Christ Church Jerusalem

4 April 2021 - What are we to make of Mark's abrupt resurrection account? Is it clumsy writing? Or does it fit right into a narrative that starts abruptly and highlights Jesus as the frustrated rabbi to his fearful and blind disciples? Rev. David Pileggi has us consider the words of the young man in the empty tomb, who offers the frightened women a word of peace and reconciling mercy from the resu...

28 March 2021 - On Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus' triumphal but humble entry into Jerusalem. Jesus enters not only as a king but as a prophet warning Jerusalem -- not wagging his finger but weeping over his beloved city and his people. Rev. David Pileggi exhorts us to hear Jesus' critique of the corrupt Temple and search our hearts for the same arrogance and compromise that warranted God's judgme...

Moses is coming to the end of his monologue as well as his life in general. God has decreed Moses will not cross the Jordan and that the day of his speech, his 120th birthday, will be his final day in this world, putting in place a tradition that says heroes of God die on the same day as they are born. Moses says God Himself will cross the Jordan with the Israelites. God has been with the people i...

21 March 2021 - Fifth Sunday in Lent - To have eternal life is to have God's life. Before new birth, however, there has to be death to self, to the world's definition of life. Rev. David Pileggi encourages us to rediscover that Jesus' life -- his teaching, example, death, and resurrection -- not only saves us but shapes what our salvation looks like. We are invited not just to remember Jesus' deat...

Moses concludes his retelling of the Torah, the deuteronumos or mishna torah, linking everything once again to the individual's heart and soul. The initial future of Israel, however, was not going to be too promising. The previously mentioned blessings and curses of chapters 27 and 28 were to befall the people of God. The future was exile. In its success of the conquest of Canaan, Israel was going...

14 March 2021 - Fourth Sunday in Lent - In Numbers 21, the children of Israel sin and bring a plague upon themselves. God in his mercy allows them to restore their relationship with him through a strange device, a bronze serpent on a pole. One thousand years later, Jesus tells Nicodemus he is the one who will restore relationship between God and his people. Canon Daryl Fenton reminds us that relat...

As Moses’ speech draws close to its end, he once again reiterates the sacred history of the people following the Exodus from Egypt leading up to a reiteration of the Covenant of God. The opening verse almost reads as though there were actually two covenants given to Israel, one at Mount Sinai(called Horeb) and the other here on the plains of Moab. Some Jewish commentators, like Rashi, say that Mos...

7 March 2021 - Third Sunday in Lent - As we consider Jesus' cleansing of the temple, Rev. David Pileggi cautions us not to dismiss the temple as unimportant or merely a picture fulfilled in Jesus. The temple was a divine institution where heaven met earth, where God came down to dwell among his people. Jesus was zealous for this special place and is similarly passionate for the holiness of the Chu...

28 February 2021 - Second Sunday in Lent - In the the second week of Lent, Deacon Aaron Eime reminds us that we practice spiritual disciplines -- like fasting and alms giving -- to get more of God. When we give, God gives us himself and his blessings. Yet, this getting of blessings creates a tension so that we struggle to give more. So in our giving, Jesus invites us to suffer with him in the way...

Sharon Alley discusses humor and irony in the book of Esther. As many might know, Esther is the only book of the Bible where God is not mentioned by name. Sharon helps us unpack this nuanced book further and shows us how, through different elements, we can see the footprint of God's redemptive work in Esther. Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www...

Chapter 28 continues the pattern of blessing and extreme curses that has been prevalent throughout the Torah. Other nations had covenants that included blessings and curses as well. The difference with the Torah is the covenant is not between a human king and his people but with God and Man. Because Hebrew has no punctuation in its sentence structure, Moses uses a double sh’ma (that is he says the...

21 February 2021 - First Sunday in Lent - As we begin Lent, we remember that the Spirit of God thrust Jesus into the wilderness to test him. This is a real test of Jesus' trust and of his identity affirmed by the voice of God at the Jordan. God tests the righteous, Rev. David Pileggi tells us, to show us who we really are. Satan and the world want us to fail. God wants us to succeed and sends us i...

