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“Letter from an Ephesian Jail”: a sermon for the SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS (04 JANUARY 2026)

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     Other people’s mail.   I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy reading other people’s mail.   Just to be clear, I mean to say that I enjoy reading letters that some people (or, more often, their literary executors ) have chosen to publish for public consumption.   Whether it be the correspondence of Henri Nouwen, J.R.R. Tolkien or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I always find it enriching to read these personal dispatches, which were most probably not composed with their eventual publication in mind.   All this to say that a good part of the New Testament is made up of just this type of communication.   Paul’s letter to Philippi is a brief, personal piece of writing, composed in a buoyant and affectionate spirit and addressed to people whom Paul knew well and whom he obviously loved (cf. Phil. 4.1).      Two letters about gospel-justice.   This letter – dictated in a Roman jail, perhaps located in Ephesus – shares several c...
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“Remember who you are”: a sermon for the THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT (14 DECEMBER 2025)

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     If you’ve been a Christian your whole life (like me), things can get confusing sometimes.   There are times when we forget why we ever decided to follow Jesus, or we experience disappointments, or we just get bored and wonder what the point of it all is.   It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of activities, and to wonder if there’s more… what is Christianity all about anyway?   Maybe there was a time when we were excited about living for Jesus and serving in his kingdom, but somewhere along the way, we got lost, we got hurt and now we ask ourselves if perhaps we were mistaken, or – even worse – perhaps Jesus made a mistake in choosing us as one of his disciples.   What do we do if we find ourselves in such a place?   It is in moments like these that we need to be reminded who we are .   Fortunately for us, we have a story in the Gospel of someone what had this exact experience.   This person’s journey to greatness was anythin...
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“What did you expect?”: a sermon for the FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (30 NOVEMBER 2025)

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  Text: Gospel of St. Luke 24.13-53      Divine Comedy.   Would you like to go for a walk?   Just to be clear, this is not an invitation to leave the room.   Rather, I’d like for you to join me as I walk through this Gospel passage – which, as it happens, is all about two walks undertaken on the same day but each in a very different mood.   This story, which begins on Easter afternoon, is full of pathos and what the late NT exegete Richard B. Hays called “exquisite dramatic irony” [1] ; indeed, I find it to be quite humorous, even playful.   This Gospel scene reminds one of a Shakespearean comedy.   Of course, the God of Israel is somewhat of a wily God – he seems to enjoy surprises and plot twists.   The New Testament claims that he did indeed keep all the promises made to his people, and yet as he did so, he upended all expectations for how he would prove faithful to Israel.   God sends his Son into the world to red...
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