Sermons from Christ Church in Short Hills

We all need to be a bit more like Simeon. We need to be bold in seeking out the Light, taking it up, and sharing it with the world. We need to be like Anna and tell everyone about the Light. We need to let the Light come into our hearts and shine forth from them. (Luke 2.22-40)

Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Luke 4 is the lectionary gospel the same week as the US presidential inauguration and a sermon by Bishop Mariann Budde that broke into the national spotlight. What did Jesus say? How do we respond as the body of Christ in the world today? (Luke 4:14-21)

Our various gifts are tools given to us by God to make sense of the mess that is life. To do that, all we need is—as Mary says—to do what Jesus tells us. (1 Cor. 12.1-11 & John 2.1-11)

At Jesus’ baptism, God spoke to him as “you.” Through baptism, we become part of a familiar and loving relationship with God. Prayer is our conversation with God, whom we call “you.”  (Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)  

On this twelfth day of Christmas we reflect on the three wisemen who bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh: what does it mean for the greatest gift giver to receive gifts? What does it mean for us to bring him gifts? (Matthew 2:1-12)

Christmas is when we open our hearts to unexpected guests who arrive at our door and celebrate the birth of a tiny human who is our great God, Savior, Messiah, and the Lord! (Titus 2:11-14 & Luke 2:1-20)

John the Baptist calls on the crowd to care, share, and be fair! We are called to do this too in our personal and professional life. These foundational practices transform us individually and collectively into people who bear good fruit in a world with so much need. (Luke 3:7-18) 

“Prepare the way of the Lord,” cries John the Baptist. How are we, like John, preparing the way for Christ to come into our lives? (Luke 3:1-6) 

Trust the process of Advent. Let it be a period of prayer, preparation, and a time to reflect on priorities. You don’t have to create the magic or miracle of Christmas – Christ is coming and we will be changed.

Thanksgiving, ThankServing, Ingathering, and the Feast of Christ the King are an amazing confluence of interrelated reminders that we follow Jesus, who taught us to serve and help our neighbors who are hungry or strangers.

Jesus seems to say "The end is nigh," but what are we to do with that!? The writer of Hebrews tells us: come together and provoke one another to love and good deeds. “Do not be alarmed,” Jesus says. (1 Samuel 1.4-20; Hebrews 10.11-14, 19-25; Mark 13.1-8) 

Following the Election and Diocesan Convention, we look back on 150 years of the Diocese of Newark as we enter the next 150 years meditating on the example of the devout and faithful widow in Mark 12:38-44.

Jesus raised Lazarus and directed the mourners to unbind him from his burial clothes. What tangles do you need to be unbound from? Baptism is the start of our new life as Christians, shaping how we live as faithful Christians in a complicated world with God’s help, until we enter the communion of saints. (John 11:32-44)

There are moments in life when everything changes all at once, like they did for the blind beggar Bartimaeus and for Job. (Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Mark 10:46-52) 

To be on the journey of faith is not so much about the destination as it is about the experience along the way. (Job 38:1-7, Mark 10:35-45)

"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor; then come follow me." Jesus is clear in his words, how do we develop such a spirit of giving? It’s a journey. (Hebrews 4:12-16, Mark 10:17-31)

Stewardship is US together. In this year of spiritual growth, Rev. Bowie invites us to consider how, like trees, we are deeply rooted in faith and community. She invites us to reflect on how our stewardship at Christ Church nourishes both our roots and our branches. Just as Zacchaeus sought out Jesus, we are called to seek, grow, and give generously, supporting our shared future. (2 Thessalonians...

Sometimes change comes through visionary leadership and sometimes through protest and prophets. Queen Esther, a Jewish immigrant in Babylon who saves her people, and The Philadelphia Eleven, the first women to become Episcopal priests in 1974, are examples of how we too may be called to be part of God’s purpose "at just such a time."  (Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 and Mark 9:38-50) 

It wasn't the Lord of Flies who made us, but the Lord of Heaven; and through Christ, we were made good! Just look at the children. (James 3:13 – 4.3; Mark 9:30-37)

Jesus is a teacher; and it's not just the words he uses that we should pay attention to, but how he uses them. (James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38) 

Can we change our mind? A gentile woman is the only character in Mark’s gospel to change his mind as she begs him to heal her daughter. In a moment or over time, your mind, heart, faith and life can change with God. (Mark 7:24-37)

We’re talking about old time religion today with James and Jesus; let us not just be hearers of the Word, but doers! (James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

This summer in politics, we’ve heard many “are you with me” then “tell your friends” speeches and a lot about running mates. In the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples if they are still with him. Rev. Bowie talks about inviting our friends back to church with us and closes with Malcolm Boyd’s prayer “Are you running with me, Jesus?”  (John 6:56-69)

We’re all looking for wisdom, for the instructions to life; but what do we do once we have it? How can we be sure we even have it? (1 Kings 2:10-12 & John 6:51-58)

The choice to love as God loves the world is the antidote to division and violence. (2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33)