SSJE Sermons

By SSJE SermonsReligion & Spirituality Christianity

SSJE Sermons episodes

May 04, 2024 Overlightened by Good News – Br. Jack Crowley
Br. Jack Crowley
John 20:1-9
Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party.
One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened would be better.
The good news of Jesus’ resurrection overlightens the bad news of how this Gospel passage starts. That morning started really dimly. The only thing the Beloved Disciple knew that morning was that Jesus was dead and his body was missing.
So he ran. The Beloved Disciple ran, but he did not run away. He did the opposite. He ran to the tomb.
I always try to imagine how the Beloved Disciple’s felt during that run to the tomb. At some point in life, we all get acquainted with that feeling of anxiety and excitement swirling together. That feeling that makes your leg wobble, but you keep moving because sometimes that’s the only thing you can do.
The race to the tomb was an act of desperation, an act of faith, and an act of life. We all have our own race to the tomb. More importantly, we all have our own race to the resurrection. Our own jagged journey to the realization that life continues after death. This is not it. This thing of ours keeps going after we die.
Can you imagine the joy the Beloved Disciple must have felt when he realized what had happened? The good news that Jesus had in fact risen. The Beloved Disciple realized not only what had happened, but what Jesus’ resurrection implied. We too will rise again.
Until we get there, we too have lives to live. Lives mixed with action and contemplation. Lives full of running and realization. The good news is that we know the good news. We have time. We have time and more than a lifetime to figure it all out. What we cannot get done now, we will get done on the other side of this life.
Of course this does not mean we get to be lazy. The Christian life is a demanding life. It’s a life that demands meaning, and for us to make that meaning with God, ourselves, and one another. We must do this every day of our lives and beyond.
5 min
May 03, 2024 God’s Pity – Br. Curtis Almquist
“Isn’t it so reassuring that God, as the master weaver, knows us: knows what we present “up front,” and knows from whence it all comes, our “back side.” Isn’t it comforting that God who created us, calls us, uses us, is thankful for us, knows us well, pities us with a loving compassion.” Br. Curtis Almquist gives thanks for even the messy complexity of our lives, which God sees and God loves.
5 min
April 28, 2024 Renewed Life – Br. Luke Ditewig
“Pruning lets go what is alive but not growing in a helpful direction. Pruning lets go what is dead but still taking up space. Pruning lets a tree more fully live and bear more fruit. Letting go is hard on trees and in our lives, yet key to living well.” Br. Luke Ditewig encourages us to let go of what is no longer serving us, so that we can live well.
12 min
April 21, 2024 He Calls Us Each by Name – Br. Lain Wilson
“What can’t others know, about you, about your innermost self? What desires and needs are unexpressed, what fears or joys unvoiced? How does your proper name, this sign of your unique, irreplaceable self, resonate in your own heart’s chamber? With what richness does it echo back to you the fullness that is you? Jesus, the good shepherd, knows you this way.” Br. Lain Wilson reflects on how we are known as individuals and called together as a family by the One who knows us each by name.
14 min
April 16, 2024 Craving for God – Br. Jack Crowley
“Jesus knows what motivates us. He knows our hearts, our minds, and our stomachs. He knows what makes us tick. He knows this for each and every one of us, in our own peculiar way.” Br. Jack Crowley urges us to bring our hunger to God's table.
7 min
April 14, 2024 The Making and Meaning of Life – Br. Curtis Almquist
“Today is predicted to be an amazing day for you. For you to live your life fully, freely, meaningfully, joyfully – for you to have the time of your life – live your life in sync with the Creator of life, and that will make a world of difference.” Br. Curtis Almquist dives into the amazing invitation to pray our lives – all of it, the whole shebang – and offers practical suggestions for how we can work this life-changing practice into the flow of our day.
20 min
April 11, 2024 Death and Life – Br. Lain Wilson
“If our daily experiences of loss and failure and frustration prepare us for the certainty of our deaths, our daily experiences of trust—and the hope and joy and love that accompany them—do so as well.” Br. Lain Wilson celebrates the trust that transforms even our ultimate death into a promise of life.
6 min
April 07, 2024 Meeting Us Where We Are, and Sending Us Out – Br. David Vryhof
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Has the Risen Christ ever come to you when you were in a place of need? If so, how did he come? I’m moved by the resurrection accounts in the Fourth Gospel, in which Jesus returns to his broken-hearted disciples as the Risen One, meeting them just where they are.” Br. David Vryhof marvels at the tender, patient forgiveness of Jesus in the Resurrection narratives – the very same love that he extends to us as well.
14 min
March 31, 2024 You Are My Sunshine! – Br. Jim Woodrum
“Mary, engulfed in sorrow and confronted with the profound emptiness of Jesus' tomb, didn't realize Jesus was right beside her until He spoke her name. Similarly, we all will endure our own versions of Good Friday—times marked by loss, departure, and profound loneliness. It is precisely in these moments that we should shift our focus to recognize Jesus' presence near us.” On Easter Sunday, Br. Jim Woodrum celebrates the manifestations of Paschal mystery all around us.
17 min
March 29, 2024 The Last Breath of Jesus – Br. Keith Nelson
“The quiet, calm purpose of Jesus is sealed by the confidence of his final words: “It is finished.” It is finished with great suffering, and with great love. It is completed, whole, and offered up in glory. With him, at long last, we exhale and are drawn to our knees – not in defeat, but in awe. There is nothing more for us to do, but ask for the spirit of Jesus to aid us as we make a fresh return of such great love.”
Br. Keith Nelson marvels at the depths of meaning held in Jesus' final breath from the cross.
13 min