Pentecost XXOctober 26, 2025Joel 2:23-32 II Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 The United States is a fascinating country. Few places in the world have such a diversity of movements that all claim to follow the same Jesus Christ. I wouldn’t be surprised if God himself had given up counting how many church movements there are…
Pentecost XIXOctober 19, 2025Jeremiah 31:27-34 II Timothy 3:14- 4:5 Luke 18:1-8 I think that for many people, it is far easier to pray prayers of thanks or in distress than it is to pray persistently in times of prolonged and wearisome oppression; let alone to make prayer something that is as natural and regular to…
English OktoberfestOctober 5, 2025Lamentations1:1-6 II Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10 This year marks the eightieth anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in the Second World War. The members of the generation that saw that most traumatic upheaval in Europe are diminishing year by year. Many of them showed enormous courage in the face of the inhumanity…
English Pentecost XVI September 28, 2025Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31 When in church, we often read Jesus’ stories in a very devotional way, which sometimes keeps us from seeing that they are often caricatural, humorous, or even biting. Much of his social critique and his moral insightsare expressed in this manner. We tend to listen to or to read Jesus’ words as if they were the oracles of a deity—and,…
Français Pentecôte XV 21 septembre 2025 Jérémie 8:18-9:1 1 Timothée 2:1-7 Luc 16:1-13 Lorsque j’ai été ordonné prêtre en Angleterre il y a plus de trente ans, l’une des critiques les plus courantes à l’égard des prêtres était que nous étions « tellement tournés vers le ciel que nous n’étions d’aucune utilité sur terre…
Pentecost XIVSeptember 14, 2025Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Our two little parables from Luke’s gospel are very appropriate for Rentrée Sunday today. Not only do they talk about finding something that was lost or gone astray. More specifically in the case of the lost sheep, we hear a story about coming home.…
English Pentecost XIII September 7, 2025Jeremiah 18:1-11 Psalm 139:1-5, 13-18 Philemon 1:1-21 Luke 14:25-33 I am often struck by the gap between the way the first disciples, like Paul, lived the Gospel and the way we live the gospel today. Many times, the words of Jesus themselves seem very much at odds with how we…
English – Click to open Pentecost XIIAugust 31, 2025Jeremiah 2:4-13 Hebrews 13:1-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14 Most encounters with angels and the voices delivering their messages are a little more obvious than those recommended to us in the reading from the book of Hebrews. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that,…
Pentecost XI August 24, 2025 Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17 Before the invention of the steam engine powered by coal, most of the pulling force needed to handle very heavy objects relied on animal or human strength (often enforced), and on two major technical innovations: the lever and the pulley. It is…
Pentecost XAugust 17, 2025Isaiah 5:1-7 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 I have been trying to grow a grapevine in a corner of the little roof garden above my apartment. I had a vision of sitting underneath its shade; making stuffed vine leaves, and maybe picking a bunch of grapes or two. Nearly twenty years ago, I…