Eighth Sunday after Trinity 2024

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‌I just finished reading The Infinite Game, a book by Simon Sinek. He says many people, companies, and countries are playing the wrong game; they’re serving short-term goals instead of infinite ones. There’s some worth to the book, but it’s not without flaws. One of its weaknesses is in what he calls “ethical fading.” This is where you have a gradual compromise of ethical standards in, say, what a corporation allows in its business practices. The problem is he assumes an ethical standard without ever defining it or establishing any foundation for ethics. For us, as disciples of Jesus, He is the foundation of all ethics and all Truth. In short, ethics is derived from the Word of God….

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Gaudete 2023

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Life goes through seasons. Some days, or years, it doesn’t feel there’s much to rejoice about. Some people are determined to fight. The Psalm says, “I am for peace, but they are for war.” In this life people often show themselves to be our enemies. We want peace. But there is something in the human spirit, a corruption. This corruption of the heart imitates the Satan. In Hebrew, the satan is the accuser. Enemies are quick to accuse us, sometimes unjustly. Jesus bears it in silence. Do we? No, too often, in turn, we are quick to assume the worst about others. Thus we become their satan, their accuser. Our only rejoicing, then, is at the downfall our enemy. This is not the proper Gaudete, the proper rejoicing….

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Trinity 18, 2023

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There are many congregations, but one church. The one, holy, catholic and apostolic church finds its expression in local assemblies. That’s what the word church means: assembly. Today’s Epistle reading is a letter to one of those local assemblies: “To the church of God that is in Corinth.”

We tend to think of Christianity in individual terms, a private faith, a personal experience or decision. Certainly the individual is involved, but Paul writes to Corinth as he does to all the other local congregations: collectively…

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Homily for Matins, Teacher Work Week 2023

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Today is the commemoration of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, and one of the greatest minds of the western church. It is fitting for us this morning to look to him to guide us on our task of forming minds in the classical Christian tradition.

Augustine teaches us that true education is listening to the Word of God, even—especially—when it tells us what we do not want to hear.

Your best servant is he who looks not so much to hear from you what he wants to hear, but rather to want what he hears from you….

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Sadness and the Resurrection

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The fall steeped the world in corruption. Since then our entire race has been walking in sadness. Picture Adam weeping as the blood of his son seeped into the earth. And Eve sobbing as her firstborn stormed off into exile. The sadness continues in every age, in every family.

Disciples of Jesus are not exempt. Sadness, suffering, even persecution awaits them. Sadness comes in the church’s struggle for faithfulness and charity. Sadness comes in the death of those we love. Sadness comes in the many times we have succumbed to the weakness of our fallen nature.

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