Augustine

Homily: “On Resting in God”

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Offered by Father Matthew Dallman for the Parish of Tazewell County, on the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9, Year A), 2017.

Today’s Lesson from the Book of Zechariah is a perfect example of the kind of Scripture the first Christians of the early Church would have used to understand who Jesus of Nazareth truly was. I have spoken previously about the practice of “mystagogy”—of being led into the mysteries of God, of revisiting our experiences to find in them a still greater depth and significance—and the prophet Zechariah provided the early Church, and provides us, with just that kind of opportunity. To do mystagogy is not merely to look at words on the biblical page, and not merely to think about a superficial reading, but rather mystagogy is to enter into the space evoked by the scriptural words. It is deep listening with all of our human faculties, listening for resonances with other parts of the Bible, with our Liturgy, and with our own experiences.

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The Anglican Spiritual Tradition, parts 1 and 2

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By Martin Thornton

PART ONE
There is good reason for dividing this lecture into two unequal parts. I must first offer a brief resumé of what I take the Anglican spiritual tradition to be; then I should like to look rather more fully at the contemporary impact of our tradition, concluding with a somewhat dangerous game of attempting to read the signs of its future unfolding.

Pedantic haggling over the meaning of words is not the most exciting exercise, but it is apparent already that some attention must be given to that most ambiguous and abused term “Tradition”; paradosis, traditio, literally a giving-over, or handing-over. Handing-over be it noted and not handing-down.

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“Prayer and Incarnation”

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By Martin Thornton[1] Contemporary theology is in confusion: which is at least to start with a proposition that nobody is likely to dispute. It is neither my present task, nor is it within my competence, to try to unravel the tangle; I am to be concerned with an examination of incarnational prayer within the contemporary … Read more

Homily: The Mystery of Adam’s Rib

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Delivered at Saint Paul’s, Riverside on 4 October 2015. There is an echo in the Gospel lesson from the Old Testament lesson. We hear, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus quote from Genesis chapter 2. Jesus says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the … Read more

Homily: Faith’s name for reality is God

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Delivered on Trinity Sunday, 31 May 2015, at Saint Paul’s, Riverside, Illinois. [display_podcast] This past Thursday was the 8th anniversary of the death of Father John Macquarrie. He was without question a major theologian in the 20th-century Church, and remains known to this day quite literally around the entire world. What’s more, Fr Macquarrie had a special … Read more

The Person of Jesus Christ (Lecture 3 of 5) by John Macquarrie

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[display_podcast] LECTURE 3 “Christology ‘From Below’” Macquarrie continues with a description of christology that is “anabatic,” which can be said to be theology about Jesus that is “from below” and “goes up” to the divine nature of Jesus. It is in this approach, Macquarrie argues, that Christ’s humanity comes into its best and most accessible light. … Read more

Marian Penitence

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“Penitence,” wrote Martin Thornton, “becomes a search for the truth of one’s vocation” (The Purple Headed Mountain, Chap. 5). Penitence can take on this character when we accept the possibility, which the biblical revelation insists is fact, that all of God’s creation is an integrated, purposeful, lively unfolding with a unique role for each and … Read more

Martin Thornton’s Ressourcement Syllabus

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[from the appendix to English Spirituality: An Outline of Ascetical Theology According to the English Pastoral Tradition, rev. ed. 1986.] A Course of Study in Ascetical Theology for Parish Priests and Theological Students of the Anglican Communion After delivering lectures on this and kindred subjects, I am invariably asked for a “reading list” by those of … Read more

The Person of Jesus Christ (Lecture 1 of 5) by John Macquarrie

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[display_podcast] LECTURE 1 “The State of Christology in the Present Age” Presiding Bishop John Allin introduces John Macquarrie to the House of Bishops’ gathering. In this first of five presentations over five days, Macquarrie subsequently outlines his entire lecture and previews each of the five areas of christology that he will examine. Christ is at … Read more