Pentecost May 31st, 2026

 As Preached  by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

Joel 2:23,3:5 Acts1:11, Jn 7;37-52,8:12

A question I have had since my youth is why does Scripture in most translations state there was no Spirit? We know the Spirit is referred to often in the Hebrew Scriptures. I have found only one older translation that was -no Spirit given or, as in this mornings reading, no Spirit as yet-which makes more sense.  Jesus needing to be glorified by being taken up to join the Father first before the Spirit could be given still leaves me wondering what these words all meant.

However, the important thing to understand from this morning’s gospel is that the Spirit was given to Christ’s followers and caused them to be fearless and courageous in spreading the Good News that Christ had been teaching them.

We too, have been given this same Spirit. I t is the living water Jesus promised us.

The words of the prophet Ezekiel;  A new heart I will give you and a new Spirit I will put within you … “I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your idols. The prophet’s words are very powerful as they remind us of the continuous temptations to worship idols and false gods even in our own day if we can but recognize them.

It is so easy to have vengeance in our hearts and acid in our souls. A new heart can save us from any desire to hurt as we have been hurt. To punish another if we have been punished or to terrorize if we have been terrorized. The living water Christ is giving us is the strength it takes to listen rather than to judge, to trust rather than to fear, to try again to make peace even if peace seems to elude us.

An ancient elder taught that the first task of the spiritual life is learning to see our own reactions clearly. When angry, how quickly do we justify it? When fearful, we like to think it is being wise. Do we truly know our motivations for what we do and don’t do? Some of us live in this world as if we are already in the next.  We remove ourselves from things that are so called worldly in order to aspire to heavenly things, rather than seeking justice for all people or care for the oppressed or confronting evil. There is a tension between what is considered profane and what is spiritual. The holy life, if Jesus is our model, means pursuing spiritual fulfillment in the midst of the sacred secular.

This living water of Christ enables us to be builders of the human community rather than destroyers. This living water helps us understand the Joyful Sorrow of the Cross. The cross teaches us how to celebrate without arrogance, how to hope without cruelty, how to speak of victory without being triumphalist. This living water centers us in God. It does not mean we have no other interests but God but all other interests are meant to bring us closer to God. They do not take God’s place in our lives but enables the Spirit to enhance the meaning of everything.

When we reach the point where we can look beyond ourselves, we find God in the rest of creation. Life spills over with the wonder and awesomeness of God.  We find the fullness of the Spirit for which we have been looking and searching.

Once we begin to recognize God at work in us, everything becomes holy, becomes life -giving. God is a sense of life now and of life to come.

Christ is in our midst!

Sermon 218 - Jn 11:47-52, Ep 3:4-7; 14-21 Ac 11:1-18 Council Fathers - Honesty or Expediency?

 As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

I'm not sure if it was planned or just worked out that way but putting this gospel reading with the commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea [in 325] highlights the inner workings of decision-making bodies, both religious and political. The Council Fathers crafted the Nicene Creed but only after a lot of inevitable wrangling and the exclusion of some alternative viewpoints [Arius in particular]. The Sanhedrin came to the conclusion that Jesus's teaching was appealing to so many people that it put the whole Jewish nation in jeopardy of being destroyed by the Romans and so he had to die. Was that the only reason? Or were they more concerned about losing their power to this upstart teacher over whom they had no control?

       Both councils had political objectives. The Ecumenical Council was convoked by the political authorities not the church. They wanted clarity on doctrine so that the church would be a force for unity and control in the empire. The Sanhedrin was concerned about their power. Pointing to Rome as the threat allowed them to use the fear of Roman power to reinforce their own power. But expediency as a motive for the gathering and outcomes of both councils, did not overturn God's plan. The Good News of Jesus Christ is about God as love not power. But also that love can overcome power.

       Caiaphas, the High Priest at that time, explained Christ's death as a necessary way to save the nation. This was also God's plan but in a larger sense. Through God's plan, salvation became available for all people as God entered into our human reality fully. Through his suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus opens for us the way out of bondage to suffering and death. Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac at God's command, prefigures Jesus's passion. Abraham trusted God's promise that many generations would flow from Isaac, and so, Isaac would have to live, for that promise to be fulfilled. Isaac, and the generations that issued from him, including David and his line, were saved by God's action.

       The Nicene Creed may not explicitly refer to God as love, but  the doctrine codified by the council lays out the path for the salvation of all people, which is the ultimate objective of God's love. How we get there is based on how we live in this world where God has placed us for a while. This is the message of St Matthew's gospel reading on Judgment Sunday at the beginning of the lenten, passion and resurrection cycles of the church year.

