Husband, father, and Anglican priest living in the North Georgia Mountains. Sermons, reflections, and articles promoting the "Ancient Faith for Modern Times". Subscribe below to get the latest posts in your inbox.
“He Had Compassion.” Matthew 14:13–21. Jesus withdraws to grieve John’s death and the crowd follows on foot. Compassion moves before will does. Five loaves, two fish, five thousand fed. The only miracle in all four Gospels.
Proper 12. Five Kingdom parables. The mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, the dragnet. The first two show how the Kingdom works: in hiddenness, from small beginnings. The middle two show what it is worth: everything. The last one shows what happens at the end.
July 25: Saint James. First among the Twelve to be martyred. Acts 12:2 gives him two verses. The man who was at the Transfiguration, who slept in Gethsemane, who asked for the seat of honor — gone in a subordinate clause. This is what drinking the cup looks like.
Feast of James the Apostle, July 25. Jesus asked: are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? James and John answered: we are able. Jesus said: you will drink my cup. Acts 12:2 records the fulfillment in a subordinate clause. He did not flinch.
Feast of Mary Magdalene, July 22. She came to the tomb in the dark, wept, asked where the body had been taken. Then Jesus spoke one word: Mary. The risen Lord’s first word on Easter morning was a proper name. She recognized him. And she said: "I have seen the Lord".
July 22: Mary Magdalene. The risen Lord’s first word to any person on Easter morning is a name. He says ‘Mary.’ She recognizes him by her name in his mouth. The first Easter proclamation follows: I have seen the Lord. Four words spoken first by a woman who had been healed and refused to leave.