Over the past week I have often wondered how Alexei Navalny must have felt on the 17th of January 2021 when, immediately after recovering from being poisoned by Russian agents with the infamous Novichok nerve agent, he boarded on a plane from Germany to Russia fully aware that he would be detained immediately on his arrival. […]
Sermon Topic: Suffering
Let Us Not Fear the Cross
I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. Isaiah 50:5b-6a In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. Today Jesus asks his disciples to state who they believe he is. […]
What to do during Advent
There is an old Anglican practice at ceremonies of Holy Baptism for young children.[1] After going through the customary back and forth—the readings of scriptures, the examination of the sponsors, prayers and the blessing of the water—there is an instruction for the priest to take the child and say to the godparents, “Name this child.” […]
I want to know Christ.
When I was first ordained, a middle-aged parishioner needed to have some complicated surgery on her leg; I went to take her Holy Communion in her home and was horrified to see what looked like scaffolding around her leg. I could not take my eyes off it – I kept glancing at the thin bars […]
When Love Makes God Tremble...
Compassion is a powerful word for Christians and a powerful word in the bible.
Speaking Frankly about Things Divine
We are still at the beginning of our Lenten journey—only a week and a half in—but, as you heard in today’s gospel, from Mark, the difficult words are coming already. They came today in a surprising form, however. In much of the gospel of Mark, Jesus is depicted as being somewhat enigmatic in his interactions […]
Our Inner Trials
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. For several weeks the Church has had us reading from Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans as the second lesson for Sunday Evensongs. This great epistle, written by the Apostle to the church or churches in the capital of […]
The King's Ransom
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen. James and John, the sons of Zebedee and fishing partners with Simon Peter, put themselves forward in today’s Gospel, asking that Jesus grant them the seats on his right and left hand in his glory. Jesus replies, “Ye know […]
A Lesson from the Book of Revaluation
Back in the room where the clergy vest for services, we keep a calendar of all the readings for the weekday masses. On a recent weekday there was a typographical error: instead of a reading from the book of Revelation, the calendar appointed a reading from the book of Revaluation. Father Austin prepares that calendar […]
The Demoniac, C'est Moi
She lingered after a weekday mass to ask me a question. Hesitantly, yet with firmness, and with lines of anguish down her face, she asked: “Why does God allow suffering?” As they say, books have been written on that subject, and yours truly has led whole seminars. Yet for all its variety, suffering hits us […]