       So for us, God's power to transform human weaknesses or misguided motives into building blocks for his larger goal, should never be minimized. When we face crises or challenges that seem overwhelming, don't conclude that God is absent. God's ways are beyond our fathoming, deeper than our minds will ever be able to go. Turning logic upside down, deflating our egos, undermining our presumptions, stepping in when all seems lost, healing our brokenness, all are God's specialty. When we get out of the way, and let God be God, then we experience in our own lives the fullest meaning of Jesus' Ascension that we have been celebrating this week.

       Glory be to Jesus Christ

Third Sunday after Pascha

As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

May 3, 2026  

1 John 3:16-24; Acts 3:1-16; John 5:1-15 (Pool of Bethzatha)

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! (Khristós anésti! Христос Воскресе! (Khristos Voskrese!) 

This morning’s gospel was about the third miracle that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee in his public ministry. The first was changing water into wine. The second was healing the royal official’s son from afar. Early on, Jesus show us his attitude towards those in need as well as to those he befriended.

Was Jesus alone when he saw the man in one of the porticoes near the pool?  No mention is made of anyone with him, only that he was on his way to Jerusalem, keeping the law that on three of the major Jewish feasts, all men within a certain distance from the temple had to worship in and pay tribute to the temple.

 Jesus asked the man if he really wanted to be cured, knowing that some invalids can get quite comfortable being cared for. The man’s answer was immediately -- yes. He explained that others could make it into the waters before him, since it took him so long to drag himself there. Since he had been there for 38 years, it seems that miraculous (looking) cures had taken place during those years. According to history, people of those generations believed in the miraculous powers of water. Wouldn’t you hold that belief, if for no apparent reason the still waters of that deep pool bubbled up?

In the gospel account, the man believed that Jesus could heal him. So strong was his belief that he picked up his pallet when directed by Jesus and started on his way, only to be challenged by others who saw him disregarding the Sabbath laws. When Jesus saw him later in the temple, he counseled him to not make the same mistakes as he had before, as even worse things might happen to him. (I don’t think Jesus was saying that all diseases and misfortunes are due to our mistakes, or sins, but in this case the man had caused his misfortune by what he had done.)

When we have no thought of God,  I see a miracle in how God so often seeks us. No other religion or belief system has the vision of a seeking God. When we are approached by God, do we open the door of our hearts?  In the letters of St John verse 20 the Risen Christ says: “I am standing at the door and knocking.”

St Bernard, back in the 12^th century, often said this in his discourses to the monastics: “However early they might wake and rise for prayer on a cold morning, or even in the dead of night, they would find God… waiting for them.”

Can we learn to translate the day-to-day happenings in our journey through life as Christ knocking at our door?  Difficulties in our lives are often seen as obstacles to faith or punishment or disapproval by God. Yet, so often, they can help us realize our dependence on God when we find we cannot control everything around us, when we find the strength needed to endure pain and hardship, when we learn to enjoy all creation and our life.

Besides the miracle of realizing Christ is knocking at our door, do we see happenings in our own lives or in others as miracles? Like the paralytic, may we believe in the miracle of Jesus Christ being with us to help us love one another by truly wishing the well-being of our neighbor.

Christ is Risen!

 

Sermon 217 April 19, 2026 Jn 20:19-31, Col 1:13b-20 Ac 2:22-36 Thomas Sunday

 As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

Christ is Risen!, Christos Aneste! Christos Voscrese!

 

       How do we move beyond the unavoidable painful experiences of life? Denying them or convincing ourselves that they never happened is not the answer, even though our head and heart may want to choose one of those paths. Holding onto them and never letting go, like scratching at an old wound, constantly obsessing over every slight, injury, abuse, ... is also a dead end. Today's gospel lesson gives us an insight into how, in St. Paul's words, Christ strengthens us to do anything, [Philippians 4:13] including to move beyond the pain.

       What was behind Thomas's refusal to believe his brothers when they told him they had seen Christ? The proof he wanted to see was not just Jesus, but to physically touch the wounds in his hands and side. Without those wounds, it couldn't possibly be the real Christ, the one who suffered and died for us. But the wounds were there and Thomas touched them and cried out: my Lord and my God.

       Christ emerged from his crucifixion and death, not unscathed but undaunted. The evidence of his trials and suffering were still there, they were real marks from his suffering, but he had overcome them. They did not disappear. They were the marks of his life, but not impediments to his goals. He still needed to accomplish his goal to energize his apostles and disciples to spread the Good News far and wide.

       Thomas was not alone in needing to be convinced of Christ's resurrection. On another occasion, [Jn 20:18] recounted in the passage preceding the one we read today, all the disciples had refused to believe Mary Magdalene and the other women when they told the disciples they had seen Christ. Christ's visit to the apostles, when Thomas was absent, was needed to reinforce the truth of what Mary Magdalene had reported. 

