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Dionysius the Areopagite on Prayer
In followup to yesterday’s post, 7 Thoughts on Prayer, I offer the following from Dionysius the Areopagite, Divine Names, III, 1 (PG 3,680): It may be true that the divine principle is present in every...
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7 Teachings from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke (source) “When a truly great and unique spirit speaks, the lesser ones must be silent,” Franz Xaver Kappus wrote about Rainer Marie Rilke. Over a period of about six years Kappus and...
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Episcopal Monastics, the Order of St. Helena
“There has never been a renewal of church life in western Christianity without a renewal of prayer and Religious Communities, in some form or another, often different.” - Justin, Archbishop of...
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For the Life and Salvation of our Souls
You have united, O Lord, your divinity with our humanity and our humanity with your divinity; your life with our mortality and our mortality with your life. You have assumed what is ours, and you have...
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Choosing Like Mary and Martha, A Sermon on Luke 10:38-42
“There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part.” (From Luke 10:38-42, Proper 11C and the Feast of Mary and Martha.) ChoicesSource: Wikimedia Commons There have been times when I made...
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Unanswered Prayer? A Sermon on Luke 11:1-13
“One of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’” (From Luke 11:1-13, Proper 12C.) As I recall my own life of prayer, prayers I have heard, and conversations I have had about prayer I can’t...
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Sermons and Reflections on the Transfiguration of Jesus
The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus is August 6. The account of Jesus’ transfiguration is found in Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; and Luke 9:28-36. What about the gospel according to John? Why does...
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You are God, Te Deum Laudamus
You are God: we praise you; You are the Lord; we acclaim you; You are the eternal Father: All creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless...
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Practicing Presence, Disconnect to Connect
“Where are you?” I looked at my wife and said, “I’m right here.” “No, you’re not,” she said. “You’re a million miles away.” She was right. I was there but I was not present. Most of us, I suspect, have...
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The Vesper Light
Sunset in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii O Gracious Light Phos hilaron O gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of...
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How Many Priorities Can a Disciple Have? A Sermon on Luke 14:25-33
So who wants to be a disciple of Jesus? He certainly doesn’t pull any punches about what it takes. First, “Hate your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life...
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Prayers for Syria
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, Have mercy upon us. O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy upon us. O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful, Have mercy upon us. O...
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When We are Good and Lost – A Sermon on Luke 15:1-10
“This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (from Luke 15:1-10; Proper 19, Year C). That’s what the Pharisees and scribes said about Jesus. So how does that strike you? What do you hear in those...
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The Grace of Accounting for our Life, A Sermon on Luke 16:1-13
Most commentaries or sermons about today’s gospel, the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13; Proper 20, Year C), either begin with or quickly make the point that is it just a strange and...
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The Chasm Within, A Sermon on Luke 16:19-31
“Sukkah of the Signs” by Mat McDermott Yesterday I went to the gas station at the HEB grocery store. As I pulled in there was a man under a tree in the corner of the parking lot sitting on a rolled up...
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Prayer and Praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Icon of the Theotokos by Theophanes the Greek, 14th century (source) O most Holy Virgin, he who gives you venerable and glorious titles does not fail to tell the truth; on the contrary, it falls...
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Wrestling for a New Name and a New Life, A Sermon on Genesis 32:22-31
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Do you remember that one? Or how about this one? “I’m rubber you’re glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Maybe...
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A Reversal of Fortune to Celebrate – A Sermon for the Feast of All Saints,...
Nothing has power to change us, confront us with reality, open our ears to a new truth, or turn our life in a different direction like a reversal of fortune can; a time when our world is turned upside...
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Re-membering is Paradise, A Sermon on Luke 23:33-43
Dismas, the good thief.(image source) “Jesus, remember me” (From Luke 23:33-43, Proper 29C, The Feast of Christ the King). Those words from the thief on the cross echo a cry that arises deep within...
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Too Content to Repent? A Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12
St. John the Baptistby Meister von Gracanica, circa 1235 (source) “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (From Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A). Those words drew the people to John the Baptist. The...
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