“Living As A Dual Citizen” By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda 4th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 6B) 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set

“The Power of Belonging” By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda 3rd Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 5B) Mark 3:20-35 The crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables

“What Is Sabbath For?” 2nd Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 4B) Mark 2:23-3:6 23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and

"Service and Generosity Around the Table" By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda The Day of Pentecost (B) Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in oth

“Mother Mary in the Gap” by Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda A Sermon for Easter 7B (and Mother's Day) Acts 1:12-26 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of[c] James. 14 A

“To the Ends of the Earth: Christ Against Nationalism” By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda Ascension Day - May 10, 2018 Delivered at The Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Savannah, GA Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them b

A Baptism of Healing & Unification By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda Easter 5B - April 29, 2018 Acts 8:26-40 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his ch

Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda baptizes DeAndre Scott on April 22, 2018. “Becoming Sheep in Jesus’ Flock” A sermon by Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda for the 4th Sunday in Easter (B) on the occasion of four baptisms at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. John 10:1-18 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate f

Madison Agyemang was baptized as the newest member of the Body of Christ today. She is held by her mother, Sarai Rhett, and surrounded by her father, Ashanti Agyemang (blue shirt, next to Sarai), godparents, and priest. Below is a rough outline of my sermon from this morning. “Baptism: Becoming One in Christ” 3rd Sunday in Easter - April 15, 2018 1 John 3:1-7 1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason

“Light in Our Darkness” By Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda 2nd Sunday in Easter (April 8, 2018) 1 John 1:1-2:1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard

“Let’s Go to Galilee!” Easter Day (Year B) by Fr. Guillermo A. Arboleda Mark 16:1-8 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was ver

Note: Tonight's Good Friday service was a collaborative effort between St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Church of the Epiphany. We want to offer special thanks for the Rev. Kelly Steele, Pastor, and Mr. Kyle Carswell, Pastoral Intern, for serving with us in this liturgy. "The Humility of God" Good Friday By Kyle Carswell, Pastoral Intern, Church of the Epiphany, Savannah When I was in college, I had the privilege to go on a summer study trip to Israel/Palestine, Turkey, Gre

“The Shape of Love” Maundy Thursday - March 28, 2018 John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was

“Jesus or Barabbas?” Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion, B Note: For all the readings from this Sunday, see http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/HolyWeek/BPalmSun_RCL.html Holy Week is the story of rejecting Jesus as Messiah. At the beginning of the week, enough people believed he was the One that they welcomed him into the city in a triumphal procession. Much like Romans welcomed victorious generals and kings back from war, the people shouted hymns of praise for Jesus as

John 12:20-33 20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies,

Complete Lyrics to "Us For Them" by Lisa Gungor & Michael Gungor John 3:14-21 (NRSV) Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might

John 2:13-22 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketpl

Mark 8:31-38 Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd w

Being Hypocrites for Lent Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your

2 Kings 2:1-12 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And