       Christ's wounds proved to Thomas the reality of the resurrection. His appearance to Thomas and the other apostles rekindled their belief in and commitment to the message of the Good News. Thomas went on to proclaim the Gospel deep into Asia where ultimately he died a martyr in India. The other apostles also preached the Good News in many other lands and many died as martyrs.

       The realities of life inevitably inflict wounds on all of us. Christ's return visit to the apostles in response to Thomas' skepticism, also fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy, "through his bruises, you have been healed." [Is 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24] He shows Thomas, the other apostles, and us, that even though we may still carry the scares of life's wounds, we can emerge from those trials in a better place.

       He is calling us to rely on him and on his experience to help us rise above the unavoidable trials and sorrows of this life. For  the life Christ is calling us to, here and now and in the future, is one of joy beyond all imagining. He is with us, to help us move beyond the immediate challenges so that we can truly experience the life prepared for all of us. When we shout Christ is risen, it is not just a proclamation of the good news about Christ, it is a clarion call by all of us join with Christ in the risen life, the destination we are called to.

Christ is Risen!

Sermon 216 March 22, 2026 Is 59: 12-20; Rom 13: 8b-14; Lk10: 25-37 “Good Samaritan – Go and do likewise.”

 As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church

       When we hear the story of the good Samaritan it is easy to be drawn into the praiseworthy character of the hero of the story. In history and even in current news stories, people acting like the Good Samaritan can lift our spirits, especially in the midst of tragedies and despair. In our tradition the Good Samaritan represents Jesus Christ. And that is the model we are invited to replicate in our own lives. At the end of the story, what did Jesus say to the lawyer who identified neighbor as the one who showed mercy? “Go and do likewise.”

However, as we ponder this story, we dare not forget the stories of the other characters, which may touch us in ways that bring up moments in our own lives when we acted like the priest or the Levite, or felt more like the poor unfortunate traveler: pummeled, robbed, striped naked and left for dead by the circumstances of our lives or psychologically debilitated by the oppressive realities of the world today. So, we can see two different sides to this story played out in our lives: Lenten repentance and paschal resurrection.

When we see someone in need, we have the option to help or turn away, as did the Priest and the Levite. If we turn away, then our Lenten journey opens the door for our repentance. This is when we can devote additional time for prayer and recollection around some of our past decisions and actions. It can be a time to seek forgiveness from others or even ourselves. We may even feel the presence of Christ bearing a light to guide us to repentance, forgiveness and new behavior when the next opportunity arises. And when it does, to make ourselves available to others in need. Our change in ourselves is a resurrection.

When we are the ones in need, we may pray for someone to help us, or at least listen to us. When this happens and others come to our aid in our time of need, might we see this as our prayers being answered, as Christ moving through others to come to our aid? Also a resurrection for us.

How we respond to such a situation can depend on how we understand the situation. This brings us to the central image of the story: who is my neighbor? When Christ refers to the two most important commandments to live by: love God and love your neighbor, neighbor takes on a character that is expansive and all inclusive. It’s not just our next-door neighbor, though it could be, nor our neighborhood.

       The resurrection reality strikes home to us when we finally realize that everyone is our neighbor and the world is one human community and we need our neighbor and they need us. In the Good Samaritan story, all the characters are one human reality. Even though the Samaritan is outside the Jewish clan, Jesus, as Jew takes on that role to obliterate the barrier. Even the robbers are part of the “family”. Their story is part of the fabric of the human condition. Repentance and resurrection are offered to all. God’s purpose and Jesus’s actions and teachings are intended to show all humanity the path to the Kingdom which begins with each one of us right here on earth.

       No screening process is to take place. After all, who was the person who was robbed? We don’t know. And the Samaritan? An outsider. The person God places before us who is in need is our neighbor. And when we respond like the Good Samaritan, then we are living our baptismal pledge to “put on Christ,” as we show mercy and “go and do likewise” as Jesus commands us to do.

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

 

February 15, 2026 Judgement Sunday

 As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

Job 22:1-11,31:16-23,29-37; Colossians 3:5-17; Matthew 25:31-46

We have heard many sermons about the sheep and goats and while this morning’s Gospel reading might lead one to believe that God will judge us according to how we live the gospel teachings, I believe the emphasis isn’t on the judgement. It is on how well we embrace the message that all humanity is the Christ.

How do we treat the Christ in one another? The meaning of the parable is not that evil will be punished and good rewarded. But it is the love of Christ through loving one’s fellow beings that Christ is urging us to embrace. Jesus taught that God doesn’t judge our sins; but, like the father of the Prodigal Son, God only has love for us.

