Always with Christ

Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum and the ultimate battle that will bring our Salvation. In this evening, in the moments before the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, we join the apostles in the upper room with our Lord as we watch the transformation of the Old Passover into the Sacrament of the Altar. But in the upper room we are also given a mandate, to love one another as our Lord has loved us, and we see a dramatic example of this love. 1 Cor 11:23, John 13:1-15

Tonight, we consider the significance of the Passover, for the gospel writers are deliberate in connecting the Cross of our Lord with the Jewish feast of the Passover. What is the Passover? What was accomplished? What did it anticipate? How was the feast of the Old Covenant Transformed in the New Testament in the Blood of Christ? These are the questions we seek to answer in this homily. Hebrews 9:16, Luke 22:1

Tonight, the Gospel continues into St. Mark's account of our Lord's Passion. All through Lent, we have been talking about fighting the passions. How is it that we celebrate the Passion of our Lord and fight our passion. What are we seeking in the passion?

The Lessons for Holy Monday bring us to St. Mark's account of the the striking of the shepherd and the shattering of the sheep. How is it that these disciples, who do not think themselves capable of abandoning Jesus, end up doing exactly that? This is the same reality that we face today: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

With our coming to Palm Sunday, we recognize that we have almost arrived at the destination of our Lenten journey. Today, we consider the prophecy of Zechariah and its reception by those that have gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to end all Passovers, and, how a failure to see the different kind of glory that is displayed in the Kingdom that Christ brings will result in our missing the day of our salvation. Zech 9:9-12, Phil 2:6, Matt 27:1.

In 2018, March 24th calls us to the remembrance of St. Gabriel the Archangel. In his role as one of the 4 Archangels, the telling of the work of Gabriel spans both Old and New Testaments. He is the Angel of Apocalyptic announcement in Daniel, he is the angel sent to Zechariah, the Father of John the Baptist, and he is the messenger sent to the Blessed Virgin. To Celebrate his day we hear a homily by St. Bernard the Abbot. Luke 1:26-34

On this March 22, we are called to the commemoration of Fr. James DeKoven, who, during his own day, brought Anglicans in the United States to a remembrance of their own catholic heritage, There is no better way to commemorate his life and work than to hear his words, which come to us in the form of a homily, "The Gates of the Invisible," which was preached during Lent in the year 1878. Hebrews 11:23-27.

Holding to the pattern of ancient usage, on March 21, we remember St. Benedict of Nursia, whom God raised up to bolster and propagate the religious life in the West. Benedict did not set out with the goal of transforming monastic life; he sought to bring his own will and mind into subjection to Christ. His reputation spread abroad and many willingly subjected themselves to his rule, the rule for which he is mostly now remembered. Matthew 19:27

Cuthbert is one of the most prominent of the Celtic Saints, and in his life, we are afforded a view of what it looks like to walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. He is a model a piety, diligence, and obedience, that all, no matter what vocation we have been called to live, can learn from his example. The record of his life is take from St. Bede's history. Matthew 11:25

The Sermon Preached from the Pulpit of Holy Cross Anglican Church on Passion Sunday, 2018. The Lessons this week are designed to prepare us to continue in the way of the Cross as we draw nearer to Jerusalem and the Cross. Hebrews 9:11, John 8:46