Present Hope for the Future Lies in the Past, Romans 5.1-11

In chapter 5 of Romans, St. Paul begins by declaring that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. He goes on to list a whole host of other blessings that we have received that all flow out of the same person, Jesus. How does this come about? St. Paul goes on to explain what Jesus has done and when he did it. What he says makes us all realize that our present hope for the future lies in the past.

Image: Photo by Knight Likeness, Hope for the Future… used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/knight_lightness/5489649902

A Trinitarian Faith, Matthew 28.16-20

The doctrine of the Trinity is a belief that separates Christianity from all other religions. This faith is set apart through this distinction, but what is the Trinity exactly? We can’t nail down or fully comprehend, but we can have some aspect of understanding regarding who God is in himself. He has revealed himself as the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit through his work of creation and redemption and called us into the very eternal community that he has had in himself. Father Jeremiah gives us a quick look at the Apostles’ Creed and how it reveals the trinitarian nature of Christian faith.

Image: Apostles’ Creed, photo taken by Leo Reynolds. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 No changes made. Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/1224463110

Founded in the Spirit, Acts 2.1-21, John 14.8-17

As the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples on the first Pentecost of the Church, we ask why he came to dwell with and in the disciples. What did they immediately begin doing? Was it all about them speaking in different languages or was there a supreme purpose for that “tongue-speaking” on that Pentecost Sunday? Father Jeremiah explores these questions and helps us to understand the foundational role of the Spirit in our lives.

Image: Tongues of fire descend on the Apostles at Pentecost, Lithog, License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Found at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tongues_of_fire_descend_on_the_apostles_at_Pentecost._Lithog_Wellcome_V0034957.jpg. No changes made, see link for author

Praying for Us Now, John 17.1-11

In the first part of the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer, Jesus acknowledges his desire to bring glory to the Father by the Father bringing glory to the Son and for the Father to protect his disciples after he returns to the Father in the Ascension. While Jesus is focused on praying for his disciples, these first verses remind us of the reality that Jesus is our high priest and is praying for us now.

Image: orazione nell'orto, by Jörg Arzt and workshop of Jörg Arzt. Used under CC BY-SA 4.0. No changes made. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jörg_artz,_pittore_di_scuola_danubiana_e_aiuti,_ante_di_altare_,_1571,_da_vigo_di_fassa,_orazione_nell%27orto_02.jpg

Ascended on Our Behalf, Luke 24.44-53, Hebrews 8

The Ascension of Jesus is a very important day in the Church calendar. Its observance is one that reminds us of all that is dependent upon Jesus returning to the Father. In this sermon, Father Jeremiah explains some important reasons for Jesus’ ascension and why it matters to us today.

The Vine and the Branches, John 15.1-11

At the beginning of John 15, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the vine and that they are branches. This reality doesn’t only apply to them, but also to all of us who are part of the church. How do we live as branches? What does it mean that God the Father as the vinedresser will prune us? How does fruit begin to grow through us as branches? Listen to this message from Father Jeremiah to find out.

Comfort through the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, John 14.1-14

On the night that he was betrayed, Jesus brought comfort to his disciples through telling them who he was and that what he did would reveal to them that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Comfort was what they needed on that confusing night in the Upper Room. In our every day lives, we need comfort as well and Jesus’ words are just as comforting when we bring them to bear upon our own lives now.

Image: The Last Supper, from Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. Used under license CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. No changes made. Photo by: Nick Thompson. Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669970211/in/photostream/

Gifts of the Shepherd, Psalm 23, John 10.1-10

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The Good Shepherd gives to us everything that we need. He gifts us with the reality of salvation and everything that connects to that very salvation. He comes to us through his grace and creates rest for us that we might feed and be renewed by him. Hear more from Father Jeremiah about this psalm.

Image: Shepherd with Sheep, Thomas Sidney Cooper, Used under license CC0 1.0. Image Location:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2017-02_Thomas_Sidney_Cooper_-_Shepherd_with_sheep.jpg

The Word, the Sacrament, and the Savior, Luke 24.13-35

When two disciples are traveling to Emmaus, they never expected the stranger to come and reveal to them the Savior of the World and then for the stranger with them to be revealed as the Savior of the World. How should we respond to such a glorious truth?

Image: by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Public Domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duccio_di_Buoninsegna_Emaus.jpg

Bearing the Marks of Salvation, John 20.19-31

What happened to the Apostles when they encountered the risen Christ? How did they respond? How did Thomas respond to Jesus himself when he met him again? All of the Apostles were transformed by Jesus and the work that he accomplished on the cross for them and through his resurrection. And now, the question is, will you too be transformed as they were so long ago?

