Christians are a new creation – there’s a new way to be human in the world, and it looks like being reconciled to God and then becoming a minister of reconciliation.

The Apostle Paul refers to this shift of the heart as the “spirit of faith,” as he helps the Corinthians understand that losing our lives is the path to freedom, because surrendering to God opens us to the fullness of God.

We can start by rediscovering the Sabbath. Enjoying the gift of rest and renewal that comes with the Sabbath. Use it as a means to recharge your physical, emotional, and spiritual batteries so that you are fully charged to embrace the world.

“…the only thing sillier than thinking we can explain the ways of God from a human perspective, is thinking that it doesn’t matter.”

Through Pentecost, God once again disrupts the monotony of our everyday lives in a way that feels uncomfortable yet compels us to wake up and listen. Once we are listening, God sends God’s spirit to remind us to always work towards unity and love for all. Pentecost in particular reminds us that it is US that God is calling to do the work of building up a unified, welcoming, beloved community for all people!

We don’t have to take on the weight of being able to figure all of it out with our intellect alone. When we pray and listen closely, God is with us.

Jesus is saying that we should always be willing to express joy. Whether it be with others or celebrating personal joy. We should never be too busy, too serious or too self-involved to allow joy in our lives.

God’s love—as God abides in us and we abide in God—is enduring, everlasting, and meant to be shared with the world around us.

“Perhaps you aren’t fully sure what the word abide means. To abide is to bear patiently, to endure without yielding, and to accept without objection.”

The presence of Christ among us lifts us up as we serve as the hands, voice and feet of God in the world. As one theologian put it, as our lives are changed, we help change the lives of others.

On this holy day of Resurrection, my prayer for each of us is that as we breathe deeply, down into our own bodies, we become more aware of the ways God is trying to start something new in our lives because that will lead to greater meaning, purpose, and belonging. Happy Easter!

Even though things are not as they seem, God is with you—with all of us. May your Holy Week be blessed with such insights.

I appreciated the question he challenged his congregation with, and will leave it for you to ponder: “What might it mean that God has brought us together?”

Saying yes to God is the most joyful thing we can possibly do. Even when it is scary, and painful, and hard.

Our very own Jim Stiven reflects on his recent experience of officiating at an interfaith funeral.

Mother Dawn teaches us how to engage with the self-examination we are called to in Lent to love more like Jesus loves.

This morning, I'd like to move us from our hands to our hearts, because the phrase that stood out for me in this week’s reading is “the meditation of my heart.” … As we take up the phrase, “the meditation of my heart,” we slide that up next to one of our primary practices during the season of Lent, which is to acknowledge our sins, and do our best to repent. Here, at St. Andrew’s, we do that each Sunday during Lent with the Litany of Penitence. Essentially, that litany (which simply means long prayer) helps remind us of the many ways our focus on God gets lost.

there was a two-burner gas camp stove where water was boiling, and a small table already set for communion. On one side of the chalice and paten was a case of water bottles for migrants who needed them. On the other side there was an insulated water dispenser filled with hot water from the camp stove. The spigot was poking slightly through the fence so migrants on the other side could make the ramen. The noodles would provide a bit of sustenance to those who had traveled many perilous miles in search of asylum.

Mother Brenda reflects: “A couple of weeks ago, I was sharing a story with a parishioner about some amazing coincidences, or what we might call “Divine interventions.” As I finished my story, she nodded her head, and said, “Hmm. It’s good that we can’t explain some things.”

Sermon for Candlemas, February 4th, 2024

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

These are some of the most famous words from the prolific author Frederick Buechner. An author I commend to you!

Let me repeat those words so we can sit with it for a moment: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness AND the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Today, in the gospel lesson, we hear the story of Simeon and Anna.

We might imagine that these two people found a sense of deep gladness while dutifully following God's word.