Hear the messages that Father Jeremiah delivers each week
to the congregation of Grace Anglican.
When Jesus appears to the disciples on the evening of his resurrection they are shocked and surprised, but Jesus quickly brings them peace and calling. However, Thomas was not there and he refuses to believe until he can see and touch Jesus himself. These events are shocking to us when we consider the unexpectedness of Jesus’ resurrection, but they teach us a great deal about where we can now meet Jesus.
Image: Duccio di Buoninsegna, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What is so important about Jesus’ resurrection? Why do we talk about it constantly and set aside one day a year in which to have a grand celebration? Father Jeremiah looks into these questions and helps all to see that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is now the hinge upon which all the world turns.
Image: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Bible_panorama,_or_The_Holy_Scriptures_in_picture_and_story_(1891)_(14785046505).jpg
Jesus’ body was transformed through His resurrection and he appeared to his disciples in that glorified physical body. We too will be transformed in the final resurrection because Jesus has gone ahead of us. In the here and now, though, we have new life in us that also comes through Jesus’ resurrection to us that we might be made ready for the final resurrection ahead of us.
Image: The Risen Christ appears to his Apostles, photo taken by Lawrence OP. License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/49780661251.
Jesus appeared to his disciples multiple times after his resurrection. In the first appearance, they were not sure what to think save for the peace given to them by him and revelation of the scars upon body. After this he gives to them the Holy Spirit that they might be sent out in faith to make forgiveness known through Jesus.
Image: St Thomas touches the Risen Lord, picture taken by Lawrence OP. License CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/14036502503/in/photostream/
Jesus’ death and resurrection is God’s way of swallowing up death and removing the veil of it from over the people. His resurrection is the acceptance of his sacrifice that brings forgiveness and rejoicing to all people. Find out more from Father Jeremiah now.
Image: The Road to Emmaus, photo by Jim Forest, original painting located in National Gallery in Washington, license: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/3162933274
When the women went to the tomb of Christ, they weren’t expecting to find it empty nor angels telling them of the resurrection. And most certainly, they were not expecting to encounter the risen Jesus himself!
Image: The Resurrection of Christ, Alonso López de Herrera, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alonso_L%C3%B3pez_de_Herrera_-_The_Resurrection_of_Christ_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Jesus is able to raise Lazarus from the dead because he is the Resurrection and the Life. What does that mean for us today? Jesus being the resurrection and the life means that we are unbound from sin because death is the result of sin.
Image: Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead, Woodcut of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, scanned from the 19th century book, Half Hours With the Bible, New Testament. Photo by Martin LaBar, CC BY-NC 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/2079382
After the Last Supper with the disciples, Jesus’ reminds them that he will shortly be taken from them. Whta does he mean? Is he only referring to his crucifixion? Or is there more to this, especially when the Holy Spirit is involved? How does our love play a role in the Father’s love for us? So many questions to consider from this short passage, and Father Jeremiah walks through them in this sermon.
Image: Jesus and His Disciples at the Last Supper, from the book, Half Hours with the Bible, 19th Century. Scanned by Martin LaBar. License: CC BY-NC 2.0. No Changes made. Location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/6876657/in/photostream/
When Jesus rises from the dead, everything changes! The women went to the tomb expecting to find a dead Jesus, having neglected his promises of death and resurrection for the salvation of the world. They find the tomb empty and realize through the words of the angel that all the good things have come true.
Image: Raphael, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
St. Paul longed for the return of Jesus Christ because it meant the renewal of his body. It meant the putting off of the temporal tent and the putting on of the eternal, heavenly body. Why? Because he understood that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus meant all the promises of God the Father were going to be fulfilled for those brought into his family through Jesus Christ.
Image: Resurrection of the Dead (lower left section of the Last Judgment), Michelangelo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Resurrection_of_the_Dead_(lower_left_section_of_the_Last_Judgment)_MET_MM55713.jpg
When Jesus appeared before his disciples throughout the forty days before his ascension, he reveals to them all what he has undone about the brokenness in this world. Father Jeremiah reflects upon these undoings of Jesus in his sermon today.
Image: The risen Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, from Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, photo taken by Nick Thompson, no changes made, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669927869
Peace and doubt come together in our text from St. John 20.19-31 today. Our doubts can be overcome when we discover the peace that Jesus brings to us through his death and resurrection. Father Jeremiah draws our attention to this to this movement today in his sermon.
Image: Christ and St. Thomas by Andrea del Verrocchio, photo taken by Glenfarclas, CC BY-SA 3.0, no changes made. image location:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Verrocchio_Christ_and_St._Thomas_closeup.JPG
Jesus’ resurrection took the people by surprise despite his announcing it multiplies to his disciples. Why was this? What does it mean? How can we fully embrace what the resurrection does for us? Father Jeremiah helps us lay hold of the great truth of Jesus’ bodily resurrection and rejoice that Christ is risen.
Image: Saint Julie Billiart Catholic Church (Hamilton, Ohio) - stained glass, Resurrection of Christ, photo by Nheyob, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. No changes made
In chapter four of 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul helps the believers at Thessalonica to understand that the resurrection is for all who have believed in Jesus, whether they are physically alive at his return or not. The resurrection is the hope that we as believers have and there is comfort that no matter how life turns out on this earth, there is new creation to come.
Image: The Parable of the Ten Virginas, Phoebe Anna Traquair, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
What does resurrection have to do with marriage? In today’s Gospel from St. Luke, Jesus answers the quandary of the Sadducees. What else might be different if marriage isn’t part of the resurrection? Listen now to find out more.
Image: Resurrection of the Flesh, Luca Signorelli. Public Domain. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Signorelli_Resurrection.jpg
What good is a dead Jesus? The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. He endured exile on our behalf and through his resurrection completes his work of salvation for us.
Image:The Resurrected Christ with a donor family, Lucas Cranach the Younger [Public domain]. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucas_Cranach_d.J._-_Der_auferstandene_Christus.jpg
Does it really matter that Jesus ascended into heaven bodily? What kind of impact does that have upon my own faith? Does it make a difference to my daily life and the life of the Church? Far from being unimportant, Jesus' ascension of utmost necessity for our redemption and salvation. Hear what Father Jeremiah has to say about this extraordinary event in both Jesus' life and the life of the Church.
Image: The Ascension, by Benjamin West, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ascension)_by_Benjamin_West,_PRA.jpg
The resurrection changes everything! In texts from Micah, Luke, and First John, we see the wide ranging effects of Jesus' resurrection on us and all the world. What are these effects? How do they come to us? How do we receive the benefits of Jesus' resurrection? Listen to find out more.
By Lucas Cranach der Ältere (1472–1553) - Herzogliches Museum Gotha, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58440155
Jesus resurrection is the greatest act of God in history. The women, in Mark's Gospel, visited Jesus' tomb but did not find him there, only a young man. What do we make of this? What does it mean? What does it reveal about God our Father in heaven? Listen now to find out more from Father Jeremiah.
Image: Der Auferstandene, by Lucas Cranach. Public domain in the United States.
Grace Anglican Church, Sundays @ 10:30 AM, 800 Robinson Rd, Gastonia, NC
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 551081, Gastonia, NC 28054
