Holy Words From Holy Cross

When must we trust God?  How do we know when we are hearing God clearly?  Deacon Michael recounts a very personal history that helps us understand this as we prepare to receive the Christ child.

The message from today's readings is "be prepared."  But prepared for what?  How should we be prepared?  The season of Advent reminds us of the nature of the most important preparation we undertake in this life.

"If you don't toot your own horn, nobody will toot it for you."  This bit of conventional wisdom must have passed Jesus by, for He was always humble.  In fact, on this Christ the King Sunday, we remember Jesus' most abject moment of humiliation, His crucifixion.  When we can look at the crucified Jesus and see God, only then are we beginning to truly understand God.

"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance."  These words of Irish lawyer and politician John Philpot Curran are familiar to most Americans because of how they were used by abolitionists to help get rid of the institution of slavery.  But there are more ways to be enslaved than to wear physical chains.  Christians treasure the freedom we have in Christ, but what does Jesus require of us to retain that freedom?  Guest preacher Dean David McGettigan reflects with us.

On Veterans' Day we honor the sacrifices of the men and women of our armed forces.  Sacrifice is a central theme of the Christian faith and an indispensable value in all cultures.  What does Jesus teach us about the true nature of sacrifice?

It is blasphemous to even think of Jesus saying something ridiculous, but the Beatitudes--Jesus' pronouncement of blessings over those the world would deem cursed--is just that... unless Jesus is right. Is He?  Listen and decide for yourself.

You cannot get a good answer to a bad question.  What sort of question should we be asking as we hear Jesus teach on this Reformation Sunday?

Of all the stories Jesus tells, the story of the unjust judge causes the most confusion.  What is Jesus trying to teach us through this difficult story?

Moralistic interpretations of the story of the ten lepers Jesus healed miss the crucial point that this is a story about healing... What is true healing and what does this story teach us about it?

There is increasing misunderstanding and fear of Christians in the United States.  Sociologist George Yancey calls this "Christianophobia."  How can Christians overcome the increasing prejudice directed against them by an uncomprehending culture?  What has God directed us to do?

Why do we believe what we believe?  Most of us do so because we trust our teachers... What sort of teacher can we trust?  Jesus gives us a jarring example in today's parable.

In the confusing parable of Luke 16:1-15, Jesus excoriates the followers of God and seems to praise a dishonest manager.  What is going on?  Understanding the distance of our culture from 1st century Palestine will help us understand what Jesus is trying to teach us...

Does Jesus think we want too much... or too little?  What is our final destiny as children of God and why would the pursuit of holiness have anything to do with the forgiveness of sins?

We live in a world obsessed with unity.  It is all the talk in our popular culture, so it is strange and shocking to hear Jesus talk about Himself as a force for division rather than unity.  When Jesus' words take us by surprise, we ought to stop and reflect more deeply upon them.  Why and how would the presence of "The Prince of Peace" be the cause for conflict and division?

How do we dare approach the Creator of the Universe with our paltry concerns?  What grounds do we have for thinking He would even pay attention let alone answer our prayers?

Everyone loves heroes.  What is a true hero?  Why do Christians revere Jesus so much?

Everyone has to set priorities.  How do we set them?