Delivered at St. George’s Episcopal Church, La Canada, CA
Amos 7:7-17
Psalm 82:1-5,8
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
One of the major differences between Judaism, and Christianity is very subtle. The difference is that Judaism focuses on the Law, but Christianity from the onset, was attracted to the story. Read More »
Delivered at St. George’s Episcopal Church, La Canada, CA
Palm Sunday, 2010
I invite you all to imagine that this is the year 40 C.E., and you are sitting in a home somewhere in Jerusalem, where a visitor has been invited to speak; a voice of prayer can be heard outside in the distance.
Ah, yes…the Shema…..the great prayer… Sh’ma Yis’ra’eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. These are troubling times…Israel is not one, and the Lord our God is not one…at least with the people of the earth…and I am forbidden to join them in prayer at their synagogue.
My name is Aaron, from the tribe of Joseph, and I am a Samaritan….and amongst the Hebrew people, I am an abomination, I am not pure because my ancestors worshiped God on Mt. Gerizim and intermarried with foreigners, not out of disrespect to God, but to survive after the Assyrians destroyed and brutalized my nation, and my people. I have lived, and my people have lived with this memory for generations, and it has taken root in our souls. Living your life as an abomination is a tough thing, it seems each day I am reminded that I am nothing, I am not worth the dirt a person steps on. Read More »
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30
It was a balmy warm summer evening in Huntington Beach. The courtyard of the church was enveloped by a vibrant palette of sunset colors which slowly evaporated into a blanket of cloud cover.
In the courtyard of St. Wilfrid’s, mixed with audio strains of Gregorian chant, lay a hand crafted labyrinth made from blue duct tape. It was nothing fancy, and was obviously designed from a “how to” book. Placed in various areas of the labyrinth were small half domed candles, you might know those kind I’m talking about; candles made from glass with cargo netting around the outside, but in the center of the maze was a large white candle glowing by itself – - – - it seemed lonely. Read More »
On Saturday I had the distinct pleasure of preaching at Bloy House, Claremont, CA at a special Recovery Service. In reference to a theme of God’s abundance, IÂ shared the experience of my own special healing which took place at St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church in Huntington Beach one Easter Sunday in 2002. Here is an excerpt from the sermon’s closing: Read More »
Delivered September 26, 2009 at the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, CAÂ (Bloy House)
Genesis 2:4b-9, 18-23
1 Peter 4:8-11
Luke 12:22-31
Psalm 16:5-11
I once read an LA Times article about Dr. Francis Collins, a medical doctor, lecturer, educator, and one of the worlds’s most respected DNA researchers whose area of study revolves around finding the source of the origin of our human spices. Due to his scientific nature, Dr. Collins was a card carrying atheist.
Raised by agnostic parents, he was sent to an Episcopal Church at an early age not to learn about God, but to study music; any talk of God in the home was forbidden. As the years went on, and he applied himself to his medical practice, he was confronted by questions from dying patients about the realities of life on earth, and the hereafter. Being a consciences physician and wanting something to say to dying patients, he decided read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and not too long after, combined with life experience, God eventually did was God does best……leading Dr. Collins from atheism, to conversation. Read More »
Homily delivered at St. George’s Episcopal Church, La Canada, CA
Psalm 1
Proverbs 2:1-9
Luke 14:27-33
In what has been called the dark ages, Benedict, the hermit, was called by an early Christian community to be their leader. In time he codified a method of spiritual living, creating what would be known as The Rule, founding twelve monasteries forming the basis western monasticism, a style of spirituality still practiced today.
Benedict’s rule, the regimen of work, study, prayer, worship, and community, may seem stern, but its followers take seriously the teaching of Jesus found in Matthew which says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who loose their life for my sake, will find it” (Mat 16:24-25) Read More »
Offered at St. George’s Episcopal Church, La Canada, CA
Isaiah 6:1-8
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
Psalm 93
Icons are strange things; they act as a window into one’s spiritual soul breathing life into your own individual sacred journey. Icons agree to meet you…as is…just as you are without pretense or judgment. Staring at an icon, one which is prayerfully conceived is like gazing at a lover with all the emotions attached to it. The power of iconography embraces the mysterious communication reaching out, moving beyond one dimension as it has the power to envelop the viewer with soulful communication. Icons sometimes offer us the space to connect with what Thomas Merton called life’s “hidden wholeness” allowing us a chance to rest in what I like to call a “sacred ambiguity.” Read More »
My “Hebrew Bible” professor at the Episcopal School of Theology is James A. Sanders. I say this wiath unabashed pride as I have been given quite a gift, to be able to soak in a bit of the knowledge and experience from a true master.
When he first started to lecture/preach, and yes, he admits to doing both, I soon felt we were on the same page, with a similar ontological sense of a kindred theology. One day, in class, he put a name to it; this way of thinking, calling it a “Theocentric Christian Theology”. Besides constant reminders of our continuing monotheising process, I shall also never forget his admonishment that humanity tends to worship the gift over the giver.
Below is a sermon Dr. Sanders gave at last weeks chapel at the Episcopal School of Theology, Claremont, CA.
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
Credo in Unum Deum
James A. Sanders
According to the first three Gospels Jesus’ first act of ministry, after doing some community organizing gathering his first disciples, was to heal a person of an unclear spirit. He thus showed the power of God over forces of evil in the world, a first act of affirming the integrity of the One God of All.
And Paul makes clear in his various letters to the early churches, that belief in the One God of All is the core of Christianity. Jesus taught in many ways that the very basis of biblical faith is belief in One God, even to the point of loving our enemies because their God is ours as well. And, of course, Deuteronomy made early efforts at affirming that there was but one Yahweh and what it can mean that there is but One God of All. Read More »
Delivered at St. George’s Episcopal Church, La Canada, CA
Pentecost 13a
Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145:8-9,15-22
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21
If I were the type of person who would name sermons, I guess I’d name this one, A Tale of Two Banquets. In today’s gospel we only hear of one banquet, but the author of Matthew ingeniously precedes the feeding of five thousand, with another type of banquet given by Herod, a gathering characterized by opulence –– Jesus’ meal by bread, the most basic of foods. Herod’s party is characterized by hatred –– Jesus’ meal by compassion. Herod’s party ends in the death of John the Baptist –– Jesus’ meal sustains life and offers a screen shot of the Kingdom of God. The contrast could not be more deliberate or complete, but beyond the obvious, the messages we heard today in all our readings allow us a chance to glimpse, in a unique way, the essence of God.
We are told that Jesus “had compassion for them.” Our language does not truly offer what was written in Greek. The literal translation would be that Jesus felt compassion from the inside of his stomach, from all the way down to his intestines, so the key word “compassion” is more than a sigh, its more than empathy; it was the kind of compassion which touched his very essence, and shook the core of his being…it is this sense of compassion, my brothers and sisters, that offers us a inkling of the compassion God feels for each and every one of us. Compassion so deep it is immeasurable. Read More »
Sermon given June 29, 2008 at St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church, Huntington Beach, CA
Based on the readings found in the Revised Common Lectionary
For the audio of the sermon, click here