SSJE Sermons

“How can I learn to be still? How can I make peace with a solitude I did not choose? How can I help my neighbor? How can I overcome the racism etched on my bones by my ancestors? How should we live? What does God desire? How is God involved? How can I love a God who is so mysterious?” What is the Church called to become? Br. Keith Nelson encourages all of us beset with questions to embrace the inner work of Wisdom at this time of great uncertainty and challenge – maybe even renewal.

“We remember that although it is our home on earth, it can never be our true dwelling place.  We will always be strangers on this earth, longing for our heavenly home, where we will abide forever in the presence of God, and where our true citizenship is to be found.” On America's Independence Day, Br. David Vryhof encourages us to balance American pride with Christian citizenship and the calls it places upon us.

“In the suffering today, pray your hurt. Groan and listen to the groans of those around you. Look up to your stars, or hold onto your bread as hope that the God who has met you in the past is coming and will come in the future. The promise is real. There is a new Jerusalem where we will all sing together with joy. There will be healing for all the nations.” In these challenging times, Br. Luke Ditewig invites us to acknowledge our suffering and hold onto tangible proofs of God's promise and provision.

“The call of Matthew was not simply an invitation to one individual to become a follower of Jesus. It was a sign given by Jesus to the world, of what the reign of God actually looks like. It is a kingdom of sinners, outcasts, and misfits.” Br. James Koester invites us to look for the signs of the reign of God by finding the misfits who make up our community.

“It is harder to live forgiveness that to simply pronounce an empty pardon. In fact, it takes nothing less than the power that made the whole Creation; that fashions you and me.” Br. Sean Glenn marvels at the glorious pledge of God's forgiveness.

“We accept the gift of perfect freedom when we surrender everything to God, exchanging willfulness for willingness in union with Christ. From this place of surrender and servanthood, we see that what appears to be choices in human terms, choices made by God, ourselves, and others, are ultimately just the unfolding of God in the world.” Br. Nicholas Bartoli shares his own personal experience of realizing that true freedom is to be found only in surrender, the perfect freedom of being God's humble servant.

“As followers of Jesus, and as his sisters and brothers born of God we must not, in these challenging times, let our love grow cold or allow our commitment to prayer and service slacken. May we be brought to urgently desire the fulness of Jesus’ peace and the glory of his resurrection already at work within us!” For all those of us missing participation in the Sacraments, Br. Jonathan Maury encourages reflection on our participation in Christ through the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

“God’s love surrounds you on every side and in every circumstance of life, and that love can never fail, or be taken from you.  You are loved unconditionally, now and forever.  Abide in that love, draw strength from it every day, rest in it every night.  Whatever you’re going through right now, of this you can be sure: you are deeply loved by God, and always will be. God will never forsake you.” In these times of trial, Br. David Vryhof encourages us to draw on Christ's strength, trust in his power, claim his steadfastness, and embrace his promise of life.

“You are a seasoned traveler in life. Undoubtedly you have been on uncharted territory before. And God has been with you and is with you. Recollect your life, which will inspire confidence in the present and hope for the future. This is a way of 'praying your life.'” During this season of staying home, Br. Curtis Almquist invites us to remember our travels through life.

“The life we have been given is now. Where Christ will be really present is in the real present, in the now, right now, wherever and however we are. Our life will indeed come to an end, if not today, someday, maybe soon. Live today as if this were your last day. It could be.” Br. Curtis Almquist takes Saint Paul’s words and overlays them on our own Coronavirus circumstances, to find some good counsel for life together during our own conflicted time.