Jul 13 2010
As many of you know, the Monastery Chapel is temporarily closed for a period of renovation. In the interstice before services start up again in the fall, we are happy to be able to re-post sermons drawn from the SSJE Archive.
Check back each week for posts “From the Archive”
Aug 30 2010
This parable of the seed growing secretly (Mark 4:26-29) is found only in Mark’s Gospel – and its teaching is urgently needed in our speed-crazed world.
God created time, and hallowed time – and I think God likes us to spend time, and not try to beat it!
“I waited patiently upon the Lord: he stooped to me and heard my cry,” the Psalmist says.
“O tarry, and await the Lord’s pleasure. Be strong, and he shall comfort your heart. Wait patiently for the Lord.” Continue Reading »
Aug 26 2010
In this Thanksgiving sermon, preached in 2009, Br. Mark Brown turns traditional thoughts about gratitude around, suggesting it has a surprising and unorthodox source (one worth giving thanks for in itself).
“It is right, and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” Familiar words from the Eucharistic Prayer, the Great Thanksgiving. It is, indeed, always good to give thanks; it is good to give thanks always. And we who are blessed in so many ways have much to be thankful for.
I heard Elie Wiesel speak once in a synagogue near Chicago. I remember him saying that gratitude is the most human sentiment. He didn’t elaborate, but his words stuck with me. Gratitude is the most human sentiment. I think what he meant was that when we are in a state of gratitude, we are most fully alive in our humanity. That such fullness of life and humanity is possible for us is yet more cause for thanksgiving. We might pause to give thanks for the gift of gratitude itself, that we are capable of a sentiment so right and good and true. Give thanks that we have the capacity to be thankful!
Continue Reading »
Aug 24 2010
In this sermon, originally preached on July 19, 2009, Br. Kevin Hackett illuminates the deep meaning behind one of the most pervasive biblical images for Jesus: the shepherd. Along the way, he also makes some riveting suggestions about what that role means for us, the sheep.
If we were to do a survey of images for God (and by extension, for Jesus) found in the Scriptures, surely the word shepherd would be near the top of the list. Given the pervasive presence of shepherds and sheep in the Middle East, this is not really a surprise. It is today and has been for thousands of years a culturally relevant metaphor, and makes immediate sense in that context. But in North America, not so much. In fact, if we really understood what shepherds do, we might reconsider our fondness of the image.
When most of us think about shepherds and sheep generally, or more particularly, of Jesus as a shepherd tending his flock of straying disciples, the images we have are informed more by what we know from stained glass windows than by the actual experience of shepherds and sheep first hand. You know: Jesus in a green grassy pasture, with babbling brook nearby, conveniently equipped with a pool of still water, and a bit of foreboding rocky rough terrain in the distant background. Jesus, of course, is wearing his standard blue and red robes, with a lamb on his shoulders, while other members of the fleecy flock who are nestling anxiously at his feet look up at him with a mixture of relief, admiration, and profound gratitude. But there are several problems here. The whole thing looks at lot more like “England’s green and pleasant land” than anything that Jesus would have ever known or seen. Continue Reading »
Aug 18 2010
In this sermon, originally preached on July 5, 2009, Br. David Vryhof challenges our traditional views of what the judgment of God entails, finding in this concept far more proof of salvation than damnation.
Matthew 25:31-46
You may have noticed that my brothers have allowed me to choose a different gospel lesson from the one designated for this day. I chose this passage from Matthew because I want to talk about judgment. Now before you say, “Oh-oh, what are we in for now,” I want to assure you that I rarely deliver ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons and that, in spite of my background as a Calvinist, I am not likely to preach a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”i Judgment is not a favorite theme of mine.
I suppose that if I were to write my own gospel, “The Gospel According to David,” I might be tempted to delete from my scriptures words like these about God’s forthcoming judgment. I might be tempted to take a passage like the one we’ve read and simply cut out all the language of judgment. Continue Reading »
Aug 15 2010
For the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, we’re pleased to post anew this sermon, which Br. James Koester originally preached for the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Dec. 8, 2009. In it, Br. James celebrates Mary’s “yes” to God and invites us to look “not outwardly, or even upwardly, but inwardly,” to see how we too have been chosen, from the foundation of the Earth, to bear fruit.
Those of you who have joined us at one point or another for one of our meals will know that most of the time, on most days, we listen to the reading of a book during the meal. It’s only on Sundays, Tuesdays and some feast days that we share in conversation over the meal. Right now we are reading quite an interesting, and highly amusing biography of Benjamin Franklin, entitled Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. It turns out, as we have discovered, that Franklin was quite an interesting, and highly amusing character. Earlier in the fall our book of choice was a little more esoteric as we read Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary by Miri Rubin. Mother of God was a heavier read, and as we joked at the time, we now knew more about Mary than she knew about herself! One of the underlying themes of the book was that before she became known as the Mother of God, before she became known as the Queen of Heaven she was simply Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. In essence underlying all the titles and the various devotions that is who she was, and that is who she remains. Continue Reading »
Aug 13 2010
In this sermon, originally preached on Oct. 4 2009, Br. Mark Brown offers a playful and inspiring take on what it might mean to be “the dreamers and builders of the Kingdom.”
