Posts Tagged ‘Discipleship’
Living Water – Br. James Koester
Br. James Koester
Preached at the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin, Boston.
The Third Sunday in Lent
There is a small porcelain figurine in a church sacristy that fascinates me. It depicts this encounter between Jesus, and the Samaritan woman.[1]
Jesus sits on one side of the well. He is tall, handsome, masculine, and has lots of shoulder length hair. He is deep in conversation with the woman. She stands, leaning over, with her elbow resting on the wellhead. She looks directly at Jesus. Her hair is loose and flowing, and her dress is falling off one shoulder. Her hand is under her chin, just so. She is enticing, alluring, and attractive.
What this figurine says about Jesus and the Samaritan woman is no mystery. It may be pure white, but the message is in technicolour: a seduction is happening.
But then, this is how the story has been told to us. Read More
A Triptych of Disciples – Br. Keith Nelson
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Br. Keith Nelson
The Feast of St. Matthias
If you’ve been inside a medieval church or even the medieval art wing of a major museum, you’ve probably laid eyes on a triptych. The triptych is a fine art format that presents three separate paintings united in a single composition or by a unifying theme. In praying with tonight’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, I see a triptych of themes that cluster around three characters: Judas, Peter, and Matthias, whose feast we keep today.
In the left-hand panel, I see Judas: the decisions he made and the consequences of those decisions in the recent past, when he was alive and counted among the twelve apostles named by Jesus. The past is disfigured by tragedy.
In the central panel – perhaps with the figure of Jesus above, or in the background – I see Peter. Peter is the central speaker and directs the actions of the gathered apostles in the present moment. But there are only eleven – not twelve. The present is incomplete and full of pain.
And in the right-hand panel, I see Matthias: the one upon whom the lot will fall to take the place abandoned by Judas. The future offers possibility and potential, if it is received and accepted with hope. Read More
Our Daily Cross – Br. Jack Crowley
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Br. Jack Crowley
Our Gospel passage today features one of my favorite words that Jesus uses. That word is “daily.” Jesus tells his disciples that they must take up their cross daily and follow him. Jesus could have said, take up your cross when you are ready or take up your cross when the time is right, but instead, Jesus says plainly, take up your cross daily.
I always appreciate how Jesus does not sugarcoat the truth. The daily grind of taking up our cross is something we all know too well. We each have our own version of this. Each day’s cross carries its own little splinters, its own knots in the wood, and it can rub us the wrong way on different days. In my own experience, how I carry the cross one day doesn’t always translate to how I must carry the cross the next day. In other words, I’m relearning or remembering how to take up my cross each day, but with a slightly different accent or technique each time. Read More
A Woman’s Place is.… – Br. David Vryhof
Br. David Vryhof
Luke opens the 8th chapter of his gospel with a summary of what Jesus has been doing thus far. He has been going “through cities and villages,” Luke tells us, “proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.” But the next sentence contains an unexpected twist: “The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities…. who provided for them out of their resources.” We are well aware of the 12 men who followed Jesus, but how many of us are aware of the women who also traveled with him? Given the culture in which Jesus lived, this was a highly unusual arrangement.
What do we know about these women? Read More
Conformed to the Image of Christ – Br. David Vryhof
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Br. David Vryhof
Micah 5:2-5a
Rom. 8:28-30
Matt. 1:18-25
As some of you know, I was raised in the Reformed tradition of the Church. Reformed churches are among those that emerged out of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Central to our particular denomination was a statement of faith written in 1563 called the Heidelberg Catechism. It was composed of a series of questions and answers conveniently organized into 52 sections – called “Lord’s Days.” Each Sunday – that is, each Lord’s Day – the pastor would preach on one of these sections, thus explaining the whole of the faith over the course of a year.
There was one question and answer, the first in the Catechism, that most of us knew by heart. It asked:
“What is my only comfort in life and in death?”
(Think for a moment. How would you answer that question?)
The Catechism’s answer began with these words:
“That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.”
Our “only comfort in life and in death,” the Catechism taught us, was that we belonged to Christ. And what a comfort that was – and is – for us who believe.
We are followers of Jesus. We belong to Christ, body and soul. This is our comfort and hope. We have been created by God, we have been rescued from the bondage of sin and death by God, we have been given new life in Christ, we are sustained and protected by God, we are told not to fear – because we belong to God.
