Joseph Wiesenfarth Epiphany: 8 January 2017 Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 There are two kinds of epiphany: one beginning with a capital letter and one beginning with a small letter. The one beginning with the capital E is what we are celebrating today. Dictionaries tell us it is “A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.” In Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language of 1755 we get the additional information of the “commemoration of our Saviour’s [birth] being manifested to the world, by the …
Lynne Smith’s Homily from Christmas Day, December 25, 2016
Christmas Day – 2016 Lynne Smith, OSB In September this year, a husband and wife and their five children boarded a bus in a refugee camp in Tanzania to be taken to a plane where they would be flown to their new home in another country. The husband had lived in the refugee camp since he was eleven. The family didn’t know where they were going. When Joel Makeci Ebuela got off the plane, he asked, “Where am I?” He and his family, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had arrived in the Missoula, Montana to start their new …
Jerry Folk’s Homily, December 11, 2016
December 11, 2016 (Advent III) Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison, WI John the Baptist is a prominent figure in the scripture readings for the Advent Season. Last Sunday we heard him declare, “The Reign of God is at hand and the Messiah will be here soon with a winnowing fork in his hand. He’ll separate the wheat from the chaff and throw the chaff in an unquenchable fire.” A few verses later, John reveals the identity of the Messiah. He points to Jesus and says, “He is the one.” But in today’s reading he’s not so sure. Reports about what Jesus …
Patricia La Cross’ Homily, December 4, 2016
In today’s gospel from Matthew, John proclaims a Jesus who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus is the one singled out by the Creator to bestow the gifts of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and fearful wonder before God. Jesus is the One who will restore justice and unite the world. It is our mission as a faith community—from a hill no less—to signal to the peoples that this living God still calls us to live together in harmony, with patient courage. As we entered this Advent season last week I was stifling a cough …
Joseph Wiesenfarth’s Homily, November 27, 2016
Homily 11.27.16 Joseph Wiesenfarth First Sunday of Advent 2016 Isaiah 2:1-5, Romans 13:11-15, Matthew 24:36-44 Reluctantly, I’ve come to the conclusion that I was not formed to be deeply spiritual. This whole business of looking to the end of things by forgetting about what you eat and drink and whom you do or don’t marry doesn’t sit well with me. Logically, I’m more at home with those passages of the New Testament in which Jesus eats and drinks with sinners than with those that ask me to pass through the eye of the needle. Indeed, perhaps I’m too fond …
Libby Caes’ Homily, November 20, 2016
November 20, 2016 Sunday of the Fulfillment Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 46, Colossians 1:11-20, Luke 23:33, 34b-43 Because Psalm 46 frames my reflections I invite you to listen to it again with the ear of your heart: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of …
Heidi Haverkamp’s Homily November 13, 2016
The Rev. Heidi Haverkamp Holy Wisdom Monastery – Sunday Assembly November 13, 2016; Proper 28C Luke 21:5-19 It is good to worship God with you this morning, my friends of Sunday Assembly. My name is Heidi Haverkamp and I am an oblate here. I am also an Episcopal priest, currently serving a church in downtown Chicago. It has been my privilege to lead the oblate retreat this weekend and I am honored to Bring the Word this morning with you. I don’t know about you, but I feel as though the world I know came to an …
Witnessing to light and hope
Homily and reflections before and after the 2016 national elections “The human race is facing a darkness that is pervasive and frightening…endless wars, climate change, rampant disease, corporate power, increasing poverty and natural disaster.” Edwina Gateley shared these thoughts in an essay for All Saints Day in 2014.* She went on to say that it seemed to her that “we are…in the midst of a global dark night.” Like Daniel in his day (see Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18), many people today see visions of disaster based on the coming election, climate change, the spread of ISIS, violence in our cities. It …
Lynne Smith’s Homily, November 6, 2016
All Saints/All Souls Sunday November 6, 2016 In an essay for All Saints Day in 2014, Edwina Gateley wrote: “The human race is facing a darkness that is pervasive and frightening…endless wars, climate change, rampant disease, corporate power, increasing poverty and natural disaster.” (http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20141027JJ.shtml) She said that it seemed to her that “we are…in the midst of a global ‘dark night.’” Many people see visions of disaster based on the coming election, climate change, the spread of ISIS, violence in our cities. It is difficult to keep our spirits from being deeply troubled or our visions of the future from …
Paul Knitter’s Homily, October 23, 2016
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct 23, 2016 A LECTIO DIVINA HOMILY Paul Knitter Introduction: Today we’re going to try a little experiment. “Lectio divina” is an integral part of Benedictine spirituality. So I’d like to explore with you whether we can occasionally integrate lectio divina into our homilies. Today I’m going to attempt a “lectio-divina-homily.” — I, and the Liturgy Committee, will be eager to hear what you think. Lectio divina (literally: divine reading), as many of you know, is a contemplative way to read Scripture. Basically, it consists of two steps: you first read …