In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. Although we took a break to celebrate Saint Mary the Virgin, the appointed Gospel readings for five Sundays running since the last Sunday in July have been from the sixth chapter of Saint John. This begins with the story […]
Sermon Topic: Holy Eucharist
A Lesson on Perspective
The gospel from two weeks ago records Jesus’ saying “do not labor for the bread that perishes, but labor for the bread that leads to eternal life.” I was the preacher that Sunday and I tried to suggest a contrast between being nailed to the things of the world and being fixed on Christ. Today’s […]
Nailed to the Things of this World
When Jesus feeds the five thousand on the mountaintop we should be quick to see the parallels between his action there and God’s actions at an earlier time; time when his children were enslaved to a great nation. God delivers that people from bondage and begins leading them to a land of their own. God […]
Come to the Banquet; Dress for the Occasion
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. There is some rough stuff in today’s Gospel according to Saint Matthew. Jesus tells the parable of the marriage of the king’s son. Before we get into this, it is important to see the context. Jesus is in Jerusalem […]
Participation in Communion
What is “participation”? The word begins with “part,” and indeed we think of participation as having a part in something. One might participate in a group such as a sports team or a glee club; or one might participate in a joint project, such as the making of lunches for the soup kitchen. Whether in […]
The Body of Christ
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. Let me start by telling you a bit about the beginning of Corpus Christi. In the early thirteenth century, in response to a vision, a devout French nun named […]
Corpus Christi (II): Respect for the Real Presence
For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. This past Thursday I preached at the Church of the Resurrection on 74th Street for their all-stops-pulled-out celebration of the Feast for […]
Lord of the Particular
O magnum mysterium O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in a manger! Last week, travelling back to Ohio, I met my newborn niece. Lyanna Mae Spencer. She’s tiny and she’s perfect and beautiful and she smiles when she passes gas, like babies do. And she is one […]
