© 2023, John Tamilio III Because of the way the calendar unfolds this year, today is one of those dual days. We get them occasionally. Today is Christmas Eve, but it is also the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Love. When we open the Gospel lesson, we will see why it is one […]
The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is the most comprehensive of all four of the Gospels. Mark and John say nothing about his birth. Matthew has eight verses about the birth itself and then focuses on the visit of the Magi. The story, as we typically tell it, […]
The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor ‘Tis the season! This is when we as a church celebrate one of the key moments of our faith: the birth of Jesus. We spoke about this at length at Bible Study last night. We reflected on how the events surrounding the birth of the Messiah were humble, […]
© 2023, Dr. Tamilio I just finished watching the movie Oppenheimer, as I mentioned in my recent Advent reflection that you might have received via email. The complexity and fast pace of the film requires two viewings. It is a powerful, mammoth film. I am hesitant to mention movies in sermons (other than The Exorcist, […]
The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2023, John Tamilio III Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. We began Year A (with its focus on the Gospel of Matthew) on November 27, 2022. Today is the last day in that cycle. The new year starts next week as we venture into […]
Dr. John Tamilio III © 2023, Dr. Tamilio Our most recent Bible Study series comes to an end this coming Tuesday. We will take a couple of weeks off and then start our next session, which will lead us into Advent and Christmas. (Yes, the Yuletide is right around the corner!) Over the past six […]
The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2023, John Tamilio III When I was a kid, I always knew that Easter was approaching because the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille classic The Ten Commandments was on TV. It wasn’t time to celebrate the resurrection unless Charlton Heston came down from the mountain carrying the two […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2023, John Tamilio III Let’s talk about what’s going on. Let’s talk about what is happening in the Middle East. We talked about anti-Semitism Last week. That sermon was delivered in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Israel by Hamas. Since then, everything has been exacerbated. The attacks […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2023, John Tamilio III Serendipity. It means accidental discovery, or when something desirable occurs accidentally. Maybe this sermon title is wrong then because what I am about to share is not something that is accidental. I think God’s hand was involved. It began Wednesday night. I was watching a […]
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor © 2023, Dr. Tamilio When I was twelve years old, I played Little League. I only played for one season. The reason might have been (might have been) that the year I played, I was on the worst baseball team in the history of the Beverly Little League organizations. I […]