Category: Sermon

Who are you Transfigured for?

by fathermichael01, posted in Sermon

Back on August 6th, we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration.  The Gospel lesson for this day can be found below.

This is a story I think everyone is familiar.  Jesus going up the mountain with Peter, James, and John and while up there, something truly spectacular happens.

Through my prayers, study, and reading I kept coming to the same question.  What, or better said, who are you transfigured for?

I pray you find something you may not have expected and learn something you have always asked.

Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

 

Do You Understand?

by fathermichael01, posted in Sermon

Jesus asks his disciples, “Do you Understand?”  Christ is teaching us about the Kingdom he is bringing, the Kingdom he wants us to continue building.  Jesus asks this question to his followers because he wants us to know what this kingdom is supposed to look like.

The audio clip above is a recording of the sermon I preached from July 30th.  Below is the Gospel reading for that day.  And reading over it first might give some context to the sermon.

The Gospel

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”