Sermons Anglican Church of the Epiphany

At the hearts of all these readings, there is a longing for a real, tangible need and a reminder to refocus our attention on what is really important: proper and appropriate worship. If we move our attention from what we think we really need to worshiping God, our appetites will be reordered. Worship is meant to order reality and restore our proper desires.

Dcn Adewale Giwa-Alaka asks us to begin our Lent with the story of creation on, noticing in particular the differences God made in making man verses the rest of creation. The extra care God took and the materials he used to make man should give us perspective on our natural relationship with God. As we enter this season of repentance, realizing that natural relationship should be the start of our spiritual growth.

Readings for Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 24:12-18 Psalm 99 Philippians 3:7-14 Matthew 17:1-9
Dr. Adam Johnson uses the readings from the seventh Sunday of Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday to explore the story of the Transfiguration. The readings all show us how God has given the Church an unusual and somewhat backward concept of submission. In light of this unusual definition of submission we are able to see that the Transfiguration is not about looking at Jesus as something completely different from us as humans; but rather we are able to see him as a foreshadowing of our own fate.

Sunday’s Readings
Ecclesiasticus 15:11-20 Psalm 119:9-16 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37
Fr. Greg Peters explores a passage of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and how it applies to us, as part of the same Church, today.

Sunday’s Readings
2 Kings 22:8-20 Psalm 27 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 Matthew 5:13-20
Today’s readings are a reminder that our faithfulness to God, begun through our baptism, will be rewarded with blessings and eternal life.

Sunday’s Readings
Malachi 3:1–4 Psalm 84 Hebrews 2:14–18 Luke 2:22–40
While Jesus was presented at the temple as Mary and Joseph’s participation in the law, performing their purification after his birth, Jesus’s presence in the temple is more than simply a fulfillment of the law. Simeon and Anna’s witnessing of this event reminds us that everything Jesus does creates a bridge between the old testament and the new. Liturgically, we are situated between the nativity and the crucifixion; a reminder that Jesus is the light that came into the world and also the destroyer of nations.