Drain the Swamp

in

“Drain the swamp” is either a threat or a promise. It depends on which side of the swamp you reside. Turning a swamp into solid ground would require significant upheaval of terrain.

When the prophet Isaiah says the valleys shall be lifted up and the mountains made low, there’s a similar political aggressiveness to it. The explosive power to bring down a mountain is not trifling. The mountains are the rulers – kings and emperors; the valleys are the little people who pay the taxes and are fodder for their masters’ wars. Kings on mountains don’t take kindly to threats….

Read More

Beloved, Devote Yourselves to Holy Conduct and Piety

in

“Beloved.” That’s how the Apostle Peter addresses his hearers. And it’s how God addresses you. Even when He reproves you—through me, the preacher whom He also reproves—He reproves you as His beloved.

“Beloved, do not forget this one thing.” It would be better to say, “Don’t let this escape your notice.” The Holy Spirit in the Holy Scriptures is telling us a hidden truth. He’s revealing to us a secret, or a mystery. It is the mystery of how time with God is not at all as we experience time….

Read More

Populus Zion – The Second Sunday of Advent 2024

in

From Adam and the tree, to David with Bathsheba, to Judas grasping his 30 pieces of silver, it’s the entire story of mankind: man desires, and the object of his desire turns and devours him, like Gollum grasping the ring and in so doing falling into the fire. Our desires kill us.

The prodigal son is paradigmatic for man's condition; he leaves his father to satisfy his cravings. Augustine imagines the Lord saying to us, “You were hoping that if you left Me you would have something more.” …

Read More

Men and Women Zealous for Good Works (Advent 1 Midweek Evening Prayer)

in

The first thing to note about tonight’s Epistle is that men and women are addressed differently. Men and women are equal in dignity and worth. Men and women are not the same in terms of callings and duties, temperaments and responsibilities. First, the older men are called to actions befitting their station, to love as they lead, and to be patient with those who are led.

The older women are called away from gossip and wine toward the teaching of the younger women. The woman is to be, the NKJ says, a “homemaker.” I don’t think it means a woman cannot have a job; the term literally means “busy at home” or “energetic at home.” The idea is that she is not lazy but working, within her own sphere, for the good of the family. And this is done under the leadership of the man….

Read More

The Vigil of Christmas 2023

in

Joseph is in agony. He’s spent the very first season of Advent contemplating divorce. Joseph is betrothed to Mary. Some Bible translations render it “engaged,” but it’s much more than that. Betrothal is a legally binding marriage that is not yet consummated. Today, you can break an engagement without any consequence except the down payment on the reception venue. But Joseph and Mary are not engaged, they are betrothed, and the only way out of that is divorce….

Read More

The Epiphany of Our Lord 2023

in

In the days of Herod the king, men asked, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?”

A dangerous question! Herod was notoriously paranoid, and notoriously ruthless. He eliminated anyone he perceived a threat. This included several sons. To call Herod “troubled” at this news is a masterclass in understatement…

Read More

Advent Midweek Sermon: Saint Thomas the Apostle

in

“We have seen the Lord.” Thomas doesn’t believe it.

It’s hard to blame him. The dead remain in their tombs.

Jesus heard Thomas’ words: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Jesus repeats Thomas’ words back to him: “Put out your finger, and see the wounds; thrust your hand into My side.” And Thomas confesses: “My Lord and my God!”

That confession is Christianity: God is in the manger; God is on the cross. God was made man in Mary’s womb. The God-man died and was laid in a tomb….

Read More

Saint Andrew the Apostle 2022

in

Advent begins by calculating the Sunday closest to St. Andrew’s day. That’s today, November 30. That calculation ensures there are always exactly four Sundays in Advent. But there is more at work here.

Andrew is among the first called to be a disciple of Jesus. The Greeks titled Andrew Prōtoklētos - the “first called.” Andrew and a friend had been disciples of John the Baptist. They listened to John, who pointed them to Jesus and said, “Look! That’s the Lamb of God!”

That’s astonishing on many levels. What kind of preacher sends his own members away? …

Read More