St. John the Divine Anglican Church

Jesus said, “And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” from the Gospel according to St. Mark. (13:24-37) Happy New Year! Too early you say? Maybe for your iPhone’s calendar, but not for the Church Year. This is the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of our Church Calendar year. The liturgical color has changed to Purple, and if you read some of the info out there

Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.” … from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. This the last Sunday of our Church year, and it is Christ the King Sunday. We heard in the Gospel today that Jesus, the Son of Man, one day will come and sit

Matthew 22:15-22 Jesus said, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” In our Gospel reading today, there was some controversy over some of the teaching of Jesus. The Pharisees were trying to trap him saying something that would get him in hot water. His plan is working. His answer is simple; “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,

For many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:1-14 This is a ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ parable, which is the sort that Jesus told when he wanted to make a very important point about life and death. If you have an interest in the afterlife, it’s important to take note. Jesus told many parables that involved the marriage customs of his day. This was something that was familiar to his

Matthew 21:33-43 In today’s parable we heard about a landowner who planted a vineyard and leased to some tenants. These tenants were happy to do the work, in the understanding that they would reap some of the fruit. It turns out they wanted all of the fruit, and the vineyard, too! The landowner had sent his servants to collect the harvest, but it did not turn out so well with

Matthew 21:28-32 Last Sunday we heard a parable from our Lord about the landowner and his workers. Remember the last line? “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Today we heard a parable about a man who had two sons. Which son did the will of his father? Those who were listening to him said, “The first.” Then Jesus lets them have it! He says,

Today we heard another parable about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was fond of using parables to communicate with his disciples. Some listened and understood what he was getting at, but most of his hearers must have thought he was a little kooky. This is one of those that made no sense to those with a mind for business. The land owner was hiring laborers all day long to work

These readings about forgiveness resonated with me today. So many stories I read have something to do with anger and the lack forgiveness. Why is it so hard to forgive? I understand that there are some resentments that have piled up over generations of people. People with power have abused the powerless. This is nothing new of course. Since Cain killed Abel there have been those who have killed others

We are living in a time of great conflict, which of course is no news to you, but it affects all of us. St. Paul wrote: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” I don’t know about you, but I hate conflict. I go out of my way to avoid it. I know that is not always a good thing. Sometimes you have to confront things

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” If you will recall from last week, I talked about St. Peter, or Rocky, as my NT professor liked to call him. Some like to put him on a pedestal, but it is obvious from our studies of the Bible that St.