Jesus seems to be offering advice on social etiquette, but he’s really talking about the amazing grace of God, and the humility that should result when one understands that God’s love and favor are completely undeserved. Here, and interstellar analogy proves helpful.
When we come face to face with God in the Holy Eucharist, we come to the end of the world, when all things will be shaken and purified by the fire of his love.
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These words, coming from Jesus’ parable about the man with too much stuff, might be words of genuine despair unless we can first answer the question of why we are here in the first place.
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"Our Father..." How many times have we prayed the words that Jesus taught his disciples to pray without considering the depth and challenges present in this prayer? In this sermon, I scratch the surface of the meaning behind the words that are so familiar to those in the church.
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In this unconventional reflection on Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, Fr. Houk puts himself in the place of a priest sympathizer, showing how easy it is for us to make excuses with regard to whom we are willing to love.
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Picking up from last week sermon about Beauty, Goodness, and Truth, we look at how necessary the cross is in connecting people to God. That’s why St. Paul was so bold to say, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Beauty, Goodness, and Truth are three roads that can lead a person to God. Which road do you travel, and how can you journey on while “preparing the way of the Lord” for others?
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Jesus said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." In the killing fields in Sudan and in many other places around the world, taking up the cross frequently leads to a physical death. The book quoted in this sermon is Modern Saints and Martyrs by Caroline Cox. The Church in America must find ways to stand with those who are suffering for the sake of the Gospel and to support them in meaningful ways.
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Some people are eager to judge others, thinking their judgments can make the world a better place. Jesus teaches us that if turn that same scrutiny upon ourselves, he can change us, by his grace.
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When Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, was distressed about her son a wise bishop once told her to pray. Then he added, It cannot be that the son of these tears should perish.” Indeed, we see in Christ the kind of compassion that is especially attune to mothers who love their children passionately.
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Today is Pentecost and the annual St. John’s eight grade baccalaureate. “The flames lit on their little heads and bravely and dangerously went they onward.”
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Fr. Houk takes on the Lectionary committee this morning, making the point that while we all tend to read Scripture selectively, ALL Scripture—whether it comforts or unsettles us—is for our ultimate good.
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Today’s passage from Revelation describes the New Jerusalem like this: “nothing unclean shall enter it.” While some believe that the love of God would never exclude a person from Paradise, if we really desire to see heaven populated we will do all we can to reach others with the love of God revealed in Christ.
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What we see in the story of St. Thomas is that doubt—real doubt—is painful. And what we see in the wounded and risen Christ is that knowing the depths of his love is the cure for our deepest wounds.
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As Updike says so poetically about the resurrection of Jesus: “Let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping transcendence; making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages: let us walk through the door.”
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The faith of Abraham is the faith of Easter: a belief in the God who raises the dead. And in Christ’s resurrection we see the victory of God’s light over darkness, his goodness over sin, and his love over fear.
March 28, 2010; Palm Sunday (St. Luke 22:39-23:56) Their lives were all touched by Jesus: the servant of the High Priest, Simon of Cyrene, Pilate and Herod, the daughters of Jerusalem, the thief on the cross, the Roman centurion. Even on his way to death, good things happen wherever Jesus goes.
March 14, 2010; Lent 4 (St. Luke 15:11-32) George Herbert, Tim Keller, and Pink Floyd are all quoted in this sermon. But it’s really about the Prodigal Son, the Older Brother, and the unfathomable love of the Father.
February 28, 2010; Lent 2 (St. Luke 13:22-35) Jesus’ words about the narrow gate is surprisingly good news to ponder on our Mission Vision Day as we plan for outreach in 2010.
February 21, 2010; Lent 1 (Deuteronomy 26:1-11; St. Luke 4:1-13) Our Scriptures today indicate that there is something objective about our faith, something objective about Scripture, that can point us “true north” when subjective feelings disturb our inner compass.
February 7, 2010; Epiphany 5 (Judges 6:11-24a; St. Luke 5:1-11) Today's scriptures about Gideon and Simon Peter show how the Lord can do great things with nobodies and sinners who trust in his word and obey his voice. How is Christ calling you out of your comfort zone, “into the deep,” today?
St. Luke 4:21–32. Jesus made the claim that he came "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." This is a reference to the jubilee year, a special sabbath year that was held every 50 years. What did that claim mean to the hearers then, and to us today?
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