Sermon, 14th Sunday after Trinity, 2025
This Sunday, we are reading the 12th and final Homily in the first book of homilies, which is entitled:
A Sermon Against Contention and Brawling
These sermons have been edited to shorten them and to update the language, with the intent of maintaining the content, or at least the core meaning. The original texts of the homilies can be found in the manuscripts after the edited texts that were preached. For background on these homilies, see the links below.
At the time these homilies were written, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, there was great religious turmoil in England. The Reformation had brought Protestantism to the Church of England, Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) had tried to take the Church back to Rome violently suppressing dissension, and then there were the Puritans who didn’t think the English Church has changed enough. Heated and divisive arguing over religion was the rule, not the exception.
In our own day, we just skip over talking/discussing/arguing about religion, but then we have become divisive over politics to the point where we are now shooting each other. These are different times for sure, but we still become angry and hurtful to each other over our differing opinions. This sermon addresses the contentious and challenges them to become peacemakers instead. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.