Sermon Topic: Epiphany
Luminary Life
Do you remember the first time you saw a rainbow? The first one I ever saw was on a family trip, I was no more than ten. We were in Appalachia driving through winding roads, and at one part of the road a vista revealed itself one of misty mountains. Now I had seen enough […]
The Invitation
Your house is on fire. The flames are spreading up the walls and across the room. So what do you do? Do you try and save a strongbox of important documents or your laptop? Do you spend a few crucial moments rounding up your cat? Do you grab your favorite books or photos of your […]
Crystal Moments
It is the season of appearances, of divine manifestations, of those first particularly vivid signs of Emmanuel, God with us in the life of Jesus, it is the season of Epiphany. And, thanks to the fine selection of splendid music and readings from the Gospels tonight, we have the time to reflect deeply on three […]
Behold the Lamb of God
During my decade of theological studies, I read a lot of Karl Barth. Barth, as you may know, is considered by many to be the greatest theologian of the 20th century. I also wrote a lot about Barth. In fact, my doctoral dissertation was on Barth’s hamartiology, or theology of sin. But I never gave […]
A new beginning.
Can you remember what were you doing on Millennium Eve, now 20 years ago? I remember what I was doing quite vividly – I was baby-sitting my children fast asleep in bed and watching the unfolding of events in the Millennium Dome in London, where we then lived. Mind you, I almost didn’t see the […]
Restless
“Deep midwinter, the dark centre of the year, Wake, O earth, awake, Out on the hills a star appears, Here lies the way for pilgrim kings, Three magi on an ancient path, Black hours begin their journeyings. Their star has risen in our hearts, Empty thrones, abandoned fears, Out on the hills their journey starts, […]
A Sermon for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Unraveling the origins of early Christian festivals means wading backwards, as it were, through how the gospel lessons, and the celebrations they inspired, were understood by the generations of Christians who came before us. In the Christian West, second-century Christian writer and teacher Justin Martyr wrote that the wise men were kings from Arabia.[1] Matthew’s […]
Memorize John 1
Christians observe Epiphany feasts because the manifestation of God’s glory in the person of Jesus Christ commands our attention and adoration in worship. The scriptures we have heard in this observance bear the record that Jesus of Nazareth who is co-eternal with the Father, anticipated by the prophets, born of a Virgin, was revealed to […]
Stepping Back into the Darkness
If you travel to the middle of Wales in the United Kingdom you will find a landscape both beautiful and ancient, with the echoes of the Celtic Church and the legends of St David, that great missionary of the sixth century. You will also find there a place unique and for a particular reason that […]
