DISCIPLES are people who submit willingly to a certain DISCIPLINE.  We can think of certain people or ideas that have excited us.  At one time or another, we have wanted our lives to be reflections of the thing that fascinates.  To be a disciple of Jesus means to be open to the many ways in which he calls us to re-think our own existence.

This was the first sermon for Auburn's observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in its centennial year.  The venue: Cornerstone Community Church.  I forgot about recording until a couple of minutes into it.  Before turning it on, I got a good laugh when I said: "The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was started by Episcopalians who shortly thereafter became Roman Catholics.  In mentioning this, I do not mean to presuppose any outcome."

We, the church, the assembly, are called to holiness.  "Holy" is a word rich in significance; yet it can be an obstacle to us when we seek to understand ourselves before God.  We welcome the encouragement of all who have accepted the challenge of the call to holiness.

Baptism is death.  This is not the sort of polite conversation that one expects when an infant undergoes baptism.  But this is precisely why Jesus underwent baptism: to be in solidarity with us who face this very strange thing called mortality.

We live in accelerated times.  Today we attempt to grasp what is of value in this time and for eternity.  We accept the challenge of accepting a gift of universal significance to humanity.

http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/PDF%27s/evangelisation_note_english_141207.pdf

I am happy to pass along this document, more conciliatory in tone when speaking of other Christians and people of other faiths than what I refer to as "the July thing."