Rev. Ben is back from vacation (and camp counseling) to continue unpacking the juxtaposition between the rule of Herod, Pilate, and Caesar and Jesus: "The Gospels juxtapose two uses of power: For Herod, Pilate, and Caesar, the ends justify the means. For Jesus, the means justify the ends."
Rev. Ben gave this sermon at St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea in Saltaire (Fire Island) while on vacation
Brother John Castaldo from the Franciscan Community of Compassion gave the good word this morning!
“Unlike Herod and Pilate, our king would rather lose face than lose us. His reign is defined not by greed and fear, but by mercy and sacrifice.”
In Christ, you and I have been given a new family. We’ve been grafted into a bond thicker than blood. Our primary allegiance is no longer to our country, tribe, or even our family, but to Christ, our brother and Lord.
The hemorrhaging woman waited 12 years, Jairus stood by for what must have felt like an eternity, and you and I may wonder if Christ still heals, but the truth of the old spiritual remains, ‘God may not come when you call him, but he’ll be there right on time!’
“In the midst of the noise of all the storms we face, I hope that we can listen for that “still, small voice” that says to the powers that swamp our boats, “Silence. Be still.” -Canon Kris Viera Coleman Find a manuscript of the sermon below: https://open.substack.com/pub/spiritualimagination/p/catching-a-light-breeze-with-st-therese?r=4919w&utm_medium=ios
Listen to Rev. Ben’s sermon on Jesus’ parables about seeds (and the kingdom of God) wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s a teaser: “God’s kingdom is pure gift. he empowers us to sow seeds, but we can do nothing to manipulate or cajole its growth. What a relief!”
There’s a “Bennifer” in all of us: a yin and a yang. A J Lo who’d meditate and practice yoga every morning, and a Ben Affleck who’d prefer to sleep in and start the day by crushing a Marlboro Light. This is why we pray not just to “think the things that are right” but for the power to actually do them.
Jesus, the Lord of the sabbath, instituted the sabbath. And he says the sabbath is for us, not us for the sabbath…
The reason it’s so important that Jesus is one in being with the Father is that he’s more than just the best of us. His life and work not only show something but effect something…
Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. On this day, the 'dividing wall of hostility' was torn down, and the 'ministry of reconciliation' began…
In the Incarnation, the eternal divinity of God the Son is enfolded in our humanity; in the Ascension, our humanity is enfolded in his divinity, so that Christ’s destiny is our destiny.
"Self-giving love has never been about getting walked over. It necessarily involves agency. It includes willingly laying your life down for you enemies and turning over tables on behalf of the lowly...."
If you’re ever worried about whether or not you ‘abide’ in the ‘vine,’ don’t forget: the imperative is rooted in the indicative. We can ‘abide in God’ because we ‘have already been cleansed." "...and even when you don’t, remember that God leaves vineyards for prodigals.”
The Good Shepherd has every justification to leave us, yet while ‘All we like sheep have gone astray…’ Christ neither abandons nor betrays. He lays down his life to save…
...The more I tell myself the story that I’m better than other people, more evolved than other people, more on the right side of history than other people, a distance grows not just between me and those people but between me and God...
Jesus' word to doubters isn't you failed the test, but "Peace be with you."
It's more than an example. It's a picture of the Cross. #maundythursday
Good Friday Sermon
On the Cross
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday 🌿✝️💒 “On Christ the solid rock we stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground is sinking sand.”
"My weight is my love" -Augustine
Mexico City artist Pedro Reyes turns weapons into musical instruments. In this morning’s Scripture readings, God turns symbols of defeat - snakes and crosses - into emblems of victory 🎉
Featuring Ken Follet's "The Pillars of the Earth," Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Joshua Bell's DC Metro performance, and the World Trade Center...
God's ways are not our ways. (Service is the path to the life we want.)
Mark's apocalyptic gospel is less about us giving things up and more about God making all things new...
"...God hates nothing he has made..."
Our encounter with the God-human forgives, delivers, heals...
Only 39 verses into Mark’s Gospel, and we’ve learned that the “good news of Jesus Christ” is forgiveness, exorcism(!), healing, and… purpose (and not just for those people back then)
