SSJE Sermons SSJE Sermons

“Pruning lets go what is alive but not growing in a helpful direction. Pruning lets go what is dead but still taking up space. Pruning lets a tree more fully live and bear more fruit. Letting go is hard on trees and in our lives, yet key to living well.” Br. Luke Ditewig encourages us to let go of what is no longer serving us, so that we can live well.

“What can’t others know, about you, about your innermost self? What desires and needs are unexpressed, what fears or joys unvoiced? How does your proper name, this sign of your unique, irreplaceable self, resonate in your own heart’s chamber? With what richness does it echo back to you the fullness that is you? Jesus, the good shepherd, knows you this way.” Br. Lain Wilson reflects on how we are known as individuals and called together as a family by the One who knows us each by name.

“Jesus knows what motivates us. He knows our hearts, our minds, and our stomachs. He knows what makes us tick. He knows this for each and every one of us, in our own peculiar way.” Br. Jack Crowley urges us to bring our hunger to God's table.

“Today is predicted to be an amazing day for you. For you to live your life fully, freely, meaningfully, joyfully – for you to have the time of your life – live your life in sync with the Creator of life, and that will make a world of difference.” Br. Curtis Almquist dives into the amazing invitation to pray our lives – all of it, the whole shebang – and offers practical suggestions for how we can work this life-changing practice into the flow of our day.

“If our daily experiences of loss and failure and frustration prepare us for the certainty of our deaths, our daily experiences of trust—and the hope and joy and love that accompany them—do so as well.” Br. Lain Wilson celebrates the trust that transforms even our ultimate death into a promise of life.

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Has the Risen Christ ever come to you when you were in a place of need?  If so, how did he come? I’m moved by the resurrection accounts in the Fourth Gospel, in which Jesus returns to his broken-hearted disciples as the Risen One, meeting them just where they are.” Br. David Vryhof marvels at the tender, patient forgiveness of Jesus in the Resurrection narratives – the very same love that he extends to us as well.