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Mother’s Day with Oliver Twist
Unfortunately, the first apostles get very little ink in scripture . . . very little portrayal in our iconography, and very little focus theologically in our academies. The first apostles were mothers.
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The Sermon on the Mount: A Mission Impossible
The Sermon on the Mount: A Mission Impossible Michael Battle Trinity Church Boston February 8, 2026 Lectionary: Matthew 5:13-20
Sermon
Like a Flash of Lightning
The poet Mary Oliver asks the essential question, ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ I think Jesus answers in our gospel lesson today by saying ‘become more aware of fallen angels among us trying to impose their will on others.’ And the reason Jesus says the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, is because Jesus invites us to be like God and not submit to the contagion of violence.
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Do You Love Jesus
Palm Sunday Michael Battle Trinity Church Boston April 13, 2025 Lectionary: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 19:28-40; and Luke 22:14-23:56 When my
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Why We Love Our Enemies
The miracle is this: Jesus knows how to win in such a way that no one should lose.
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Sermon: No Longer Two But One
St. Francis loved to laugh; and so, his laughter was infectious. Those around him were infected by his joy of finding access to God in the strangest places. So, Francis kisses the hand of the leper. Here is why Francis should be seen as a saint. He is a saint not because he does something most of us would be repulsed by but because he was seeking God beyond his capacity to know God.
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Unless You Become Like a Little Child
Scarcity thinking can easily move in the direction of thinking that there really is no God. Which to me is the ultimate scarcity—namely, thinking there is no God. As the Psalmist states, “The fool has said, “There is no God.” When we give into this way of thinking that there is no God, we do foolish things.
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Get Up
But with Jesus there is no zero-sum outcome. Jairus’ daughter gets healed too. This is not a story about how the outsiders are rewarded and the insiders are punished. The last may come first and the first last, but the first are not excluded.
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The Hive
Jesus perfectly transformed us beyond what to love in God’s eyes into persons who to love, just like God’s three persons who love.
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The Parable of the Bridesmaids
I remember raising my hand in class, trying to impress Rowan Williams, and I said, “You know some people’s concept of heaven is based upon knowing your enemies are weeping and gnashing their teeth forever. Knowing that they are eternally cast out into the utter darkness.