Year: 2016
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And the Word Continues to Become Flesh – A Christmas Day Sermon on John 1:1-14
John 1:1-14 Sometimes when my wife, Cyndy, and I have been really busy, and there’s been a flurry of activity, and life seems chaotic, she’ll say to me, “We need to stop and regroup.” It’s her way of saying that we need to slow down and take a look at what’s happening, what we are Read more
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What Will You Bring to the Manger? – A Christmas Eve Sermon on Luke 2:1-20
Luke 2:1-20 I come to this Christmas Eve with mixed feelings. This has been one of those years when it seemed as if Christmas just couldn’t get here soon enough. I’ve felt an urgency and necessity about Christmas this year that I haven’t in recent years. And yet, I also find Christmas this year to Read more
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The Ethics of Christmas – The Nativity Sermon of Isaac the Syrian
This Christmas night bestowed peace on the whole world; So let no one threaten; This is the night of the Most Gentle One – Let no one be cruel; This is the night of the Humble One – Let no one be proud. Now is the day of joy – Let us not revenge; Now Read more
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Aleppo Doesn’t Need Our Prayers
A few days ago I posted A Litany of Prayer for Aleppo. I was and still am heartbroken and overwhelmed, maybe even possessed, by what is happening in Aleppo. Omran has become for me an icon of that tragedy. His face and silence are ever before me; waiting, questioning, and convicting. I could not not pray. I Read more
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The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ
The Christmas Proclamation as it is sometimes called comes from the Roman Martyrology. It is usually read on Christmas Eve before the Midnight Mass. The proclamation sets the birth of Jesus in relationship to events of the Old Testament as well as the Greek and Roman worlds. It is a way of dating Jesus’ birth Read more
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A Litany of Prayer for Aleppo
How long, O Lord, how long? There is no peace in Aleppo. There is no peace in Syria. Every night the people flood their beds with tears and drench their couches with weeping. Their eyes waste away with grief. Their spirits shake with terror. You are the one who took them out of the womb. Read more
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Beauty, Hope, and Repentance – A Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A
Matthew 3:1-12, Advent 2A If last week’s gospel (Matthew 24:36-44) called us to wake up and be watchful of the worlds within us and around us, then this week’s gospel (Matthew 3:1-12) calls us to respond. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What does that mean for you? What is John the Baptist Read more
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Entering Advent in Hope: An Advent Credo by Daniel Berrigan, SJ
“It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss— This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, Read more
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Advent Preaching in Year A, The Gospel According to Matthew
Below are links to my previous sermons for Advent, Year A, the gospel according to St. Matthew: Advent 1A, Matthew 24:36-44 + 2016: Advent in America: Politics and Baptism. Advent 2A, Matthew 3:1-12 + 2016, Beauty, Hope, and Repentance. + 2013, Too Content to Repent? + 2010, Who Cares? Advent 3A, Matthew 2:11-21 + 2013, Expectations, Prisons, and Jailbreaks. Read more
Interrupting the Silence 