The Gospels mention the Kingdom of God over 200 times. And Jesus has much to say about it. It will come with power. It is like a treasure hidden in a field. Like a pearl of great price. Like a net catching fish of every kind. Things both new and old will be brought out of its treasury. [Matthew 13:44-52] Today we hear that the Kingdom of God is to be received; that is, the Kingdom is a gift to be received as a little child might receive a gift. The Kingdom belongs to little children, it’s a gift given to children. We may enter as a little child. In innocence, perhaps, with a sense of wonder? Continue Reading »
Aug 10 2010
In this sermon, originally preached on Oct. 20, 2009, Br. Geoffrey offers a helpful discussion of the difference between healing and recovery, as well as the power of intercessory prayer both upon the one prayed for and upon the one who prays.
One of the most wonderful experiences of my life was some years ago when living in England I had a sabbatical, and I spent a few months living in Egypt. Most of the time I lived in Cairo, and the part of Cairo I loved most of all, was not the famous parts with the pyramids and the sphinx, or even the medieval Islamic City of Cairo, but Old Cairo, Al-Qahira, south of the modern city, next to the Nile. The small walled city is Christian, Coptic Christian, and it is full of ancient churches like St. Barbara’s, St. John the Baptist, St. George, St. Mark.
It’s a quiet world set apart from the frenetic world of modern Cairo. Here narrow, windy lanes lead from one ancient church to another. And it was here one day that I walked alone into the Church of St. John the Baptist and I saw a man kneeling in front of the altar with two others, and they had their hands on his shoulders, and there were other people standing around and praying. Continue Reading »
Aug 06 2010
Br. Curtis Almquist originally preached this sermon on Feb. 22, 2009. We’re pleased to repost it in honor of today’s Feast of the Transfiguration.
Mark 9:2-9; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-35
In early February, one of my brothers and I were on top of Mount Tabor where this event, Jesus’ transfiguration, took place. We were traveling with a group of pilgrims following the path of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death and resurrection in Israel/Palestine. Mount Tabor is north of Jerusalem, and about 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. Mount Tabor is forested with pine trees and offering stunning, panoramic views. On a clear day, to the north and west you can see Lebanon; to the east, beyond of the Sea of Galilee, you can see Syria, Jordan, and Mount Hermon. Jesus and his disciples would have known the words of Psalm 89 about these majestic mountaintops: “The north and the south – you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.”i And that is because these mountain tops are so beautiful and breezy. Mount Tabor is only about 2,000 feet above sea level, but that is a lofty height above the sea level of Galilee and the nearby desert of the Jezreel Valley. Mount Tabor is a place where you would like to stay; we certainly would have been glad for a longer visit. (I wanted to get information from the Franciscan guesthouse about staying there!) And so, on the one hand, it’s no wonder that Peter and James and John were coaxing Jesus to stay around and build some tents, which is how people then and now would set up camp out in the wilds.ii Continue Reading »
Aug 03 2010
In this sermon, originally preached on Nov. 10, 2009, Br. James Koester discusses the Community’s yearly retreat, as well as the history, founding, and charism of SSJE. We republish it this week, as SSJE heads once again into its annual Community retreat.
2 Timothy 1: 6-14; Psalm 77: 11-15; Matthew 5: 13-19
For the past two summers the community has tried something quite different during our annual community retreat. Rather than inviting an outside retreat leader or even asking a particular brother to lead our retreat, and to give the daily meditation, we have asked a number of brothers to give a single meditation within the context of the daily Eucharist. In this way, over the course of the retreat, we hear from a number of brothers and hear a number of different voices. This past summer we added another element to the retreat, and that was a daily tea and conversation, during which the brother who had led the meditation earlier in the day then facilitated a conversation. It was a formula that worked quite well and we had a number of excellent meditations and conversations.
This summer I was asked to help the community think about our history and the role that our history has played in our past and how our history has helped, or not helped, shape our present and our future. While I was getting ready for this, I did some reading and thinking about the history of Anglican religious communities and ours in particular, and was glad to be reintroduced to some of the more colourful characters in Anglican religious history. Continue Reading »
Jul 29 2010
Br. Kevin Hackett originally preached this sermon on March 3, 2009. In it, he offers an ever-timely reminder of the virtues, the necessity, of silence.
We Brothers occasionally host local elementary and middle schools students for tours of our chapel when they are studying the Middle Ages.
The aspect of those visits I enjoy most is watching the hush fall over an otherwise chattering bunch of children as they enter the chapel. No one has to tell them to be quiet—they simply become still as they cross the threshold from the claustrophobic echo chamber of the narthex into vast openness of the slightly darkened chapel. It’s as though the space itself commands a certain kind of respect to which silence is the intuitive response. Which is fitting, because for most of the day, this space is silent. We Brothers use it for our corporate worship, but that accounts for only about 2 ½ to 3 hours on any given day. The rest of the day—and night—this space is silent, reserved for prayer. Continue Reading »
