Category: Liturgical Feasts and Fasts
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A Life that Fits – A Sermon on Luke 2:22-40 for the Feast of the Presentation
I recently heard a man say, “I feel as if I have dropped into my own life and it fits.” It made me smile. It was such a great description. I think we all want to be able to say that. He went on, however, to say that it wasn’t about his family, his work,… Read more
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A Blessing for the Feast of the Presentation
In a previous post I wrote about blessing candles on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. But what about a blessing specific to the feast itself? The Book of Occasional Services offers several blessings specific to seasons and feast days. It does not, however, offer a blessing specific to the… Read more
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A Blessing of Candles for the Feast of the Presentation
The Feast of the Presentation, celebrated on February 2, is one of the major feasts in the church year. It is sometimes known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification. This feast is celebrated forty days after Christmas and commemorates the presentation of Jesus and the purification of Mary in the Jerusalem temple (Luke… Read more
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He is Always Coming to Us – A Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17
“And do you come to me?” (From Matthew 3:13-17, Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, the First Sunday after the Epiphany) That’s the greeting Jesus receives from John. John almost seems surprised, taken aback, that Jesus has come to him. John has been in the wilderness preaching and baptizing. “Repent,” he says, “for the… Read more
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Where is the Child? – An Epiphany Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12
“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (From Matthew 2:1-12, Feast of the Epiphany) I received an anonymous letter in this afternoon’s mail. There was nothing to indicate who or where it was from. Everything was handwritten. It was a single piece of notebook paper. It said, “God please forgive… Read more
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Epiphany Proclamation 2014
The Church has a couple of traditions related to The Feast of the Epiphany. One of those is The Epiphany Proclamation (another being the blessing of homes). During the liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, the Church proclaims the date of Easter as well as other feast and fast dates. The Proclamation announces… Read more
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Epiphany House Blessing with Chalk
The Church has a custom of blessing homes on the Feast of the Epiphany and the week following. Family and friends gather to ask God’s blessing on their homes and those who live in or visit the home. It is an invitation for Jesus to be a daily guest in our home, our comings and goings,… Read more
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Christmas On! A Sermon on John 1:1-18
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (From John 1:1-18; First Sunday after Christmas) How was your Christmas? It is a question I have asked and been asked over the last few days. While I understand what is being asked I also hear an underlying assumption that Christmas is over. It is the… Read more
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Gazing into the Face of a New Beginning – A Christmas Sermon on Luke 2:1-20
She gave birth, wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger. It’s all rather matter of fact as St. Luke tells it (Luke 2:1-20; Christmas Eve). It sounds like it could be any birth. It was probably like a lot of births throughout the world today. A newborn, a blanket of sorts,… Read more
Interrupting the Silence 