This is the theme behind St Paul’s words to the Romans in today’s lesson. He reassures and encourages these early believers – many of whom were facing hardship and persecution – with these words: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to [God’s] purposes.” (Rom 8:28).
God has called us according to God’s own purposes, says Paul. And why has God called us? Listen carefully. We are called, Paul says, in order that we may be “conformed to the image of his Son.” (Rom. 8:27)
This phrase is the one that most captured my attention in today’s readings. We are called by God; drawn into the family of God; chosen, called, justified and glorified for this purpose: that we may be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to be conformed to the image of Jesus? It means we are to be like him, to act like him, to speak like him, to love like him. It means that we are to be “Christ-like” in everything we do and say.
What is it about Jesus that we should imitate? So much could be said here but let me offer a few suggestions that I believe have direct implications for us today, in our personal lives and in our communities, and in this country, especially as we approach one of the most important national elections in our history.
▪ Jesus taught us that the chief commandment was this: to love God with all our soul, heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
▪ He taught us that our neighbor is not only the person who lives next door to us but everyone we meet, including strangers and foreigners and those we might consider to be our enemies. His story of the Good Samaritan illustrates the kind of compassion we are to have for our neighbors, even when they are different from us. The Samaritan, considered an ‘outsider’ by Jews, was the hero in that story, caring for one who would have considered him an enemy.
▪ Jesus taught us to respect the dignity of all, and to recognize that every human being is created in the image of God and is entitled to respect. Jesus consistently showed compassion and respect to those who were poor or oppressed or outcasts. He associated with the marginalized and treated them with dignity. For those who imitate him, there is no place for maintaining one group’s superiority over another. Nor is there room for denying the human dignity of anyone based on the color of their skin, their sexual orientation or gender status, or their religious faith or lack of it.
▪ In Christ, Paul tells us, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28)
▪ The “kingdom” that Jesus came to bring – the Kingdom of God – was unlike any of the world’s kingdoms. It was an “upside down” kingdom, in which the first were last and the last first, in which the greatest was the servant of all. It was completely contradictory to the world’s values, which emphasize wealth, power and privilege. Its hallmark was humble service.
▪ Jesus called us to be “peacemakers,” reconcilers – not instigators of conflict and division, mistrust and hatred.
Are these our values as well? Are we being “conformed to the image of Christ,” day by day and year by year? Do those whom we look up to and choose to follow live by these principles? If our purpose is to become more Christ-like, how will that be reflected in how we live, how we relate to others, and how we vote?
We belong to God. God has called us for this purpose, to be conformed to the image of his Son. This is not only our comfort and our hope, but also our purpose and our life’s direction. We live for God.
Overlightened by Good News – Br. Jack Crowley
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Br. Jack Crowley
Don’t worry, each of these sermons is only five minutes long. You won’t be here all day. There will be plenty of time for the garden party.
One of my favorite parts of today’s Gospel passage is how it is overshadowed by good news. Overshadowed is probably not the right word, so I’ll make one up, maybe overlightened would be better.
The good news of Jesus’ resurrection overlightens the bad news of how this Gospel passage starts. That morning started really dimly. The only thing the Beloved Disciple knew that morning was that Jesus was dead and his body was missing.
So he ran. The Beloved Disciple ran, but he did not run away. He did the opposite. He ran to the tomb.
I always try to imagine how the Beloved Disciple’s felt during that run to the tomb. At some point in life, we all get acquainted with that feeling of anxiety and excitement swirling together. That feeling that makes your leg wobble, but you keep moving because sometimes that’s the only thing you can do.
The race to the tomb was an act of desperation, an act of faith, and an act of life. We all have our own race to the tomb. More importantly, we all have our own race to the resurrection. Our own jagged journey to the realization that life continues after death. This is not it. This thing of ours keeps going after we die.
Can you imagine the joy the Beloved Disciple must have felt when he realized what had happened? The good news that Jesus had in fact risen. The Beloved Disciple realized not only what had happened, but what Jesus’ resurrection implied. We too will rise again.
Until we get there, we too have lives to live. Lives mixed with action and contemplation. Lives full of running and realization. The good news is that we know the good news. We have time. We have time and more than a lifetime to figure it all out. What we cannot get done now, we will get done on the other side of this life.
