Sermon: C 3 Lent 3 March 2013

O G*d, you are my G*d, eagerly I seek you; for you have been my helper, and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice. AMEN.

Ex 3:1-15; Ps 63: 1-8; 1 Cor 10: 1-13; LUKE 13: 1-9

Good Morning and it is indeed a splendid morning, or as we used to say always at Fischer’s Cove, “it’s a beautiful day at Fischer’s Cove,” and it’s wonderful to be back and most generous of Canon Okunsanya to allow me to be here with you this morning. His theme for the week is reconciliation,” in the context of these Lent 3 readings.

Sermon: C 1 Lent 17 February 2013

Deut 26:1-11; Ps 91:1-.2, 9-16; Ro 10:8b-13; LUKE 4:1-13

God shall give the angels charge over you, to protect you in all your ways. AMEN.

 “Create and make in us new and contrite hearts…that we may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness…that [whenever we are] separated from the body of the faithful…[be] now reconciled…and restored to the fellowship of the Church…I invite you, therefore, (in case any didn’t hear this from Ash Wednesday) in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. This invitation to a holy Lent, the Great Litany’s “Spare us, Good Lord, whom you have redeemed,” and from this morning’s collect, “Come quickly to help us…and let each one find you mighty to save” propel us both into the readings and into Lent.

Sermon: C The Epiphany Sunday 6 January 2013

Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-7, 10-14; Eph 3:1-12; MT 2:1-12

Lead us to your presence, O God, where we may see your glory face to face. 

AMEN.

“Those magic men, the Magi,

Some people call them wise

Or Oriental, even kings

Well anyway, those guys

They visited with Jesus

They sure enjoyed their stay

Then, warned in a dream of King Herod’s scheme

They went home by another way” Timothy Mayer and James Taylor’s freely adapted today’s Gospel here, while we also hear, “Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”

Meditation for November 25: The Feast of Christ the King

Praying with our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers and Anglican sisters and brothers in New Zealand

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The collect for today follows the formal pattern of the collect, employing an invocation, a petition, an aspiration, and closing with an ascription. This pattern can inform our private prayer as it enlivens our corporate prayer each week. This Sunday, as a result of accords passed at Vatican II, is one of four in the church year, when we will be praying exactly the same collect as our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers. It will be a prayer across the world for unity and hope.

Down under in New Zealand, Anglican churches will pray similarly and powerfully:

Almighty and eternal God, you have made of one blood all the nations of the earth
and will that they live together
in peace and harmony;
so order the course of this world
that all peoples may be brought together
under Christ’s most gentle rule; through Jesus Christ our Lord
who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit,
 one God now and for ever.
Amen.

Sermon: B 24 Pentecost 27 Proper 11 November 2012

Ruth 3: 1-5, 4: 13-17; Ps 127; Heb 9: 24-28; MARK 12: 38-44

On this Remembrance Day, For those who were killed in battle,

For those who gave up their lives to save others

For those who fought because they were forced to,

For those who died standing up for a just cause

For those who said war was wrong,

For those who tried to make the peace

For those who prayed when others had no time to pray

For those creatures who needlessly die

For those trees that needlessly are slaughtered

For all of mankind Let us quietly pray:

May [your] God hold them in peace/ May Love flow over the Earth and cleanse us all/ This day and for always. AMEN.

This is Marianne Griffin’s poem for Remembrance Day. I’ve been in England around this time several times recently, and in buying and wearing a poppy, I’ve mused about Remembrance, Armistice, or Veterans’ Day, our anti-war climate, and our virtual ignoring the 11th, whatever it’s called. This year, its observance gives many people a welcome recovery from politics, however we as individuals, a state, or nation, felt about the results. In having tomorrow off, not as a day off for voting, but to observe this occasion we’d rather omit, we also see the darkening chilling of our days. We also hear about the widow’s mite, her giving two coins, all she had, and know too stewardship is in the wind.

Prayer for the victims of Hurricane Sandy

Let us pray for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, as well as for those who have died in war, famine, and other disasters.

Let us also do God's work, not only in prayer, but in service by volunteering, as well as by donating to organizations, such as the Red Cross.

Song for Athene

Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Alleluia. Remember me, o Lord, when you come into your kingdom.

Alleluia. Give rest, o Lord, to your handmaid who has fallen asleep.

Alleluia. The Choir of Saints have found the well-spring of life and door of paradise.

Alleluia. Life : a shadow and a dream.

Alleluia. Weeping at the grave creates the song: Alleluia.

Alleluia. Come, enjoy the rewards and crowns I have prepared for you.

Meditation for September 30 & The Feast of St. Michael & All Angels: Pursuing Peace and Radical Thanks-giving

The Gospel for Sunday exhorts us to practice hope and curiosity by recognizing that “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink, because you bear the name of Christ” may be the face of Christ and  teach us to practice and receive mercy and pity. And more radically the Gospel suggests that if we “have salt in [y]ourselves,” we should “be at peace with one another.” Praying the collect for St. Michael and for this Sunday are helpful channels.

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.