Sermon: C 5 Easter 28 April 2013

Acts 11: 1-18; Ps 148; Rev 21: 1-6; JOHN 13: 31-35

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. AMEN.

This morning’s readings circle around the concept of love as the disciples heard it, in traveling around, with, and continuing to follow Jesus. The readings present an odd combination of images and associations. The chosen psalm is straightforward praising the Lord for his mighty acts. Since Halleluiah is the theme and concept for Eastertide, this psalm echoes or leads to both. Reciting this psalm in Easter season, we are suggesting that the Lord had done great deeds for them, and by extension, his deeds for us include the resurrection, ascension, and on-going life of Jesus our Lord. The psalm is joyful and suits the feeling of the season.

Sermon: C Good Friday 29 March 2013

Is 52:13-53.12; Ps 22; Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; JN 18:1-19:42

“It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. AMEN.

Again we hear the long, difficult narrative of Jesus’s death on a cross. Again we want to squirm away from it, and rush to celebrate what comes next. We need to make meaning, though, of this: Jesus died on a cross. He didn’t choose to die or die this way then, and yet he did. That in no way means he agreed or chose in a suicidal way to die. He kept on keeping on making the cross into an offer, and an act of solidarity.

Sermon: C 5 Lent 17 March 2013

Is 43: 16-21; Ps 126; Phil 3: 4b-14; JOHN 12: 1-8

Grant, O G*d, that our hearts may be fixed where true joys are to be found, through I X our Lord. AMEN.

Top o’ the morning to you, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day. It may seem odd to be deep in Lent and hear upbeat lessons. In today’s Gospel, Jesus does predict his death, saying Mary’s extravagant gift is for his burial, but this forewarning doesn’t bear the gloom of other predictions. Instead, in Mary and Martha’s dinner, we hear the promise of something new, fragrant, and remarkable. That’s the theme and tone of today’s readings: that promised change is both new and eternally wonderful. Not the Celtic northern sin and gloom outlook of Lent traditionally presented to us, leading to an almost morbid obsession with preparing for Good Friday, instead we hear genuine preparation for Easter.

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.

C Last Epiphany 10 February 2013

Ex 34: 29-35; Ps 99; 2 Cor 3: 12-4: 2; LUKE 9: 28-36

All of us, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. AMEN.

The final Sunday of Epiphany ends with the sight of the Transfiguration. “While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.’” The secret is out and known; everyone, one way or another, had been shown who Jesus is. From his baptism in the Jordan, to the wedding at Cana, and throughout the various scenes of recognition, it became clear to many people that Jesus was more than the carpenter’s son, more than an itinerant preacher, and more than just beloved of G*d. The baptism and this scene both include G*d’s speaking to Jesus. “This is my Son, my beloved. This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.”

Meditation for 30 December: “light and life and love”

John 1: 1 – 14 is the Prologue to the Gospel of John, which is often called the most spiritual Gospel. It is about Light and Life: “I am the Light of the World; whosoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 8:12)…and “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life” (14:6) and “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (10:9.) It is the Gospel which most emphasizes the divinity of Jesus, in his mission of bringing life into the world, in creation and in eternal life, and in enlightening humanity.

Why do we read the Gospel of John and especially the Prologue at Christmas time? Because the Word “dwelt among us,” “full of grace and truth,”stressing the salvation message and the new command of the Incarnation: love of God, of Jesus, and of each other.  “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (13:35). Like the star, the true light “shines in the darkness”…”in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” 

At Christmastime, we celebrate not only the birth of Jesus Christ, but especially his embodiment of light and life and love. 

Painting is St. John the Evangelist by El Greco. Image, courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Sermon: C Christmas Day 25 December 2012

Is 62: 6-12; Ps 97; Ti 3: 4-7; LUKE 2: 1-20

Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place. AMEN.

Merry Christmas and welcome here this happy morning.

Sometimes I wonder about swapping seasonal hymns—wouldn’t “Welcome happy morning, age to age shall say” suit this day as would many other Easter hymns, although there are often stanzas and verses about the crucifixion which would suit less well, because that’s looking too far ahead. This morning, we’re only at “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.” Christmas hymns are allowed sweet sentiments, and even sentimental images, and yet they need not to stop there. The risk is of seeing an image of Mother and Child, and stopping at that ordinary, gentle, and familiar scene, and forgetting the complex reality of that seemingly recognizable family picture.

C Christmas Eve 24 December 2012 Go Tell it on the Mountain: Jesus Christ is born today

Is 9: 2-7; Ps 96; Ti 2:11-14; LUKE 2: 1-20

“Fear not, for lo, I bring you good tidings of great joy! For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.  AMEN.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and yours! On this joyful occasion, welcome to St. John’s, and Merry Christmas.

