Sermons

At the hearts of all these readings, there is a longing for a real, tangible need and a reminder to refocus our attention on what is really important: proper and appropriate worship. If we move our attention from what we think we really need to worshiping God, our appetites will be reordered. Worship is meant to order reality and restore our proper desires.

Dcn Adewale Giwa-Alaka asks us to begin our Lent with the story of creation on, noticing in particular the differences God made in making man verses the rest of creation. The extra care God took and the materials he used to make man should give us perspective on our natural relationship with God. As we enter this season of repentance, realizing that natural relationship should be the start of our spiritual growth.

Readings for Transfiguration SundayExodus 24:12-18 Psalm 99 Philippians 3:7-14 Matthew 17:1-9Dr. Adam Johnson uses the readings from the seventh Sunday of Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday to explore the story of the Transfiguration. The readings all show us how God has given the Church an unusual and somewhat backward concept of submission. In light of this unusual definition of submission we are able to see that the Transfiguration is not about looking at Jesus as something completely different from us as humans; but rather we are able to see him as a foreshadowing of our own fate.

Sunday’s ReadingsEcclesiasticus 15:11-20 Psalm 119:9-16 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37Fr. Greg Peters explores a passage of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and how it applies to us, as part of the same Church, today.

Sunday’s Readings2 Kings 22:8-20 Psalm 27 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 Matthew 5:13-20Today’s readings are a reminder that our faithfulness to God, begun through our baptism, will be rewarded with blessings and eternal life.

Sunday’s ReadingsMalachi 3:1–4 Psalm 84 Hebrews 2:14–18 Luke 2:22–40While Jesus was presented at the temple as Mary and Joseph’s participation in the law, performing their purification after his birth, Jesus’s presence in the temple is more than simply a fulfillment of the law. Simeon and Anna’s witnessing of this event reminds us that everything Jesus does creates a bridge between the old testament and the new. Liturgically, we are situated between the nativity and the crucifixion; a reminder that Jesus is the light that came into the world and also the destroyer of nations.

Sunday’s ReadingsAmos 3:1-11 Psalm 139:1-16 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 Matthew 4:12-22Continuing the narrative from last week’s gospel reading, this week we observe Jesus’s movements through the nations and see his teachings summarized by this week’s collect: that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The collect takes Jesus’s teaching and simplifies them into a two part instruction: first to see and hear the Gospel and second, to respond immediately to that call. Like Andrew and Simon, we need to be open to hearing the Gospel and respond by immediately living our lives in the context of Jesus’s teachings. This means that we must daily chose to make Christ the first priority in our lives.

Sunday’s ReadingsIsaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 89:1-29 Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17As we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, Fr. Greg reminds us that we are more similar to Jesus than we may think; that we have been equipped with the same tools as Jesus to spread the Gospel. In Baptism we are all empowered with the Holy Spirit that Jesus received in his baptism.

Sunday’s ReadingsIsaiah 60:1-9 Psalm 72 Ephesians 3:1-13 Matthew 2:1-12The feast of Epiphany marks not only the beginning of a season of light and that the all people have received this gift of Light, but it also marks a season of trust. Because we have been given the “light that dispels the darkness” in the infant Jesus, we have been entrusted with the power of the Holy Spirit to go into the world and preach the Gospel — to be stewards of that light in the darkness of the world.

Sunday’s ReadingsIsaiah 61:10-62:5 Psalm 147:13-21 Galatians 3:23-4:7 John 1:1-18By exploring the Gospel of John, Fr. Greg points out that Christmas is not just about remembering Christ’s birth, but noticing that the incarnation implemented all sacraments: God sent his son to earth in human form and in doing so God elevated something that was mundane and normal to something holy and sacred.