Interrupting the Silence

Category: Holy Week

  • Life Unburied – A Sermon for Easter; Mark 16:1-8

    The collect and readings for Easter may be found here. The following sermon is based on Mark 16:1-8. Several years ago a woman told me that her great-grandson asked why she had so many wrinkles on her hands. “I’m old,” she told him. “Do you know what happens when you get old,” he asked. “You Read more

  • Life on the Edge – A Sermon for Holy Saturday; Matthew 27:57-66

    The collect and readings for Holy Saturday may be found here. The following sermon is based on Matthew 27:57-66. Jesus is dead. His body is in the tomb. We weren’t there that day, but we know what it is like when life takes us to the edge. It is a border where you know you Read more

  • Who Holds the Cross of Christ?

    Pilate asked Jesus, “Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” (John 19:10) Pilate thinks he holds the cross of Christ. Jesus knows otherwise. How we see and understand the cross is determined by who we believe holds the cross. In human hands the cross is imposed. Read more

  • Crucifixion, A Love Story – A Sermon for Good Friday; John 18:1-19:42

    The collect and readings for Good Friday may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 18:1 – 19:42. I have come to believe that the crucifixion did not kill Jesus. Crucifixion is merely the external force and circumstance of his death. At a deeper level the cross points to the intense relationship Read more

  • All Are Washed, All Are Loved – A Sermon for Maundy Thursday; John 13:1-17, 31-35

    The collect and readings for Maundy Thursday may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 13:1-17, 31-35. One by one, Jesus kneels on the floor in front of each disciple. One by one, the water of his love washes over the feet of each disciple. No one is left out. Judas. Peter. The Read more

  • Maundy Thursday Honor

    “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,  you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” – John 13:14 Washing feet: + The honor of being loved, served, and washed by Jesus. + The honor of loving, serving, and washing as Jesus. + The honor of loving, serving, and washing Jesus in Read more

  • The Fragrance of Holy Week

    Most of our time and attention in Holy Week are given to the triduum and rightly so. The three days of that period encompass Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. They are, perhaps, the most holy days of the year. If they hold that kind of prominence, then maybe we ought to look at what Read more

  • Emptying and Embodying – A Sermon for Palm Sunday; Mark 11:1-11

    The collect and readings for The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Year B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on Mark 11:1-11 and Philippians 2:5-11. Today is a strange mixture of gospel readings, emotions, and contrast. We began with a parade; shouts of “Hosanna,” a declaration of praise and a cry Read more

  • Holy Week, Love Week

    Sr. Dorcee has a really thoughtful post, On Entering Holy Week, that reminds us this is a week of love. Love is what makes the week holy. Yes, there is a lot going on this week and yet each day and each liturgy reminds us that we are loved. Each liturgy expresses that in a Read more