The Keys of St. Peters

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Luke 1:26-38
Fourth Sunday in Advent, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

When was the last time you were lonely? Loneliness is a very real part of our human experience. For some, this pandemic has simply made their loneliness feel that much worse. I’m sure some here could agree that at times, going through this pandemic has been very lonely. The internet can keep some of us connected to hundreds of people online, but we might not even see one person’s face. We have to keep our distance from people to avoid spreading of the virus. No hugs, no handshakes. We have missed out on family events and spending time with friends. We’ve missed dining out and concerts. But most of all, we are missing relationships. It is almost certainly true that this epidemic has left most of us with a feeling of loneliness. We can feel like no one is there for us, or no one cares about us, or no one would miss us if we were gone. It can even feel like God himself is distant from us. This kind of loneliness is overwhelming and can be devastating to our souls. The texts for this Fourth Sunday in Advent have something to say to those feelings of loneliness. 

John 1:6-8, 19-28
Third Sunday in Advent, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who are you? In a culture obsessed with self-actualisation, we feel the constant pressure to ask ourselves who we are and how we define ourselves. We’re pressured to identify ourselves by our jobs, financial status, successes, family, sexual orientation, gender, appearance, what other people say about us. There are numerous ways that we may identify ourselves. But what happens to our identity when things change? We may experience failure or rejection, lose our family. We might find ourselves completely burned out. When our circumstances change, our identity, our sense of who we are, can change too. Someone whose identity is wrapped up in their spouse is going to have a difficult time if that spouse dies. So, “Who are you? What do you say about yourself?” That’s the question posed to John the Baptist by the delegation from Jerusalem, the religious priests and Levites who were sent to investigate this strange wilderness man. How John identified himself can help us find a reliable answer to this question: Who are you?

Text: Isaiah 40:1-11
Second Sunday in Advent, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What does comfort look like? When might we need to comfort someone else? You might think about the victims of calamity, or parents whose children have died. Your mind might dwell on people without the means to sustain themselves. Certainly those who are vulnerable to physical threat and bodily harm need comfort. There are those who have been the victims of trauma and abuse, and a comforting word might be needed a ray of hope for a dark and dreary mood. God’s message in today’s text from the prophet Isaiah is, “Comfort.” What’s surprising in our text is not that there are people who need comfort; it is that God commands that they be comforted. God wants his preachers to bring comfort to his people, to speak tenderly to his church. What is this comfort? And how does this comfort come to us? Read More

Mark 10:46-52
Advent 1, Midweek
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was a hot, dry and dusty spring day, but the road leading out of Jericho was a good place for a beggar to beg. Scores of people travelled to and from Jerusalem. It was particularly good place for Bartimaeus. While he was sitting at the side of the road, he heard a big commotion. A large crowd was coming down the road. His sharp ears could pick out the voices. He heard the name Jesus. Jesus – that healer and teacher from Nazareth. Bartimaeus heard about Jesus. How Jesus healed the sick, and cast out demons, and raised the dead. He’d heard about Jesus’ compassion, His love for the lost, His call to discipleship. Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could help him. As the crowd drew closer, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Mark 13:33-37
First Sunday in Advent, Series B
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most modern houses don’t have a doorkeeper. It’s up to the owners to lock up, and perhaps set-up security alarms. But in some big cities, things may be a bit different. Many people now live in apartment buildings which employ a full-time guard by the main entrance. There may even be several guards on duty 24 hours a day. They see everyone who enters or leaves. This is how it would have been with a great house in Jesus’ day. Jesus says he’s like a man who goes on a journey and leaves his servants in charge, each with the authority to do their work. Watch! Be alert! Stay awake! Four times Jesus says it in four verses of this morning’s Gospel. That’s the spirit of Advent – watchfulness, alertness, waiting with sober vigilance. Be on the lookout, as they say. The Lord is near. This is the warning that Jesus issues to his followers as we face the troubles of this world.

Text: Matthew 25:14-30
Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost | Proper 28, Series A
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Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

How many people here were audited by the CRA recently? Were you excited? Did you pop open a bottle of champagne and celebrate with your spouse? “Dear! We’re being audited! Come celebrate!!” No, far from it, we usually approach such an event with annoyance, and perhaps a bit of dread. It’s one thing to submit your tax information to the Government. It’s quite another to get the notice that the Government didn’t quite believe you and is now going to go over everything you submitted with a fine-tooth comb. Perhaps they’ll even ask you to submit receipts, proof of this or that, and most certainly, more wonderful forms to fill out. The amount of fear and dread that might come upon you is related to how accurate you were with your information. If you lied, or tried to hide something, it’ll be discovered. If you kept bad records and threw away those receipts, you won’t be able to claim it. And so on. It’s a real hassle isn’t it? So, we really don’t like being audited. In our Gospel lesson Christ our Lord tells a story about three slaves being audited.

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