Image: The Maesta Altarpiece-The Incredulity of st.Thomas, by Duccio. [Public Domain] Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The-Maesta-Altarpiece-The-Incredulity-of-Saint-Thomas-1461_Duccio.jpg

The Woman, the Truth, and the Gardener, John 20.1-18

Image: Icon showing the Resurrection of Jesus, at the inner side of the Resurrection Gate to the Red Square, Moscow, taken by Alvesgaspar, [CC BY-SA 3.0]. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moscow_July_2011-48.jpg

The Good of Good Friday, Hebrews, 10.1-25

Image: The Crucifixion icon from medieval Svaneti, Georgia (public domain). Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mestia_Museum._Crucifixion._12th_c..jpg

Let Us Love One Another, John 13.1-15

Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in order to demonstrate to them their need to serve one another. But it is also a demonstration of the service that he was about to perform. Out his very divine nature, Jesus serves and loves his disciples and calls us to participate in that very same love to draw others into the salvation that he is bringing to us through his sacrifice.

Image: Christ Washes the Disciples Feet, Albrecht Dürer / Public domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albrecht_Dürer_-_Christ_Washing_the_Feet_of_the_Disciples_(NGA_1943.3.3641).jpg

Yearning for a King, Matthew 21.1-11

As Jesus was entering into Jerusalem, the people cheered and saw him as a king for them. They had their own kind of king in mind, while Jesus was going to become the kind of king they truly needed. They were, never-the-less, yearning for a king to save them. Likewise, we also desire a king, one who is in control and will care for us. What does our celebration of Palm Sunday help us to understand about this yearning?

Image: Entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, Unknown author / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entry_of_Jesus_Christ_into_Jerusalem.jpg

The True Story of Our Hearts, John 11.17-44, Romans 6.15-23

The reality of this world is that it is broken and that there is a longing deep in our hearts for redemption. And yet, there is a deep set resistance within us to this longing, wanting us to believe that there is no fulfillment for that longing. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is a small foretaste of that fulfillment of the longing. What can be done to answer this longing? What of the resistance within us to this longing?

Image: The Resurrection of Lazarus, Giovanni di Paolo (Public domain). Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giovanni_di_Paolo_-_The_Resurrection_of_Lazarus_-_Walters_37489A.jpg

Seeing and Seeing, 1 Samuel 16, John 9

In the anointing of David as king, God sees beyond the outside and sees his heart. Jesus heals a man born blind and tells the Pharisees that even though they can see physically, their spiritual eyes are blind to the truth. What does this mean for us? Can we learn something from this about ourselves? Listen to hear more from Father Jeremiah.

Image: From the book, Bible History: Containing the Most Remarkable Events of the Old and New Testaments, by the Rt. Rev. Richard Gilmour, page 76, copyright 1894. Found on Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=PTQXAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=richard+gilmour+anointing+of+david&source=bl&ots=8RmVCwRtTB&sig=ACfU3U0aYp4X1POeoYfFVGyJRF7cZpMhsg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj55tn96bjoAhUIOq0KHapcB84Q6AEwGHoECA0QAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Grumble Water or Living Water, Exodus 17.1-17, John 4

In Exodus 17, the people grumble and contend with Moses and God over being in a place where there was no water. In John 4, Jesus speaks with a woman at a well. What can these two stories tell us about ourselves and our needs and desires? Listen now to hear about the grumbling people and the living water that we all need.

Image: by Jacopo Tintoretto / Public domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1563_Tintoretto_Moses_Striking_the_Rock_anagoria.JPG

One True Foundation, John 3.1-16

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. What must have been going through his mind when he saw him and heard. It all connects to Genesis 12 and Romans 4. Promise, faith, sacraments all swirl together to reveal God’s kindness and steadfast love, in short, his grace to sinners like us so that we might know him.

Image: Christ talking with Nicodemus at night, by Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn. Public Domain. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crijn_Hendricksz.jpeg

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Beautiful, Matthew 4.1-11, Romans 5.12-21

As Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted, he was going out to do what Adam had failed at doing. Jesus was going out to resist temptation on behalf of his people, so that all who are united to him, might become resisters of temptation as well. Paul explains this in Romans 5, that Jesus has become the second and greater Adam by his act of obedience. Father Jeremiah tells us more in this week’s sermon.

Image: Temptation of Christ by Vasily Surikov, 1872. Public Domain. Location: https://www.wikiart.org/en/vasily-surikov/temptation-of-christ-1872

Focusing on Lent, Matthew 6.1

Father Jeremiah expounds on the Collect for Ash Wednesday as a way for us to not lose focus on Jesus and what he has done for us during Lent. This prayer draws our eyes to our continual need to be sorrowful for our sins and to pray for a heart that is truly sorrowful from God for only God can give us that kind of heart through Jesus.