SSJE Sermons

“What will the church look like in a year, never mind five? What will this country look like in a week, never mind a month? What will the world look like tomorrow, never mind the one our grandchildren will inherit? We look at what we have, and long for what we had, and our hearts sink as we gaze at the challenges ahead, knowing full well there are still other hills, still other sets of steep stairs, still other cliff edge paths, that we cannot yet see.” Looking into an uncertain future, Br. James Koester echoes God's words of comfort and reassurance: take courage; I am with you; do not fear.

“If you are now in a dark night of the soul where pain, despair, loss, or fear are your companions, how very difficult. You need the comfort that Jesus promises us. Presume that your dark night is the eve of the dawning of a new day, and that you are not alone. You are being carried on the wings of the prayers of those who have gone before you and who are looking out for you.” Br. Curtis Almquist finds companions for our prayer on All Saints Day and the eve that precedes it, All Hallows Eve, Halloween.

“God is not a theory. God is not a formula. God is personal—so personal that the restrictions our human desire for control creates—whether around worship or any other part of life—simply will not do.” Br. Sean Glenn reminds us that God's mercy overflows our expectations and undoes all our theories, formulas, and patterns.

“‘Hey! Do you go to church? Why?’ ‘Are you a Christian? Why? Just tell me in a few words.’ What would you say?  If you only had 30 seconds, a kind of ‘elevator speech’, what would you say?  ‘I go to church because…’ If you don’t say anything, you may have lost an opportunity. St Peter in this first letter tells us, ‘Always be ready to give an account for the hope that is in you.’ So, what would your 30-second account be?” Br. Geoffrey Tristram finds inspiration in the witness of Philip, for what makes a good evangelist, and he urges us to be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us.

“We are products of the Enlightenment, so-called, a culture not schooled in the discernment of good and evil. And yet, you can hardly turn a page of the Bible without encountering the battleground of spiritual forces.” Br. Curtis Almquist reminds us that, today more than ever, we are being fought over between the forces of good and evil.

“Allowing ourselves to be loved by God, as Jesus did, also requires some degree of just sitting there, as Mary of Bethany did in Jesus’ presence. But consenting to this transformation at the core of our being is anything but passive: it is our single greatest challenge. To the world, that process looks like nothing. But to Jesus, it is the one thing necessary.” Br. Keith Nelson revisits the familiar story of Martha & Mary to discover the one thing Jesus asks of all of us: the single-hearted, undivided commitment of discipleship.

“Saint Francis’ teaching is about our sharing an intimate relationship with all sentient beings and beyond, and not just other people. Every living being, every element of creation, is a “creature” of God, all of us given a share of God’s magnificent panoply of life.”

Br. Curtis Almquist invites us to take from Saint Francis the inspiration to be in a reverenced relationship with God's gift of life both within us and around us.

“The Climate Emergency we are facing today is a human problem, the result of our plundering the earth for its treasures at the cost of life’s delicate balance.  Much of it is the result of human greed. Our greed is destroying the planet, polluting our air and our waterways and oceans, eliminating whole species of animals from the earth, and threatening our very existence.  If we continue in this way, we will, before long, render the planet uninhabitable.  The Climate Emergency has been caused by human beings, and only human beings have the power to reverse it.” Br. David Vryhof cautions that money is not the problem; greed is; and that true richness comes when we learn to enjoy God’s world, and live with contentment.

“As Christians, we are as susceptible as anyone else to extreme consumerism: each of us can all too easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending. I am also sure that the most important way that we can begin to heal our planet is to allow God, daily, to heal our hearts; to mend our divided hearts.  Pope Francis, in his beautiful encyclical, Laudato Si’ writes, “The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs to buy, own and consume.” So, fill your heart every morning with God! ” Br. Geoffrey Tristram shares three contemplative practices that can help us to experience contentment, free us from the desire for more, and help us to love and appreciate what we already have.

“Listen. What is the message from creation that surrounds us? What is God saying through the soil, sprouts, springs, and sparrows? What is God saying through poor and neglected places and peoples? We are invited to listen.” As we enter the Season of Creation, Br. Luke Ditewig urges us to listen to the voice of creation, and to pray outside.