Sermon 221 September 27, 2026 Lk 4:16-24; 1Cor 15:1-11; Is 61:1-9. Fulfilled - Stages

 As Preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

       Almost every western movie or TV show had some kind of travel going on in vehicles known as stage coaches. Travel was very wearying and dangerous in those days. In some ways it still is. Those vehicles were called stage coaches because they traveled in a succession of stages. Travelers where happy to make it from one stage to the next.

       Life is a journey, a procession. When we look back over our lives we more clearly see the various stages or milestones that marked our journey. As one stage concludes another begins.

       The scene described in today's Gospel from St Luke follows  Christ's baptism in the Jordan and the temptations in the wilderness.  Jesus goes to Galilee, to his hometown in Nazareth, to launch his ministry. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as usual where he is handed the scroll of the prophecy of Isaiah. He reads a portion of that text which in today's world one might call his mission statement. Then he tells the congregation this prophecy is being fulfilled on their hearing. When things are fulfilled, are we done?

       He is just embarking on his mission, so, what has been  fulfilled? The first verse of the quotation tells us what is fulfilled: "the Spirit of the Lord is on me." And yet, his mission lies ahead. The waiting for the Messiah is over, he has come and it is Jesus. But the journey is not over. The next stage is just beginning. The rest of the quoted prophecy is about what Jesus will do to carry out his "anointed" mission.

       Revealed at the Jordan, tested in the wilderness and now announced openly. He begins to proclaim the Good News outlined by Isaiah. The Lord's favor is being bestowed on those who have been marginalized by society: the poor, prisoners, the blind, the oppressed; now these are the favored ones. He says this to everyone because it is a call to a revolutionary change in the way society treats its members. Through teaching, healing, consoling, and uplifting he does the work of his Father. He was commissioned by the Holy Spirit at each stage of his life for this ministry. The voice at his baptism, the Spirit leading him into the desert and now the announcement through the prophet Isaiah.

       Then comes his passion and death. And while dying on the cross he says again that it is fulfilled. What is fulfilled? The work of his Father that was to be done by his son in person on earth, including his death on the cross. That is fulfilled. But that is not the end. What comes next is the resurrection and the commissioning of his disciples and followers, that includes us, to continue this work in the next stage. What remains to be fulfilled is to be fulfilled by each succeeding generation, commissioned by the Spirit, sent by the Father, as Christ says to his disciples.  Christ's resurrection is the culmination of his work, but it is the inauguration of our work.  It is the proclamation of new life to all who believe.

Exaltation of the Cross - September 14, 2026

Homily — September 14, 2026

Exaltation of the Holy Cross
by Sr. Rebecca
Holy Wisdom church

This morning we are celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

During this feast as well as on Good Friday, the liturgical chant is most moving and soul-penetrating. How does the meaning of this feast penetrate our lives?

One of the prayers during this feast expresses this: “Oh God, as we reflect on this mystery of the Exaltation of the precious cross, impress on our feeble minds how much we need to embrace the cross, in whose rough surface we see ourselves as we really are.”

The cross we are celebrating today is surrounded with beautiful, colorful flowers.

Over these past years the rough surface of the cross, not without the flowers, reflects the unspeakable tragedies, suffering, familiar to all of us. But this is only one side of the mirror of the cross; the flip side is what is mirrored within ourselves, our small selves. No one is spared feelings of powerlessness to change the situations that we are facing, each one of us personally and globally.

One of Richard Rohr’s readings addresses this reality: “The well-prepared mind forgets the suffering inflicted from without to the guidance to what has been contemplated within.” I’d like to unpack this phrase: the first part – ‘suffering inflicted from without’: if our minds are stayed on the surface we will be inclined to indulge in anxiety, worry, blaming, accusing, explaining, trying to make logical sense of our personal and global plights. We tend perhaps to go to our heads, to try to figure things out.

However, when we allow ourselves to go deeper—the reading continues: “looking at suffering from what has been contemplated within”, we will see with clarity how our ego-small selves are trying to control what is not in our control. On a very personal level, what is going on in my mind when I come into contact with what upsets my planning, what bruises me, what challenges me in my daily life? These are examples of a multitude of situations where we are not in control of our lives. Our ego impulsive reactions are mirrored to us when we cannot do what we want or need to do in any given situation. I personally find that paying attention to the small gritty sides of life makes me aware of willfulness rather than willingness to face life’s ‘crosses’ consciously, intentionally in the light of Christ’s presence which never leaves us. When we find ourselves succumbing to irritation, anger or any other negative reaction, it is not God who is absent, it is our mind that is absent, the “unprepared mind” as the saying above expresses. Unprepared mind: it is staying on the rough surface of my attention and especially when glued into my ego-mind.

The crosses are most often not ones we choose but ones that are thrust on us through life’s circumstances. When we look beneath the veneer of our attitudes, our impulsive reactions, we quickly see a kind of self-centeredness that persistently puts our personal needs and agendas before the well-being of others.

These attitudes are perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to the manner of perceiving and hearing the ‘word of God’ within us. To really listen to our soul consciousness. Practicing soul consciousness allows us to see blessedness around us; the illuminous beauty of the cross enables us to experience what is most precious in life: Love, to notice the subtle sensitivity around us, to feel connected with ourselves and in our relationships with others and creation. Paradox of paradoxes: what is felt as death-dealing is in fact life-giving. Isn’t this why we surround the cross with flowers during this feast? The cross perceived in this light is blessedness in the deepest sense of the word. Bliss! It is transformative into the Risen Christ: within and without.

Christ is in our midst!