Friendship with God: Recent Episodes
DJ Kiessling
Sermon on the 18th Sunday After Pentecost. Scripture: Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29 and
Mark 9:38-50.
Sermon on the 17th Sunday After Pentecost. Scripture: Jas 3:13--4:3,7-8a and
Mark 9:30-37.
Sermon on the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost.
Scripture: James 2:1-17 and Mark 7:24-37.
Sermon on the 14th Sunday After Pentecost. Scripture: Deut 4:1-2,6-9 and Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23.
Sermon on the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost by The Rt. Rev. Kevin S. Brown
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41.
Sermon during Worship Service on the Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany. Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 -- curing man with unclean spirit in the synagogue.
Sermon on the Third Sunday of Advent. Scriptures: Isa 61:1-4,8-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24, and Jn 1:6-8,19-28.
Sermon for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. Gospel: Mt 20:1-16 - Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
Sermon on the Eighth Sunday After Pentecost. Scripture: 1Kg 3:5-12 and Mt 12:31-33,44-52.
Sixth Sunday of Easter Worship Service. Scripture: 1Peter 3:13-22. John 14:15-21.
Note in Sermon Paul is referenced when it should be Peter. Sorry! Thanks!
Sermon at Good Friday Service. Scripture: John 18:1--19:37 (Passion of Jesus Christ According to John)
Sunday Sermon on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, which focuses on Jesus' transfiguration in the Gospel of Matthew17:1-9.
Sunday's Sermon on the Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany. Scripture: Deut 30:15-20 and Mt 5:21-37.
Sunday's Sermon on the Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany. Scripture: 1 Cor 2:1-16 and Mt 5:13-20.
Sermon on The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord. Scripture: Mt 3:13-17.
Sunday Sermon for Advent 4 on Matthew 1:18-25. Today's Gospel is about Joseph, having learned that Mary is pregnant, struggles with tough love. He balances his love for Mary, which continues to treat her with dignity and respect, with the reality of the consequences of her actions that cannot be dismissed. Joseph has the right to demand a public trial, which would usually result in someone being stoned. In choosing to dismiss Mary quietly, Joseph forgives her for dishonoring him and gives up the right to publicly reclaim his honor at her expense. Isn't it interesting only after Joseph goes through this anguish does God show up in a dream to reassure Joseph that Mary was telling the truth. Going through the mental and emotional struggle for Joseph is an exercise in seeing people as God sees us and seeking restoration rather than retribution in the situation.
Rector's Sermon on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Matthew 11:2-11 Gospel and First Reading from Isaiah 35:1-10. John the Baptist sends messengers to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah because Jesus is doing what John was expecting him to do. God's ways are not our ways which is a good thing. Jesus in effect tells John he is bring God's Mercy rather than retribution. Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at this. God extends mercy to people we might not be merciful towards. We need to remember that we are always in need of that same Mercy and Restoration. God's Mercy, through Jesus as Risen Lord, is God's gift to us and everybody else this Christmas. From the place of whatever is our prison in this world, can we, like John the Baptist, be okay with that?
Sermon for 2nd Sunday in Advent. In our first reading from Isaiah 11:1-10, the prophet names 7 gifts that the Holy Spirit will give to the Messiah. These same 7 gifts are also given to Christians at their baptism. These gifts help us in reading and interpreting the Scriptures which St. Paul mentions in Romans 15:4-13. God has equipped us as followers of Jesus for our task. When we study Scripture as Jesus did, use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did, then we will bear the Fruits of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did. We will discover as St. Paul says in Romans 15:13 that the God of Hope will fill us with all Joy and Peace in believing so we may abound in Hope by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Advent 1 Sunday Sermon looks at what the writer of the Gospel of Matthew might have meant by the phrase 'the coming of the Son of Man.' The word apocalypse in the Bible means revelation where we think of it today as a catastrophic battle resulting in the end of the world. The last verse in Matthew's Gospel is Jesus saying, "remember I am with you always even to the end of the ages." What if we understand the phrase 'the coming of the Son of Man' as God's invitation to live into the fullness of our human lives through seeing the effects of God on a daily basis who is always with us? We can practice this by looking for "God Finds." Listen to learn how.
