Sermons From St. John the Divine St. John the Divine Episcopal Church - Houston, TX

Despite inevitable failures and disappointments, Christian congregations are to be new families whose head is Jesus. In family with him, members see in each other not only a fellow sinner, but also one for whom Christ died. Within the family of the church, we always see each other in baptismal garments.

When God brings salvation he creates a new people, a new family. Jesus continues this pattern of salvation by creating a family, not of biology or ideology but of his grace and healing.

Are Christians kooky to think God speaks to us? How do we cultivate a life where the word of the Lord is not rare but real, where God’s voice may be mysterious and unpredictable, but also revealing and loving?

Christ is Lord of the Sabbath who gives us rest by sharing his life with us, making us one with himself. As Christ’s Body, we are made into a people called to witness to that life we've been given, not in the form of a “welcome sign,” but in the very form of our shared life as St. John the Divine.

So many of us long for the exuberant, joyful life of self-abandonment to the call to be Christian, to be living within the inner life of God that is forever inviting us in.

Before his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus promised his disciples that he was sending the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would bear witness to all that Jesus did and spoke. Jesus further promised his disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came and would bear witness to him as well. This promise of empowerment is for disciples (believers in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord). Both St. Luke and St. John help us to see the need for this empowerment. We each need this Pentecost experience for an effective life of witness.