Transformed Water, Transformed You, John 2:1-11

When the wine ran out at the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ mother told him about it. She then left it up to him to act, and act he did! Sometimes our prayers can only be telling Jesus what the situation is and letting him act when he will, and trusting that he will transform what we are to be ready for where we are.

Image: Jesus makes wine out of water at the marriage at Cana, etching by B. Bertoccini, after J.F. Overbeck, public domain. image location: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pbbenjm2/images?id=qbv9kwwp

Jesus' Baptism Changes Everything, Luke 3.15-22, Acts 10:34-48

Jesus went to John to be baptized in the wilderness. In that baptism, the Father spoke and the Holy Spirit descended. This signals a change, not only in Jesus’ life, but in the life of the world.

Image: Baptism of Jesus, Andrea del Verrocchio, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Pursuing the Star to the King, Matthew 2:1-12

What were the Magi following? Was it just an ordinary star? What were the Magi? How did the star lead them to the exact house where the Holy Family were? Father Jeremiah explores these questions in his sermon on Matthew 2:1-12

Image: Adoration of the Magi (detail), Gentile de Fabriano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Oration on the Theophany by St. Gregory of Nazianzus

On the First Sunday of Christmas, Father Jeremiah read a sermon by St. Gregory of Nazianzus to explain the importance of the Incarnation of Jesus.

Image: Unknown sourceUnknown source, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons

God in the Flesh to Redeem, John 1:1-18

Why are St. John’s words, “He became flesh and dwelt among us,” so important to us Christians? Father Jeremiah looks at this verse and how St. John leads us to this beautiful moment in John 1.

Image: Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Christ is Born to Forgive

At our Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols, we heard of the promises of God to his people throughout the Old Testament. Father Jeremiah explains that Jesus is the fulfillment of God the Father’s desire to make a people for himself and that he does so through forgiveness of sins.

Image: Nativity, Giotto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Greetings, Magnifying, and Mercy, Luke 1:39-56

After the angel appeared to Mary, she went immediately to visit her relative Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s greeting and Mary’s response tell us a great deal about the reality of the babies in their wombs. We also learn a great deal about the God of promise that is bringing about his promises through them.

Image: La Visitation, miniature des Heures Huth, Master of the Houghton Miniatures, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Visitation._Mary_and_Elizabeth_in_the_garden_of_a_country_house_-_Huth_Hours_(1485-1490),_f.66v_-_BL_Add_MS_38126.jpg

Joy through Repentance, Luke 3:7-20, Zephaniah 3:14-20

In our Gospel lesson from Luke 3, we hear of John the Baptist’s preaching to the crowds and his calling them to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. How does this preaching of repentance bring to the joy of the Lord? Is joy something we create in ourselves or is it something that God brings to us?

Image: Christ with the Winnowing Fan, photo taken by Lawrence OP, license: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/52541480597

Messenger of Peace that Brings Refining, Malachi 3:1-5, Luke 3:1-6

Advent is a season of repentant waiting for our Lord to come. The process of repentance is one that leads to us knowing the peace and refining work of God through Jesus for us.

Image: Molten Metal, picture by Pixabay, CC0. Image location: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/202116/utils/lib/utils/strings#

Hope toward the Future from the Past in the Present, Zechariah 14:1-9, Luke 21:24-33

As we consider ‘hope’ in Advent, Father Jeremiah points out how it looks to the future while being rooted in the past that we might be sustained in the present. Advent helps us continue forward in this world knowing that God the Father will fulfill his promises.

Image: Second Coming icon, public domain, location: https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/media/icon-second-coming-d49e6f

Christ the King Who Forgives, John 18.33-38

When Jesus stood before Pilate, he confessed that his kingdom, and thus his kingship, was not from this world. What did he mean by this? Is his kingdom and kingship utterly separate from this world? Or do they overlap and interlock together, such that this world will be changed when Jesus returns?

Image: Boston at English Wikipedia & John Stephen Dwyer, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Judgment and Salvation, Mark 13:14-23, Hebrews 10:31-39

When Jesus speaks during the Olivet Discourse about the destruction of the Temple, he was showing mercy with regard to the coming judgment of Jerusalem. He warns his disciples and those who follow them to flee when the time comes. How are we to understand this prophecy today? Is it about the future, or is it here to help us understand God’s desire to bring mercy and salvation in the midst of judgment against sin?

Image: The Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, Francesco Hayez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Widow's MIGHT, Mark 12:38-44

Father John Riebe reminds us that as Christians we are called to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This life is revealed fully through the act of the widow whose gift isn’t measured physically, but spiritually before the Lord.

Image: Le denier de la veuve (The Widow’s Mite), James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Widow%27s_Mite_(Le_denier_de_la_veuve)_-_James_Tissot.jpg

Holiness for the Saints and for You, Revelation 7, Ephesians 1, Matthew 5

As we reflect upon the meaning of All Saints’ Day, we remember that the saints are the holy ones of God. The holiness they have though is not a holiness they create, but one that is given to them by the work of Christ.

Image: Johann König, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File Location":https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Koenig_-_Allerheiligen.jpg

Walking the Path to Jesus, Mark 10:46-52

When Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus, we get to see something new about discipleship, but also a juxtaposition between this blind man and James and John in the previous passage. Jesus asks both, “What do you want me to do for you?” How we each answer that question gives shape to our walk with Jesus.

Image: Christ Healing a Blind Man, by Eustache Le Sueur, public domain. Image location: https://www.wikiart.org/en/eustache-le-sueur/christ-healing-the-blind-man

Taking Up the Cup, Mark 10:35-45

When James and John ask Jesus to sit at his right and left hand, he confronts them with the reality of suffering that must come before glory. What does that mean for us today? Does suffering come before glroy? Father Jeremiah considers Jesus’ words in response to James and John and the other apostles.

Image: Fra Angelico, frescoes, San Marco, picture posted by Frans Vandewalle, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/snarfel/4120035206/

Giving Up What I Can't Keep for What I Can't Lose, Mark 10:17-31

The Reverend Harold Vandeveer filled in this Sunday for Fr Jeremiah. What good are the things of the world, when we have eternal salvation offered to us through Jesus? How are we going to respond to this reality?

Image: Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann, public domain. Image Location: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Hoffman-ChristAndTheRichYoungRuler.jpg

The Blessing of Marriage and Children, Mark 10.2-16

When Jesus speaks of marriage and children, he sets out to correct his time’s misuse and misunderstanding of these things. Likewise today, we must hear his words and take them to heart as we approach these most holy of subjects.

Image: Portrait of a Married Couple with a Child, by Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Let the Angels Come to Defend, Revelation 12:7-12, John 1:47-51

We don’t often talk about angels, but they are important creatures in creation. Sunday was the Feast of Holy Michael and All Angels. Father Jeremiah reminded us about their importance and role in our lives and that they are but a pray to God the Father away from for our defense.

Image: St. Michael Triumph, by Johann M. Rottmayr. Public Domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rottmayr-Engelsturz.jpg

Being Truly Great Means Dying, Mark 9:30-37

Jesus’ teaching about his own pending death to the disciples connected with his teaching on who is the greatest, reminds us that only by dying to self can we discover the greatness that God the Father intends for us.

Image: John Hazeland on His Deathbed, by Edvard Munch, uploaded by villarreal9, license CC BY-SA 4.0 (No changes made). Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Hazeland_on_His_Deathbed.jpg