“Deep, unspeakable suffering may well be called a baptism, a regeneration, the initiation into a new state.”* -George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), 1859 Christmas: Jesus is born to his father and mother; he begins as a member of a family. Eight days later, he is circumcised,...
In this Sermon, delivered at the Lord’s New Church in Bryn Athyn, PA, Rev. Hugh Odhner invites us to reflect on the different kinds of anxiety we face in life, as we begin the new year. Click below for a printable PDF version of Rev. Odhner’s sermon: Be...
In this message, delivered at the Swedenborgian Community Church at Hillside in El Cerrito, CA, Birrell Walsh, PhD, discusses Swedenborg’s use of a feminine image God in his work “Divine Love and Wisdom”. Click below for a printable PDF version of the message: The Creatress Birrel Walsh, PhD...
Rev. Susannah Currie shares about the inner meaning of the Annunciation, and what Mary and the Angel Gabriel represent within our own psyche as we open ourselves to the presence of the Divine. Posted by Bridgewater New Jerusalem Church on Sunday, December 9, 2018 Rev. Susannah Currie...
In this sermon, Rev. Hugh Odhner, pastor at the Lord’s New Church in Bryn Athyn, PA, reminds us that Swedenborgian Christmas is something which occurs within. How does the divine enter into our lives, and how do we enter into the divine? Click below for a printable PDF...
In this sermon, delivered at the Church of the Holy City in Wilmington, Delaware, Rev. Shada Sullivan engages the phrase used by the writer of the Gospel of John, “Jesus Wept”. How can the image of a Christ who shares in human grief and suffering enrich our understanding...
In this course, Rev. Dr. David Fekete, co-editor of Our Daily Bread, engages famous sayings of Christ from the Gospels through a Swedenborgian lens. INTRODUCTION When one reflects on a course about the sayings of Jesus, two Gospels are best: Matthew or Luke. Those two Gospels have the most...
From its beginnings in late eighteenth-century England and continuing up to the present day, a careful debate has cropped up from time to time within the Swedenborgian tradition as to what extent social justice issues might be broached in church discourse. The answering light shimmers from the New Jerusalem itself....
In this sermon, Joy Barnitz explores the biblical narrative of “doubting Thomas”, and the role doubt can play in healthy spirituality. Click below for a printable PDF version of Joy’s sermon: The Touch of Doubt Joy Barnitz earned a Master of Divinity and a Certificate of Swedenborgian...
This sermon explores the theme of Mercy in Swedenborg, and a more recent controversial Christian mystic, Padre Pio of Pietrelchina. What do these two holy men have to say about the concept of a “merciful God”? Click below for a printable PDF version of Rev. Muller’s sermon: Ex Divina...
