A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (July 5) 2020 Epistle reading: Romans 8:18-23 Gospel reading: Luke 6:36-42 The Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity: “O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being … [Read more…]
Spiritual Communion is the practice of desiring union with Christ in the Holy Eucharist when an individual cannot receive Holy Communion in person. Spiritual Communion is practiced in the Anglican tradition as well as in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist Churches. Spiritual Communion has been especially used by Christians in times of persecution, such … [Read more…]
Very few people in our nation and in our state attend church on a regular basis. I think probably all of us here this morning are aware of this fact. I recall reading some time back that only one out of five Virginians attends church on a regular basis. Believing Christians themselves are often not … [Read more…]
“For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Well, the great day that we’ve all been waiting and preparing for is finally here. The Feast of Christmas. The … [Read more…]
In today’s Gospel reading there is a continuation of the running debate between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day. In our passage, one of the Pharisees who was also a lawyer attempts to trick Jesus by asking which is the greatest commandment in the law. Earlier in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the chief priests … [Read more…]
The beginning of the Christian walk is a commitment to a life of prayer. It is only by grace that we are able to rise above the limitations of our fallen nature and do the will of God. The grace of God comes to us chiefly through the sacraments and prayer. If we neglect the … [Read more…]
Fifty years ago the great Russian Orthodox priest and theologian Fr. Alexander Schmemann wrote a marvelous book titled Great Lent: Journey to Pascha. Father Schmemann details how the Eastern Orthodox liturgy during Lent helps and enables this journey, this passage, this transition from one spiritual state into another. As Anglicans, we of course don’t have … [Read more…]
Lent is a 40-day period of spiritual preparation for the greatest feast of the Christian Year: the Sunday of the Resurrection, commonly known as Easter Day. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (March 6th this year) and concludes with the Easter Vigil on the Saturday evening (April 20th this year) before Easter. The great 20th-century Russian … [Read more…]
February 10 was the last Sunday in the Epiphany season, as next Sunday begins the Pre-Lenten season. Lent and Pre-Lent are more somber in tone than the Epiphany season, and so some of the more joyful aspects of the Church’s liturgy, such as the Gloria in excelsis, are not used then. Anciently, this included dropping … [Read more…]
“O wondrous interchange! The Creator of mankind, taking upon him a living body, vouchsafed to be born of a Virgin; and proceeding forth as Man, without seed, hath made us partakers of his Divinity.” I have always loved this antiphon on the Psalms, used during Christmastide, which I know from The Prayer Book Office (1963), … [Read more…]
