Archibald Shaw: Witness to Christ in the Sudan

Sermon preached in Christ Church

Alexandria, Virginia

June 6, 1999

The way to faith in God for many of us has run through a person. One definition of a saint is a person through whom God's light shines. You would of course expect me as a seminary professor to emphasize the importance, for a mature faith in God, of asking questions and of engaging in serious study. But most of us would never ask our questions or pursue them seriously if we had not first met someone who in their person communicated to us deep trust in God. These people who have embodied for us trust in God are unforgettable. They have made us who we are.

Council Sermon 06 III Ep B

The gospel tonight is Mark's account the call of the first followers of Jesus.

This is the year we read from the Gospel according to Mark as our primary Sunday Gospel reading. As Mark is the shortest of the four gospels, the readings are interlaced with selections from John¹s Gospel.

Mark's writing is brief and action packed. The word "immediately" occurs over twenty-seven times in the gospel.

Mark does not linger over his stories. The picture Mark presents is like a black and white Brownie photograph. John's Gospel is like an impressionist painting. In the spirit of Mark's directness and abruptness, this sermon might follow that same path.