SSJE Sermons

“So where are we now? We have come, at last, to the end of one of the most bitterly contested national elections this country has ever seen.  For many of us, finally naming a winner doesn’t bring the resolution we hoped it would; it feels like we’re all on the losing side in this contest.  What message of hope can the Church possibly offer?” Br. David Vryhof, in the wake of the U.S. Presidential election, considers Jesus' calling – and promise – of reconciliation.

“For better or worse, the closest anyone of us is going to get to being in a group of seventy Christians is on a large Zoom meeting with a gallery view. This is probably going to be true for a while. So what meaningful work can we do in the spirit of those original disciples?” Br. Jack Crowley urges us onward in the spirit of the original disciples, as we prepare the way for Christ, even in this moment and according to its unusual constraints and opportunities.

“For Father Benson, the contemplation of the present reality of heaven is not an escape from the world, but a way to sustain us as we take up our cross, even in the midst of the present reality of the world.” Br. James Koester considers the heavenly vision of the Society's founder, and how it can encourage and sustain us today.

“A fractious political environment, with lots of different groups vying for power and influence, might seem rather familiar to you. It does to me. Many people are wondering how bonds of family, friendship, and community can be maintained across these divides.” Br. Lucas Hall ponders how we can best navigate the fraught political divides that threaten our society and our relationships.

“You could see this period we are in now, this pandemic, as a kind of plateau, a kind of flat time. So, it could also be a perfect time to pause and take stock of our lives.  What’s the journey been like so far, and what have I learned?  And when this flat period is over, how will I go forward again in my life; what route will I take? Call on the Spirit of Jesus.” Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us to take inspiration from the example of Paul's extraordinary journeys, as we navigate our own way through life's challenges and ever deeper into love for Jesus.

“Where we see truth, honor, purity, we see the glory of God, and when we behold God’s glory, especially in another person, we are brought to our knees in praise.” Br. James Koester invites us into the evocative phrase from the letter to the Epehsians: "the praise of his glory."

“These are not happy times, but we can still know joy, because it is a gift from God. We can’t create joy, we can only receive it, and delight in it. Joy is elusive. We can’t grasp it, or hold it, or contain it, or store it up. If we try to, it vanishes.” On the Feast of Saint Francis amid such troubled times, Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us to open our hearts to joy.

“Our prayer and actions of gratitude, even offered in isolation, bring us together as a living sacrament of Christ for the sake of one another and of the world. Through the giving of thanks in all things, we together partake of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Heaven, at his table set in our hearts.”

Though we live in a time of individual and corporate pain and loss, Br. Jonathan Maury points us toward our fundamental Christian identity as a eucharistic people, people of thanksgiving.

“The nearer I draw to God, the more it becomes clear I really have no idea who I’m dealing with. The personality I encounter overflows and shatters every image or picture I could ever imagine.” Br. Sean Glenn urges us to set aside our images and pictures of God and encounter the living God whose love upholds every moment.

“Like the People of Israel, we find ourselves in a wilderness. The landscape at the moment seems especially dry and particularly barren. We are hungry. We are thirsty. Yes, perhaps we are not about to die, but none the less we are longing, and like the Israelites, we look back towards Egypt and long to return. How many of us have not longed to return to what once was?” Br. James Koester reminds us that we are united, in our longing, to God's people from time immemorial – and to one another in this dry and thirsty time.