Reverend Marco Ste-Marie

Our father, our bread, our forgiveness Matthew 6:5–13 There are moments in life when prayer feels very personal. We pray when we are afraid. We pray when we receive difficult news. We pray when our hearts are heavy, when decisions feel hard, when grief is near, or when we are grateful for some unexpected blessing.… Read more

Living the Beatitudes in a World That Rewards the Opposite Matthew 5:3 Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a blessing. But it is not the kind of blessing the world usually recognizes. The world has its own beatitudes. Blessed are the wealthy, because they can buy comfort and security. Blessed are the confident,… Read more

Living the Beatitudes in a World That Rewards the Opposite Matthew 5:4 Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” At first, these words may sound strange. We do not usually associate mourning with blessing. We tend to call people blessed when life is going well—when… Read more

Luke 24:13–32 I want to begin with something simple and human. Not seeing clearly is part of life. A little while ago, I spent several minutes looking for my phone. I checked the table, the kitchen, my coat pocket, the couch cushions. I was growing frustrated. And then I realized I had been holding it… Read more

The water we swim in There’s an old story that goes like this. Two young fish are swimming along, and they pass an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish nods at them and says, “morning, boys. How’s the water?” the two young fish swim on for a while. Eventually one of them… Read more

Luke 10:25–37 A man is travelling from jerusalem to jericho. He is attacked, stripped, beaten, and left half dead on the side of the road. A priest comes by and passes on the other side. A levite comes by and does the same. Then a samaritan, someone the original listeners would not have expected to… Read more