SSJE Sermons

“A childlike perspective is playful. Open to questions. Exploring possibilities widely. To play is to gaze in wonder. To do something simply because it delights.” On Trinity Sunday, Br. Luke Ditewig invites us to pray playfully, delighting in how we discover God in the mystery beyond knowledge.

“The Church’s worship is not for us alone, but for everyone, regardless of language or culture or race. It is meant to unite rather than divide.” On the Feast of the First Book of Common Prayer, Br. David Vryhof gives thanks for visionaries – from Thomas Cranmer to Dick Mahaffy, a friend of SSJE and president of the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf – who work to offer accessible worship to all people.

“The Spirit dances around the borders or surges as an undercurrent beneath the lives of women and men, palpably felt though never quite glimpsed directly: at times, a blazing fire on mountaintop or altar, whose power is just barely contained; at other times, an almost fluid substance invading a prophet from without; at still other times, a guiding light illumining the dreams or visions of a hero.” On the feast of Pentecost, Br. Keith Nelson celebrates how the Holy Spirit frees us to receive each moment of life as an opportunity for ever-deepening theosis.

“We come across things in the world that seem to reach out and grab us by the heart - perhaps a piece of art or music, a holy place, a human relationship, a piece of philosophy or Scripture that brings joy and light into our life. These things are good because they are from God, and we rejoice in them even before we know that God is their mother.” But what do we do when these things fail us, as they inevitably will? Lydia Simmons, an SSJE monastic intern, encourages us to look past the signposts, toward the Wisdom they reveal.

“We humans are not fond of endings. We would like to step forth confidently on a new adventure with our left foot while keeping our right foot firmly planted on its old familiar turf. But life doesn’t work that way.” SSJE monastic intern Amy Nizolek uncovers both the weight and the poetry buried in that one small, underappreciated, overburdened, little donkey of a word: Goodbye.

“When I am battered and broken and lost, I do not need an idea, I need refuge. I need to know that when everything falls apart, I am not alone, and that death will not have the final word.” SSJE monastic intern Nathan Leach reveals how love is the ultimate refuge for our broken hearts and our broken world: a solid place to stand when everything seems to be shifting.

“In many circumstances, we end up sharing life with people we would not have chosen, some of whom we inevitably find quite challenging. The monastic tradition has a name for these sometimes-quite-difficult people: 'teachers.'” Br. Curtis Almquist looks to the founder of coenobitic monasticism, Pachomius, for inspiration about common life and life itself.

“There comes a sense, somewhere deep within the noisy mystery of ourselves, that we have known this strange song we’ve never sung before. Sing to the Lord a new song.” Br. Sean Glenn invites us, during the awkward days between the Ascension and Pentecost, to listen with anticipation for the new song the Holy Spirit is coaxing to life within us.

“Love – God’s love – was all around, and Julian saw it like no one else. It was almost like God lifted the blinders off her eyes and God showed her how things really were, that it was LOVE that was holding everything together.” Br. David Vryhof points us to the writings of Julian of Norwich for a lesson that we can never outgrow.

“As you listen to these words there are ten thousand miracles, at least, within easy reach… beginning with you.” Br. Nicholas Bartoli offers the answer to how we can discover happiness, peace, beauty, and joy in life – an answer of profound mystery and simplicity.