2024 – Proper 26 B

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May God our Father, who has brought us together again this morning to feed us by His Word and Sacrament, be praised! Our readings today direct us towards love.

Character is defined by the Merriam Webster dictonary as “the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, a group or nation”. Character can therefore be understood as the pattern of behavior or personality found in an individual or a group. For our purpose this morning, we shall deal with the Individual, bearing in mind that a group cannot be without individuals.

One’s character is related to how reliable and honest one is. If someone is of good character, they are reliable and honest. If they are of bad character, they are unreliable and dishonest. However, character is mostly used in a positive way to mean qualities that are admirable, interesting and unusual.

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Homily by Br Luc for Sunday, November 3, 2024 – Proper 26 BRead More »

Homily by Br Luc for Sunday, November 3, 2024 – Proper 26 B Read More »

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

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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 »

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

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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 Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 26B)Read More »

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

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