Sermon on the Last Sunday after Pentecost. We celebrate Christ the King with Luke's Gospel of Jesus hanging on the cross where people taunt him to use his authority to serve himself. God chooses right action rather than easiest action. God chooses to win out of love rather than resort to violence. God chooses to remain self-defined in image of unconditional love, life, and truth--even when God will pay a high price for doing so. God's justice is restorative rather than retributive. Jesus tells the criminal he will be with Jesus in paradise today--no groveling or punishment from God given first. The punishment of sin--missing the mark--is the consequences of our actions. As we move into Advent we are invited to reflect on whether our way of defining Christ as King is God's way of defining Christ as King.
Pentecost 23 Sunday Sermon on the Collect for Proper 28:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for
our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn,
and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever
hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have
given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sermon for Sunday After All Saints. We are all saints meaning we are set apart from the world. We are called to be in the world and not of the world. We live as People of Hope, People of the Resurrection. Definition of saint that I like is a "sinner trying to go straight." Our God is a God of unconditional love. As the prodigal son could squander his inheritance and not lose his identity as a son of the Father, so can we as children of God squander the gift to live as an image of God while not losing our identity as being an Image of God. All of us need to come to ourselves and repent as the Prodigal Son did and God will heal and restore us as an Image of God. God's justice is restorative, not retributive.The punishment for our sin is the consequences of the sin.
St. Luke tells us that it is God's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, which is where God dwells, God's Will is done, and the Grace of God is found. God does not give us a trouble free life, an easy way out, whatever we ask for that is not God's Will, or a life without responsibility or accountability. God's Kingdom is one of many kingdoms in this world. We need to give our life away in order to keep our life as God gives life and intends life to be.
Why doesn't Jesus settle a property dispute among brothers as a rabbi when rabbis commonly did this as teachers of the law? The most important thing is Life itself which is a gift from God. No amount of possessions can make life greater or gift life security. Rich Fool believed this world was it. When God shows up he discovered he was wrong and no do-over was available. Blessed are we who truly know the precious value of time in this world and even more blessed are we when we discern our choices with this in mind.
Jesus teaches disciples the Lord's Prayer. The words we use in prayer affects what we believe about God. Saying it reminds us that God is an unconditionally loving parent who desires and works for our well-being. St. Luke's version has us ask for forgiveness of our sins from God because we forgive everyone indebted to us. There is a difference between sin and indebtedness that may be helpful for us to pay attention to. St. Luke says God answers our prayers with the gift of the Holy Spirit. In reality God never leads us into temptation. God gives us grace to choose against temptation or to go through something if it cannot be avoided.
Mary sits at the feet of Jesus with the men rather than go work in the kitchen with Martha as the social custom of the day would have expected. Martha is frustrated that Mary isn't in the kitchen with her. Martha complains to Jesus rather than going to Mary herself. Jesus supports Mary's decision to do what was on her heart. Jesus' answer challenges Martha to follow her heart. The Greek word that is translated in English as "better" means good, profitable, generous, upright, virtuous. Mary chose what was good because it was what she felt in her spirit she needed to do. It's important for us to hear that Jesus supports Mary in her decision. As human beings we are called to be an Image of God. When we live true to ourselves, even if people disagree, we are most fully being the person God calls us to be and we can be assured of God's graces to keep us there. The Will of God will never lead us where the Grace of God cannot keep us.
Jewish law required Jews to be holy which required keeping separate from Gentiles, so could they expect that their neighbor would be only fellow Jews. Jesus dramatically expands this definition through the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans were half-Jewish and, therefore, despised by devout Jews. In the parable the Samaritan behaves like God behaves and also lives as a true human being, which is the image of God, since we are all created in the image of God.
Gospel is St. Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Sermon is given to those who have chosen to follow Jesus. Primary message is we live in two realms: Spiritual and Physical. Each has opposing guiding forces. Spiritual is God and Physical is Temptation. We need to choose one guiding force for our morals and values to live by. Which do we choose?
Today's three lessons in the Revised Common Lectionary speak about being called by God. Christians are called to ministry in Baptism, which is an 'ordination' service for all Christians. As Episcopalians we don't have a creed or doctrine. Instead, we are about a way of being, a way of loving, a way of living in the world. The Church ought to be an educational institution of Divine Higher learning where we master the call of being a Christian. Our Graduation Certificate is Jesus saying "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Rector's Sermon at 10AM service. Sharing on gratitude to God for abundant healing received in my life and financial support of God's mission to heal all people.