Of course this does not mean we get to be lazy. The Christian life is a demanding life. It’s a life that demands meaning, and for us to make that meaning with God, ourselves, and one another. We must do this every day of our lives and beyond.
Remain – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
St. Matthias
Today is the feast of St. Matthias who replaced Judas among the twelve apostles. Matthias had been with them since John baptized Jesus in the Jordan. He witnessed Jesus’ ministry with the crowds, heard the teaching, witnessed healings, had his own personal and communal experience of Jesus. Probably he was one of the 70 whom Jesus sent out and later was at the crucifixion. Hardly anything is written about him. The apostles selected two candidates. They drew lots thereby choosing Matthias.
The group probably wasn’t seeking a big personality. They already had that in Peter, James, and John. Now they were amid grief and change as Jesus had ascended back to heaven. Instead, they likely sought stability, one who had stuck it out with them and whom they trusted would remain. Remaining with through grief and loss is hard.
In language from the gospel, Matthias chose “to abide in Christ” and this company of friends. Abide can mean to live in, to make yourself at home. Abide also means to remain or to stick with through challenge. Jesus says the Father stuck with me. I’ll stick with you no matter what. Abide in my love, Jesus says. Remain with me. Read More
Ash Wednesday Hangover – Br. Jack Crowley
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Br. Jack Crowley
The Thursday after Ash Wednesday feels like a hangover. Shrove Tuesday is full of excitement and pancakes. Ash Wednesday is solemn and full of reflective work. Then this Thursday comes along, and it doesn’t even have its own nickname. It’s just the second day of Lent.
In any journey, there’s always that feeling when the initial excitement of something beginning has worn off and you get a sense of how long the journey is actually going to take. It’s that part of a hike when after a mile or two you get a glimpse of the mountaintop through the trees and say oh wow, that’s a long way from here.
Six weeks from today, we Brothers will be sitting up here waiting for our Superior James to wash our feet. In between this Thursday after Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, there will be six weeks of daily life and all the joys and challenges that goes with it.
It’s with that spirit of daily life that makes the readings for two day of Lent perfect. In our Gospel this morning, Jesus tells his disciples that anyone who wants to follow him must “take up their cross daily.” I love how Jesus uses that word daily. Jesus didn’t have to include that word daily. Jesus could have just said that anyone who wants to follow him has to take up their cross. The fact that Jesus purposefully put in that word daily gets at something important to the Christian experience. Read More
Life Giving Choices – Br. David Vryhof
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Br. David Vryhof
In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus concludes his famous “Sermon on the Mount” with a series of contrasting images:
13-15 There is a narrow gate and a wide gate, says Jesus. The narrow gate leads to a hard road, while the wide gate opens to an easy road. The first leads to life, while the second leads to destruction.
15-16 There are good prophets and false prophets, says Jesus. The false prophets are those who come “in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” You will be able to distinguish between them by their fruits, he assures us.
16-20 Similarly, there are good trees that bear good fruit and bad trees that bear bad fruit, Jesus tells us. The good trees remain and continue to produce good fruit, but the bad trees are cut down and cast into the fire.
21-23 Then, Jesus says, there are those who say to me “Lord, Lord” and who do the will of my Father in heaven, and there are those who say, “Lord, Lord,” but do not do the will of the Father. The first group will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the second group will be sent away. Read More
Falling and Rising – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
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Br. Geoffrey Tristram
A visitor to a monastery went up to the abbot, and asked him, ‘What do you monks do all day? The abbot replied, ‘We fall down and we get up again. We fall down and we get up again.’ I think that is a pretty good description not just of the monastic life, but of the Christian life itself. It describes I think each one of us who try to follow Jesus Christ. As we try to live this life, we inevitably fall, mess up, we make mistakes, we sin, we fall short. But what is also true about this life of discipleship, is that when we do fall, Jesus is always there ready to pick us up. That is the paradigm of the Christian life: falling and getting up again, dying and being raised to new life.
Many years ago, I spent time living in a monastery in Belgium. It was very influenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the monks had adopted many Orthodox practices. The one I loved most happened during Lent. Whenever we entered the church during Lent, each of us, including the oldest monks, would not just bow to the altar, but we would fall down onto our hands and knees and touch the ground with our foreheads, acknowledging that we are but dust. But we didn’t stay there! Having acknowledging our fallenness, we immediately jumped up, because Christ has raised us up. I used to love doing that! Read More