The Keys of St. Peters

Text: Acts 1:15-26
The Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Church faced a particular problem with the filling of an Apostolic vacancy. It was like the kind of problem you might have experienced yourself. You’ve bought something from Ikea. You open the package, and begin to sort out all the bits and pieces that have to be assembled. Soon, you begin to panic, because they didn’t send the instructions. That must have been exactly how the apostles felt in the very early days. What are we supposed to do? 

Text: Genesis 9:8-17
First Sunday in Lent, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There was once a pastor who was talking about the Flood during a children’s sermon. The children were called to the front of the sanctuary and asked to use their imaginations in thinking about the story: “What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear?” One youngster answered, “I hear the people in the water outside the ark screaming for help.” That was not an answer the pastor was expecting. The story of Noah and the flood is one of those biblical stories that can reveal a lot about what we think about sin. Many contemporary authors think that the story of Noah’s Ark portrays a wrathful God who flies off the handle in a fit of genocidal violence. Is that really the picture of God that is portrayed here? Let’s not rush too quickly to the rainbow. After all, it won’t mean anything to us until we come to terms with the why there is so much death and destruction.

Text: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Ash Wednesday
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It’s Lent again. The time of self denial. The time to pray more, fast, and give to those in need. Do those things sound like drudgery to you? The little child in all of us cries out, “I don’t wanna! Do I have to?!”

Text: Mark 9:2-9
Transfiguration of our Lord, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Transfiguration of Jesus is a bit like one of those movie previews that play before the main attraction, the ones narrated by the guy with the dramatic voice. They reveal just enough of the movie to make you want to see it, without giving away too much of the plot. Coming soon to a theatre near you. A sneak preview of coming attractions. And that’s what the Transfiguration is. A sneak peak, a glimpse of Jesus’ glory as the Son of God and the coming attraction of the kingdom he brings with his dying and rising. This morning, on this Transfiguration Sunday we are going to consider: why did Peter, James, and John need to see this sneak peak of Jesus glory? What benefit does this have for us here and now?

Text: Mark 1:21-28
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There was a great disaster at sea. A ferry, loaded with cars and tourists, had failed to shut its doors properly; the water began to pour in; the boat began to sink, and panic set in. People were screaming as the happy, relaxed atmosphere of the ship turned in minutes into something from a horror movie. All at once one man—not a member of the crew—took charge. In a clear voice he gave orders, telling people what to do. Relief mixed with the panic as people realised someone at least was in charge, and many managed to reach lifeboats they would otherwise have missed in the dark and the rush. The man himself made his way down to the people trapped in the hold. There he formed a human bridge: holding on with one hand to a ladder and with the other to part of the ship that was nearly submerged, he enabled still more to cross to safety. When the nightmare was over, the man himself was found to have drowned. He had literally given his life in using the authority he had assumed—the authority by which many had been saved.

Take that picture to a different sea coast, that of Galilee. A hundred meters inland, in the little village of Capernaum there was a synagogue — a place of prayer, Bible reading, teaching, worship, and community gathering.  In that synagogue there was a man beginning to teach who was not one of the official, recognised teachers. This man was Jesus, the new rabbi on the block. What would he say? The people were all ears. The passage today form Mark’s Gospel is all about Jesus’ authority. Who has authorised his teaching? What kind of authority does Jesus have, and how does that relate to our lives?

Text: Mark 1:14-20
Third Sunday After the Epiphany, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Last Sunday we heard Jesus call Philip and Nathanael. In today’s Gospel reading he calls four fishermen at the Sea of Galilee — Peter, Andrew, James and John. The astonishing part of this story is that they dropped everything, put their lives on hold, left their dad in the boat, and followed Jesus. They followed Jesus without any idea where it would lead, or what it would cost. This invites the question: Would you leave it all to follow Jesus? Many of the decisions we make in life are economic. Can we afford it? Will it break the bank? Is there enough money? We make important choices in our lives by counting the cost. How much do you think it costs to be a Christian? Of course, being a Christian does cost us some time and money, but so does everything else in life. But how much does it really cost? Can you have forgiveness without repentance? Can you have baptism without church discipline? Can you receive the benefits of communion without confessing your sin? Can you have justification without sanctification? Can you enjoy God’s grace without suffering, the cross, and trial? This morning we’re going to meditate upon the call of Jesus in your own life. How has Jesus called you? How much does it cost to be a Christian?

Text: John 1:43-51
Second Sunday After Epiphany, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The book of Genesis paints the Patriarch Jacob as a schemer and a trickster. He tricked Esau out of his birthright and even swindled him out of his father’s blessing. But Jacob’s trickery came back to bite him: Esau was going to kill him. Jacob left in a hurry, not a penny to his name and nothing but the clothes on his back. One night, while on the run, he had a dream. He saw a staircase with its foot on the ground and its top reaching up to heaven. God’s angels were going up and down on it. The Lord God himself came and stood beside him. God promised to be with him that he would bring him back to his land in peace and prosperity.  Fast forward to our reading from John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see haven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Jesus identifies himself with, of all things, the stairway in Jacob’s dream. A stairway connecting earth to heaven, a stairway which the angels ascend and descend. So, why does Jesus identify with a stairway? 

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Text: Mark 1:4-11
The Baptism of our Lord (First Sunday After the Epiphany)
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Some people may have a difficult time relating to God as a father. Fatherhood is an idea that we’re all very familiar with, and we may project our own expectations or experiences of what a father should be, or has been, onto our heavenly Father. Many children grow up in our world who have never had a father say to them ‘You are my dear child’, let alone, ‘I’m pleased with you.’ Many never get that kind of affection, neither in words, in looks, or in hugs. In the Western world, some fathers who think this in their hearts might be too tongue-tied or embarrassed to tell their children how they fell; how delighted they are with them. Many, alas, go by the completely opposite route: angry voices, bitter rejection, the slamming of doors. For many, the word father may bring up memories of abuse or neglect. But, the baptism of Jesus tells us something very important about what our Heavenly Father says to Jesus, and what he wants to say to us.