January 2022

The sermon for Sunday, January 30, 2022, was preached extemporaneously as a response to 1 Corinthians 13.1-13.

In fulfilling the words from Isaiah, Jesus assures those who are oppressed that God is on their side and that they will be set free. Also in pronouncing that he is the fulfillment of of these words from Isaiah, Jesus sets the agenda for his church — his ministers and body in the world today…There is legislation pending in our own legislature that would make a huge difference in remedying mass incarceration — and there’s still work to go.

The wedding party didn’t do anything to warrant or earn more wine than they needed and certainly not wine that is being so celebrated. Jesus just gave it freely so that his disciples and we could believe. There are lots of ways to theologize and allegorize this passage that only appears in John. But as someone in Bible study pointed out this week when John wants to theologize, John does it. When we just take this text on its face there’s Good News of the abundance of God and that what we need, what God is here.

Just as Jesus became human that we might become divine, he went into the water that it all might be sanctified. Jesus didn’t need a sin washing. But the whole creation needed the Word to become flesh and dwell among us. When we forget scripture screaming to us who God is and what God has done we’re often left even more unfilled because of all the ways that we individually and collectively fail to measure up and just quite can’t seem to save ourselves.

The Rev. Joseph Peters-Mathews is the vicar of St. Hilda St. Patrick Episcopal Church. The sermon for Thursday, January 6, 2022 was preached extemporaneously as a response to the texts for Epiphany.

We have had to give up so many of the things we cherish and have always taken for granted: seeing our aging or dying parents; hugging our newborn grandkids if we are so lucky; the contact we crave and miss with dear friends and family…It would cause Jesus immense agony to accept and bow down to his Father’s wish for him. Jesus had free will to accept or reject. Seems to me that what God asks of us is a far sight easier to say “yes” to.