Sermon archive for category: Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista

The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista: “Can you imagine a love so grand that it would offend you, a grace so magnanimous that it would enrage you, a mercy so thorough that it would cause you to walk out these doors? That’s the kind of love with which Jesus loves you? That is the kind of love with which Jesus loves them, whomever they may be.”

St. Ambrose once asked a simple question: “What is the first commandment of the law?” One might naturally turn to the first law of the Ten Commandments. St. Ambrose, however, turned to the beginning of the Law of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord thy God, the Lord is one.” “Hear, O Israel,” is the first command, St. Ambrose says, not speak. A fitting word for clergy.

Acts 2:1-21, John 14:8-17, 25-27
I’m going to let you in on a little secret…. Every Pentecost Sunday, at least one person walks up to me just before church begins, brow furrowed with concern. This person is often one of the readers for today and are looking down at their bulletin, mouthing out words: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphilia. How am I supposed to say these words? The secret … is simple. If you say it with confidence, no one will know the difference…

John 5:1-9
Javier reflects on the Gospel reading, where Jesus heals a man who has been an invalid for 38 years.

Luke 24:1-12
Javier discusses his visit to Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher and the feeling of being perplexed that Jesus’ message is sometimes not what we expect.