“Our redemption is about more than just harnessing a power beyond human strength. It’s about returning to that relationship of self-giving love that is the essence of the triune God. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy that calls people of all sorts to live new lives fit for eternity.” Br. Todd Blackham reminds us that our salvation and our survival are not unconnected.

“Certainly the sacrifice of Alban is worth remembering today.  We recall with awe his unwavering commitment to Christ, a commitment that prompted him to give himself up to torture and death in place of a Christian priest. We stand in awe of the unflinching witness of the martyrs and pray that, if that day should ever come to us, we would be equally steadfast and fearless in the profession of our faith in Jesus Christ.” Br. David Vryhof challenges us to live mindful of our unspoken witness and its power to change the lives around us.

“Choose life. Every single day we are called to make many choices. They are often very small and unnoticed. But slowly and unseen, over the years, these choices SHAPE our journey through life. The choices we make, however small, set us on a path which may or may not lead to life.” Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us, as we navigate the paths ahead of us, to “choose life,” that our hearts may overflow with the delights of inexpressible love.

Luke 8:26-39  Our Gospel this morning is a crazy story. It has stampeding pigs drowning in a lake, a crazy naked guy, demons negotiating with Jesus, and finally a city full of people asking Jesus to leave. If listening to all this makes you feel all over the place, you are not alone. Things get…

“Lucas, in the offering of your life to God today, as a witness to Jesus who is Light, and Life, and Word of God, you are, in a sense, standing in the baptismal tank at St. Philip’s with Bernard. Like Bernard, you don’t know where you will be led, but with him you are saying, O give me grace to follow.” Br. James Koester and the community celebrate the Profession in Life Vows of Br. Lucas Hall.

“God is always coming to us in “the Sacrament of the Present Moment.” Pay attention to now. God’s presence is always in the present. Now. There will be “thin places” where God breaks through to you, often mysteriously, in here-and-now. Pay attention to now.” Br. Curtis Almquist celebrates the teaching of Evelyn Underhill and, along with her, encourages us to pay attention to the here-and-now.

“A sense of urgent longing to cross over a frontier from nominal belonging onto a path of transformational belonging within the body of Christ…If Jesus is turning your life upside down but you’re discovering that that’s what you want more of, you’ve felt it. The ways we express this longing, like the zealous of the fourth century, are astonishingly diverse. But they have one thing in common: they are a direct response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who “searches our depths” and “searches the depths of God.” It is the depths our hearts long for most.” Br. Keith Nelson connects our own experience of zeal & the intensity of our commitment to Christ to the mission of one of the early monastics, Basil of Caesarea.

“Today we celebrate the great gift which God poured out upon us all on the Day of Pentecost. When the Spirit came down to those disciples they were changed, transformed.  Their spirits were recharged with life and power. They came back to life. And that same promise is made to us, today.” On Pentecost, Br. Geoffrey Tristram gives us a wake-up call – to pray.

“The witness of the martyrs is powerful, not because we are in awe of what they lose, but because we are inspired by what they have, and we find ourselves wanting it. We see in them a life of courage, inspired by their faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Seeing them, we find in ourselves a desire for the same life of faith and courage, which allows us to stand firm even in the face of death.” Br. James Koester remembers the martyrs of Uganda, and challenges us to live lives of courage, profoundly marked by faith in Jesus.

“As love goes, this is where things get thorny. Loving God without condition as God has loved us, while a tall order for finite creatures, is something we might readily give ascent to. But, loving each other ‘agape’ style? What does it mean to love each other without conditions: without sex and romance, without stability and provision, without fellowship in exalted experience, or ultimately, without any expectation or transaction?” Br. Jim Woodrum challenges us to mirror God's unconditional love in the love we show to one another.