SSJE Sermons SSJE Sermons

“The questions—and the answers—aren’t for Jesus. Jesus already knows. They’re for Peter, who may need that repeated invitation to be real, to bring to the surface his own grief, to know assuredly not only that he loves but that he is loved. And to hear—also, repeated three times—the way that this love will be lived out in the world: 'Feed my sheep.'”

Br. Lain Wilson considers how questions are an invitation to be real, to dig deeper.

“How does this square with the world of my experience, and perhaps yours, in which atheist friends often show astonishing love, and Christian neighbors use their testimony to propagate hate speech? I don’t have easy answers to these questions. If I did, that would probably be artificial consolation, which is not why we are here. We are here for the good news of Jesus Christ.” Br. Keith Nelson shares two powerful stories that call us to love, in Jesus' name.

“Consider your own life.  Will your words and deeds be strong enough and pure enough to survive?  Do they build up and encourage others?  Do they strengthen the communities of which you are a part?  Is what you speak true and honest, loving and uplifting?  Do your words and actions have lasting value?  Or are you building with straw?” Br. David Vryhof encourages us to consider the true foundation of our lives, words, and actions.

“Do you think of yourself as a world-conquerer?” Br. Keith Nelson ponders what it means to believe.

“A first step—a first step in our own cooperation, our working with God’s transforming us—a first step in a lifetime of first steps—is to stand silent. To stand silent in awe, witnesses to a love that cannot help but strike us silent. Words will follow—but here and now, we can do no better than the beloved disciple did: to stand silent, and believe.” Br. Lain Wilson reminds us that while our words matter deeply, so too (so, first), does our silence.

“The race to the tomb was an act of desperation, an act of faith, and an act of life. We all have our own race to the tomb. More importantly, we all have our own race to the resurrection.”

Br. Jack Crowley urges us toward the empty tomb, even on legs wobbly and with hearts racing.