The angel said to them, (and to us I’d opine,) “Do not be afraid; for see— I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Think of what there was and is to be afraid of. Make your list briefly—guns; money—macroeconomics/personal finances; health, unmet hopes/expectations/needs; and so much more. The personal list is there too, things done and left undone, whether sins of omission or commission, and an uneasiness of not being/doing/aiming for more—on whatever level, but especially the personal. Why didn’t I… When will I ever get to…Can’t I be better at…

Sermon: C Advent 3 December 16, 2012

Zeph 3: 14-20; Cant 9 (Is 12: 2-6); Phi 4:4-7; LUKE 3: 7-18

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say Rejoice. AMEN.

My preaching guide, the one I so often use, oddly titles this Rose Sunday “A Call for Repentance.” Many of us are far closer to that feeling this morning, despite the Zephaniah and Philippians readings and Isaiah’s Canticle, which we just sang—“Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust and not be afraid.” Even after today’s Gospel begins with John the Baptist’s naming the crowd, “You brood of vipers,” it ends with the observation that, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.”

Meditation for the 3rd Sunday in Advent: gaudete!

even now the axe is at the root of the trees:
gaudete! dare we rejoice?
flee! says the prophet:
still we cling to all that cheered us,
moth fretted securities, corroded treasures,
narrow rooms and meaner habits.
gaudete! dare we rejoice:
we vipers who live on usury?
flee! says the prophet:
g-d has shown what is required of you.
do justice, love mercy, walk humbly:
bring fruit worthy of repentance.
gaudete! the apostle answers:
let your gentleness be known to all. the lord is near.
leave the narrow land, divest yourself of extra coats:
and in the wide wilderness the peace of christ will
establish your hearts.
even now the axe is at the root of the trees:
gaudete! dare we rejoice?

Meditation for Sunday October 7th: Seeking & Finding Unconditional Love

Ah, Job, no doubt of his integrity

while certain of his blessings, fresh with vows

of faithfulness and works of charity,

flush with the love of his generous God!

His obedience stood up to the loss

of goods and servants and even offspring,

no sin of the lips, no curse did he toss

into his well of naked suffering.

To love and to be loved with one’s whole self,

a yearning children know and adults hide,

shroud in rules, dusty scrolls on a shelf,

to veil hearts hardened in the to and fro

of risk and error wandering, contracts

masquerading as the holy union

of created partners drawn to compacts

of unconditional love responding,

receiving, rejoicing in its one Source.

Naked as Job, innocent as children,

a trust no mortal sunders in the course

of jealousy or trial -- one true gift:

  for a soul once bound to God, no divorce.

Sermon: B 17 Pentecost 20 Proper 23 September 2012

Prv 31: 10-31; Ps 1; Jms 3: 13-4:3, 7-8a; MARK 9: 30-37

May it be Your Will, Eternal Our God, that this be a good and sweet year for us. AMEN.

 “Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you.” These lessons again sound more like those from the Wisdom or Jewish tradition, than something from a standard idea of Christianity. The readings remind us that much of Christianity comes from these Jewish roots, and also that we here are in an increasingly fast rush to the end of Pentecost. To make dramatic that annual observance of end-times, the tone of these weeks sounds decisive and minatory.

June 10 2012, Pentecost 2

A sermon preached at the Church of St. John the Evangelist on June 10, 2012 by The Rev. Thomas Eoyang.

Meditation for Pentecost

 "When the day of Pentecost had come, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind... and among them divided tongues as of fire." Both images describe the way the disciples felt experiencing the liveliness of the Spirit's presence newly apprehended in their lives. What they came to hear and accept was what Jesus said, "When the Spirit of Truth comes, it will guide you into all truth. For it will glorify me, because it will take what is mine and declare it to you."

B Pentecost 27 May 2012

Acts 2: 1-21; Ps 104; Ro 8: 22-27; JN 15: 26-27, 16: 4b-15

Come Holy Spir’t, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire. Thou the anointing Spir’t art, who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart. AMEN.

Spirit and fire, diving dove and drifting dove, a jumble of voices reuniting the Tower of Babel’s alienation of languages, tribes, and people, and yet “if we hope for what we do not see we wait for it with patience.” The bold and showy scale of wind and fire, the sudden ability to understand everyone, combine to be far from the finger-crossed hope Paul made to those gathered in Rome. What do we make of Pentecost?

Sermon - Sunday, May 13, 2012 - Church of St John the Evangelist.

John 15:9-17

May all the words I speak which come from God find a rich soil in which to be planted. And may all those which do not be speedily forgotten"

In keeping with our theme of Poetry in Theology, a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

The glory of Friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when they discover that someone else believes in them and is willing to trust them. 

B Easter 4 29 April 2012

Acts 4: 5-12; Ps 23; 1 Jn 3: 16-24; JOHN 10: 11-18

In the name of God, who created us from love …   AMEN.

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd,” and we all say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” For this Good Shepherd Sunday, I made a list of what I know about sheep and shepherds, and the first thing I know is this: the shepherd/sheep relationship is the most prevalent image in the Bible of God and God’s care for God’s people, and I also know “the Lord is my shepherd.”