Jesus did not urge the crowds to disobey either the civil or the religious laws. He said to follow the law but to know that obedience to the law is not the way to the Kingdom of his Father, our God.  Jesus stressed that all the laws are fulfilled when we come to the place in consciousness where we will be able to love God and our neighbor as ourselves: our whole selves—our psychological selves, our physical selves, our mind, and all our senses. The meaning of the parable is not that evil will be punished and good rewarded, but that we love Christ through loving our fellow beings.  

Now, the question in my mind: How do we go about achieving this Christ Consciousness?

It seems to me that in ancient times the emphasis on being good was mainly how one took care of orphans and widows. Cultures change, and the emphasis in recent times is taking care of the poor, the downtrodden, and the hungry—and being just. The Epistle to the Colossians this morning has whole lists of what to cultivate within ourselves and a list of what not to embrace. 

Is being good the emphasis we need to achieve this Christ Consciousness? We think of sin as being the opposite of good. It has been said by a contemporary Greek Orthodox mystic, Spyros Sathi, that there is no sin; there is only experience. All humans will grow spiritually until the attainment of theosis—the realization that one is an integral part of God, the God within.

 It’s also been said we are the temple of God.  Would the thought that I am the temple of God enable me to love more as God loves? I hope it would help me to be more understanding rather than inclined to bitterness, envy, or cynicism which are attitudes we are inclined to think of as not being good.

To achieve this Christ Consciousness might require relooking at the idea of good and evil. Most people who we might think are evil, think they are doing or being good. Growth is needed, and sometimes it is by making mistakes that we grow. It is the experience of living, making choices, and thereby growing.

Achieving this Christ Consciousness takes time. It takes waiting, which  is something most of us would like to avoid. It is spiritually challenging but is an essential part of life. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently” and “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” are refrains from the Psalms and there are many more.

Recently I came across something that applies to this thought of Christ Consciousness:

Two little fish were swimming along toward a spot where they might find food. Along came a bigger, older fish going the opposite direction. As he came along beside them, he said “Good morning little ones. How’s the water?” They each continued on their way but eventually one little fish said to the other, “What the heck is water?”

Christ is the water.

This coming Lent is an opportunity to be still and realize that waiting in faith is what God asks us to do as we strive to understand to really see the Christ in everyone we meet.

Christ is in our midst!

Sermon 215 January 25, 2026: Lk 19:1-10; 2Tim 2: 11-19; Zeph 3: 9-13 Zacchaeus + Gregory the theologian

 As Preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

“For the son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.” [Lk 19:10]

 

At first glance it would be hard to think of Zacchaeus as lost. He was savvy and wealthy. He negotiated a lucrative position in government service and took advantage of his position to amass a fortune. He did well for himself. He has a slight image problem in his society. But what does that matter? The guardians of social propriety looked down on him as one whose wealth and power was gained by virtue of his connection with the occupying power. Yet these critics were not averse to wealth and power and to use their position to control others. And in those days, it was felt that if you were wealthy and powerful you were blessed by God. Along comes Jesus Christ and turns all of this on its head. Outsiders are in and insiders are out.

Well not exactly. Nobody is really out. Everyone has the opportunity to be saved. But Jesus is making a point here about how one is to go about this. He is seeking out the lost but it has a reciprocal component to it. And the first step is desire. On the Sunday before Christmas, we refer to Daniel as the prophet of desire, due to his devotion, righteousness, and commitment to God. And God saves him. Daniel’s lifelong desire to connect with and please God is a high standard for ordinary people. Zacchaeus didn’t meet that standard, but what he did have was desire. We are not told how that came about, but we see the outcome in action.

He has heard about Jesus and desires to see this special man, maybe just out of curiosity. But there is a crowd and he is short and with his reputation the crowd wasn’t going to part for him to get a better view. Not wanting the moment to pass and miss his opportunity, he dispenses with propriety and scrambles up a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passes. But then Jesus stops and looks straight at him. Who knows what went through his head at that moment? But the outsider is no longer the outsider. Out of that entire crowd, Jesus notices him, and calls him by name: Zacchaeus, come down, I am to stay at your house today. The murmuring of the crowd grows. He is going to a sinner’s house! Unthinkable! And that’s our opening! The unthinkable is just where Jesus goes.

We can spend our whole life thinking we are unworthy to receive Jesus into our lives. Look at all the mistakes we’ve made, all the wrong turns, all the things we’ve done and now regret, all the moments we’d like to take back and make better. And Jesus overlooks all that and calls us by name and says, come here, I am to stay at your house today. Unthinkable, but not for Jesus, not for God! As the gospel says, Jesus has come to seek out and save the lost. And that’s really all of us. We are all lost, but not forgotten, even if we feel shoved aside by life or society. We are always within God’s grasp. We simply need to want God to notice and to hold us, and he will.

 

Glory be to Jesus Christ!