There may be no word in the English language more strongly attached to a certain time and place than “prudence” is to Victorian England. The very word conjures up images of prim women in drab, bustled dresses and large floral hats. It’s a word that just feels behind the times and out of step. If, … Continue reading Prudence
The other week in the post on the character strength of Perspective as good spiritual fruit, I brought up the old proverb about losing the forest through the trees. This saying came up again this morning as I was reading the Gospel. Jesus is in the middle of a diatribe against the “scribes and Pharisees,” … Continue reading The Forest and the Trees (A reflection on Matthew 23.23-26)
When I was on visiting family last month, my stepfather referenced this series of posts on character strengths and commented that he was interested to see where the post on bravery would go, since it isn’t a trait most of us have the chance to use often. Since this conversation, I’ve been eager to think … Continue reading Bravery
[This is the text of a sermon I gave at Grace Church on-the-Hill in Toronto on August 18, 2019] As many of you know, I work in the public sector. One of the things I love about working in this environment is that it gives me the chance to talk to a lot of different … Continue reading Fire on the Earth (A sermon on Luke 12.49-56)
I’ve been asked to preach at my local parish tomorrow and so I’ve been spending a lot of time the past couple weeks in the readings for this Sunday. The text from the Hebrew Scriptures caught my eye but I unfortunately wasn’t able to fit it in to my sermon. So I thought I’d take … Continue reading A Song of the Vineyard (A Reflection on Isaiah 5.1-7)
Matthew Root 