SSJE Sermons

“At one time or another, we all need an interpreter. We need a translation to understand a text. We need an explanation to understand a law. Or we need an encounter to make real a truth that we may know but do not yet feel.” Br. Lain Wilson rejoices in those experiences that move us beyond knowing to feeling what it means to receive God's love.

“Christian hope, the hope of the resurrection, the hope of the exiled people of God, is not wishful thinking. It is sober. It is grounded. It is real.” Br. James Koester considers how we are called in live in the midst of those who reject the promises of God because they cannot see the signs of hope.

“We are blessed to be a blessing. What does that look like? Praying. Interceding for the earth and all peoples with loving solidarity. Relinquishing. Consider what personal, familial, and communal practices are sharing in destruction and what builds up the whole created community?” Br. Luke Ditewig reminds us how we are blessed by God and urges us to act to be a blessing to our world.

“We know from the millennia of war, corruption, destruction, and deceit that there is nothing delicate about lies. That first lie, spoken so alluringly in the Garden, continues to do its evil worst, even today. And so, the battle continues. Michael and his legions, armed with the truth and the power and the strength of God have come to our defence. They stand, not down, but ready for our call. And call we must, for only the forces of God can defeat the Great Deceiver.” In the war against evil, Br. James Koester reminds us, we need the help of the forces of God.

“Have you seen this before?  People of privilege and power can be afraid to embrace the truth or do the right thing because they risk losing their influence. To follow their conscience may mean that they won't be re-elected or that their ratings will drop.  They can't risk it.  So they close their hearts and cling tightly to their power, even when it means embracing lies and practicing deception.” Looking to Herod as an example, Br. David Vryhof urges us to speak the truth, even when it threatens our power or popularity.

“The wonder and beauty of life always connects us with its source, with its Creator. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the beauty of creation that surrounds us and fills us. But don’t stop there. Always experience beauty as a bridge back to its Source. Beauty is not an end in itself. Our experience of beauty on earth ferries us to God’s presence.” Inspired by the writing and witness of Thomas Traherne, Br. Curtis Almquist invites us to live in wonder, live in love.

“God isn’t fair. But God’s unfairness isn’t arbitrary or abstemious. God’s unfairness is universal and prodigal. It’s the unfairness of a landowner who pays everyone the same out of his boundless generosity. It’s the unfairness of a father who welcomes back with open arms and a spread table the wayward son. It’s the unfairness of a God who, in the psalmist’s words, is “faithful in all his words and merciful in all his deeds” and who “upholds all those who fall,” whether they deserve it or not.” In God's unfairness, Br. Lain Wilson discovers proof of God's prodigal generosity.

“God is here with and for you. As before, God will hold as on eagles’ wings. God will “bear your spirit up and brace your heart and nerve your arm.” Let go, like a leaf falling into the divine wind.”

As autumn arrives, Br. Luke Ditewig invites us to fall into following Jesus.

“Today, as we keep an Ember Day, might be an invitation for us to pray, and even fast, in solidarity with those whose livelihoods, and very life itself, are threatened as climate change alters agricultural cycles around the world. Today, as we pray for the ministry of the church, might be an invitation to pray for the healing of the cycles of nature, and our role in that healing, and ways in which the Church might aid in that healing.” Br. James Koester connects the church's observance of an "Ember day" with the historic – and contemporary – practice of keeping a fast.

“Looking into the face of the Navajo Jesus, whose face was all around me, I learned like never before to listen from a place of crucified helplessness. I learned afresh to stay put at the foot of the cross wherever I found it in people and circumstances, and not to turn away. I was shown by Navajo Christians how this could be, and is, the place of Resurrection. I was shown that, even in the desolation of the abandoned uranium mine, the earth herself turns her face to us and listens.” Br. Keith Nelson reckons with the painful legacies of ecological devastation and colonialization that he encountered first-hand in Navajoland this summer, and urges us to join him in a recognition of our sins and an engagement with deep listening to help heal the wounds of generations.