The Church of Saint Matthew - Saint Paul’s West Side

The Lord be with you the Gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Jesus left the house and went down to the shore by the sea and a great multitude came upon him and pressed against him. And so he had to step into a boat and put out a bit and then sit down while the crowd, the multitude gathered on the shore. And then he taught them. He taught them in parables. So listen now and pay a...

Jesus uses images that his audience would readily understand and experience. He uses images of agriculture. He uses images of fishing. He, he uses images that relate immediately to the people who are, who are listening to him. And this is an agricultural image that he chooses today. He says, come to me, take my yoke upon your shoulders. Learn from me. I am meek and humble of heart. The yolk was ma...

The Lord be with you , the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. According to Matthew. Jesus raised his voice and said, I give you thanks, father, Lord of heaven and earth, where you have not revealed these mysteries to the wise and to the learned, but to the mirror list of children. That is indeed your wish. All that is has been placed into my hands by the father. No one knows the son except the fath...

In Today's gospel reading, Jesus has really two messages for his disciples. The first message is that their faith must rest in him and everything else must become secondary. That being a disciple of Jesus is not a hobby. Being a disciple of Jesus is not just something you do when it's convenient, but that the word of the Lord is central in your life. And in all relationships, that word in a sense,...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Jesus said anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever find his life will lose it. And those who are willing to lose their life for my sake w...

The gospel. According to Saint Matthew comes from a community that is rather divided. Part of the community is Jews who've converted to Christianity. And part of the community is non Jews. Gentiles who have become Christian. And Matthew's job is to try to put these two groups together and that's not working very well. Also there's persecution that is taking place. And so very often just the disagr...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ according to Matthew.  Jesus said to them, fear, no one, there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed. And there is nothing that is secret. That will not be proclaimed. If you hear me in the darkness, speak it out in the light. And if you hear whispers, shout those from the house top, do not be afraid. Fear only the one was able to...

Today, we celebrate the feast of the body and the blood of Christ. In St. John's gospel Jesus gives this very, very long teaching about the Eucharist. And there's something about that teaching and the sixth chapter that is very different from the teaching that is given in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. You see in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the story of the last supper, Jesus says, this is my body. Tak...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ according to John. Jesus said, I am the bread of heaven. He who eats my flesh will live forever. And the flesh I give is for the salvation of the world, his hero said, how was it possible? Where this man to give us his flesh? Jesus says, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you can have no life in you. Those who...

Today is the feast of the, of the Trinity. It's the feast in which we acknowledge the inner life of God. In all the other celebrations through the year, we, we praise God for the external things that God has done in calling us in saving us in sending forth his son and pouring forth his spirit. It's all about us. Now this is the one Sunday of the year. When we, we praise God for nothing having to d...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, according to John. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So that those who believe in him may have eternal life. He did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, But that the world may be saved. Whoever does, whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him is already condemned...

The Lord be with you. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ according to John.  It was that very same day, the first day of the week. The disciples were gathered in the upper room, and the doors and windows were closed for fear of the authorities. Then Jesus came and he stood in their midst, and he said to them, "Peace be to you." Then he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw hi...

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. The Ascension is really not so much that physical movement of Jesus going to heaven. It's the culminating moment of Jesus' life here on earth, in which, in which he is established as King of the universe, one could just as easily call this feast, the feast of Christ, the King that he ascends to the father's right hand. And from that point...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. According to Matthew. The disciples of Jesus went to the mountain to which Jesus called him. And when they saw Jesus, they fell down on their knees and worshiped him. Although some of them continued to doubt as Jesus approached them. He said, all authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. And I tell you, go forth proclaim the good n...

The 12th to the 17th chapter of St. John's gospel records. The not only the events, but more than that, the words spoken by Jesus on the occasion of the last supper. And we need to put ourselves in that context, in order to, to hear those words, the way the disciples heard them, the disciples were confused. Some of them were afraid. Some of them were afraid for Jesus. And some of them were afraid...

The Lord be with you. The gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ according to John. Jesus said to his disciples, if you love me, you will keep my commandment. And then I will ask the father and he will give you another advocate. The spirit of truth, the world does not accept him because the world neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him because he is with you and he is within you. I will not lea...

The words that Jesus speaks in the gospel reading this morning are part of that instruction. That final instruction, that final teaching that he gives to his disciples on the night before he dies. And we need to put it into a context. The evening began with Jesus, taking off his outer garment and putting a towel around his waist and going one by one to his disciples and washing their feet. And whe...

The Lord be with you, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. According to John. Jesus said to his disciples, do not let your hearts be troubled. You do have faith in God. Put faith in me as well. In my father's house, there are many dwelling places. If that were not true, I could not tell you. I am going to prepare a place for you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And then I will come back an...