Moses breaks his monologue to speak together with the elders of Israel, known in modern orthodox circles as the Sanhedrin, traditionally numbering 70 elders. Moses instructs the people to perform a very specific ceremony once they have crossed the Jordan on the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Part of this ceremony involved the construction of an altar and the establishment of pillars of stones that...

14 February 2021 - Last Sunday of Epiphany - The Rev. David Pileggi says Christians have bought into the lie that the Gospel is about us or that the goal of life is happiness. The Gospels is not about us but about God's holiness, and the goal of life is to grow in holiness. God allows us glimpses of his holiness, his goodness, as he invites us near. The Transfiguration is one of these glimpses of...

Much of the Torah regarding the sacrificial system, tithing and festivals in the calendar are portrayed from the perspective of the priests. The roles and duties of the Cohenim and Leviim are usually prominent. What Moses now presents is a rare glimpse into the liturgy of the Israelite worshipper. Once the land has been conquered and settled, which apparently took 14 years to achieve, then a porti...

7 February 2021 - Fifth Sunday of Epiphany - The Kingdom of God, which is here but not yet, can be hard to explain. The Rev. David Pileggi tells us that Kingdom of God is not just about Jesus or about God's power breaking into our lives in healing and salvation. The Kingdom of God is about a people who make Jesus King. King Jesus, who has begun the attack on death, commissions his disciples to be...

The Torah is timeless. Indeed the Word of God is new and fresh every morning. Deuteronomy 25 brings many commandments that simply cannot be done in today's society as literally dictated by Moses, yet the Spirit of the Torah remains on our hearts to this day. Many of the commandments in the chapter pertain to fairness, that is, the fair treatment through criminal justice, domestic animals, widows a...

31 January 2021 - Fourth Sunday of Epiphany - In Deuteronomy, Moses tells the Children of Israel to look for a prophet like himself, a leader who teaches with authority, performs miracles, and feeds multitudes. The Gospels portray Jesus as that long awaited Prophet, who has authority over the powers of darkness. Deacon Aaron Eime encourages to respond to Jesus and listen to the Messiah's voice. Re...

The dignity of the poor and the dignity of the worker are important to God. God is not aloof from His creation, and in His dealings with humanity He respects human dignity, and we see this in these opening laws regarding simple loans and wages. Kindness to the poor, in this instance returning pledges before nightfall, could result in a blessing in the sight of the Lord. God pays attention to our d...

24 January 2021 - Third Sunday of Epiphany - In some of our contexts, our identity is boiled down to what we do for a living. Instead, our identity should be in God and our discipleship in Jesus Messiah. It is not what we do that makes us dear to the LORD but rather how we love him. Canon Daryl Fenton challenges us to break up the hard places in our hearts and return in love to the LORD who loves...

Family stability was important and essential to the Israelite community that was about to establish itself in the Land of Canaan. The sustainability of a society both economically and politically is dependent on the strength of the family unit and the institution of marriage. We only have to look around at today's world and humbly acknowledge that one of the reasons for our failing societies is th...

17 January 2021 - Second Sunday of Epiphany - Our identity is formed by our loyalties and by the company we keep. We are natural mimics and are ever searching for someone to imitate. Rev. David Pileggi says that the guard against a culture that wishes to assimilate everyone is to have a firm, well established identity. Following Jesus, learning to be like him, teaches us we belong in God's family...

One of the first commands that the Lord gave Israel following the Exodus from Egypt was to construct a Tabernacle. God had also come out of Egypt with His people and now desired to dwell amongst them. Many times a year the people were to assemble before the Lord. However, Moses reminds the people that actually not everyone is permitted in the presence of God. God is life, and death may never enter...

10 January 2021 - First Sunday of Epiphany - The road that Jesus traveled from his immersion in the Jordan to Golgotha was fraught with opposition. He was hindered by Satan, by the religious and political authorities, and even by his own disciples, who were blinded and motivated by self-interest. Jesus overcame these trials, in part, due to his unshakable identity as the Beloved with whom the Fath...

Virginity was highly valued in the ancient world, and women were not to be poorly treated as sex objects. The courts of Israel, run by the priesthood, stood to defend the honour of the woman. The Israelite value that protected women stood in contrast to the culture of the ancient world. Moses is communicating an ideal society. Perhaps this society was never going to be realised, but that actually...