June 29, 2025 - The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

On June 11, our Presiding Bishop, Sean Rowe, issued a letter titled “Acting Faithfully in Troubling Times.” A part of this letter reads, “At its best, our church is capable of moral clarity and resolute commitment to justice. I believe we can bring those strengths to bear on this gathering storm. Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last institutions capable of resisting the injustice now being promulgated. That is not a role we sought – but it is one we are called to.”

June 22, 2025 - The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Preached at All Saints Episcopal Mission in Linville, North Carolina

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is so good to be here in Linville with you all. A parishioner back in Salisbury has a mountain house and often speaks about coming up this way for an “altitude adjustment.” Well, that’s exactly what this week is – an altitude adjustment that allows clergy and their families to get away from the demands of parish ministry and the summer heat, while enjoying the gift of your company in this lovely community. This is our fifth summer here and we are so grateful for the invitation and the hospitality. I pray that the time here is restorative for you just as it is us.

June 15, 2025 - The Feast of the Holy Trinity

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Holy Trinity ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

In May, we went on a family vacation to Washington, DC and while we were there, we did all of the stuff that you do: National Cathedral, Zoo, the Smithsonians, the White House, and the Capitol. We booked the Capitol tour through Senator Thom Tillis’ office, and so in addition to the tour, we also received gallery passes for the Senate. Now, I’m not saying that I figured out how to fix Washington, but I did identify a first step.

June 8, 2025 - The Feast of Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Come, Holy Spirit, and speak of your wonderful works through us. Amen.

This sermon will function something like a “101” on the Holy Spirit. God, seen as a loving parent, an artist, a creator is something we can start to imagine. God, in coming to us as a Son in Jesus is something we can relate to in our humanity. But God as Spirit is a bit harder to sort out – so God helps us unlock more stars on Duolingo, and is fire, and whispers in our ears? But, then, if you’ve never heard the voice of God, or feel cold and lost, or struggle to remember when’s the right time to say “whom” instead of “who,” we might be confused about what the Holy Spirit is all about.

May 29, 2025 - The Feast of the Ascension

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

The Anglican bishop and theologian NT Wright has written that if we downplay the Ascension, the Church will end up filling the vacuum. And he does not mean this as a good thing. The Collect for the Ascension proclaims that Jesus “ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all thing,” and so if we neglect this feast of the Church, we will end up looking to ourselves to fill all things.

May 18, 2025 - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Jesus. Amen.

Let’s say that I’ve booked a table for you tonight at your favorite restaurant – doesn’t matter where, I’ve taken care of the reservation, flight, and hotel. So if you want to go to Rome, Paris, New York, wherever, we’re ready for you. I’ll even pick up the bill for dinner. The catch is that I get to choose who you have dinner with. And who is it that would make you say, “Thanks, but no thanks. Not worth it”? Maybe a former boss that you can’t stand, someone you used to be married to, the kid who bullies you in school, a political figure who repulses you? 

May 11, 2025 - The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Jesus. Amen.

Who is Jesus to you? I was in a meeting recently and that’s a question that came up. It’s such a foundational question, but one that is easy to overlook given how often we refer to Jesus – he’s in our parish identity statement, the hymns we sing, the art we are surrounded by, and at the end of all of our prayers in the phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” But who is Jesus to us? What is the operative image of Jesus that comes to mind if I ask you to close your eyes and think about the question: “who is Jesus to you?”

May 4, 2025 - The Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

I opened my Easter Sunday sermon by saying “Easter comes just in the nick of time.” Given the challenges of life, we can all use an extra dose of joy and hope, which Easter delivers right when we need it. But then like a child who had too much sugar on Easter morning, the crash soon follows. As grand as Easter was, the lilies have all dropped their flowers, the trumpets are sitting in their cases, and eggs have all been found or forgotten. Easter might come in the nick of time, but it sure doesn’t seem to stick around as long as we might like.

April 27, 2025 - The Second Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Jesus. Amen.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Though the Gospels were written down nearly 2,000 years ago, I’ve often thought these words are addressed directly to us, which is pretty neat. In the rest of Scripture, we read things that were said to people a long time ago; but here, Jesus is talking to us, sort of like when an actor breaks the third wall and speaks directly the audience. “Blessed are you who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

April 20, 2025 - Easter Sunday

Lectionary Readings

God of life and love, just as you opened the tomb, open our hearts and minds to the joy of Easter. Amen.

Easter comes just in the nick of time. There’s been a lot of Good Friday sort of news in our personal and public lives. Easter delivers the jolt of beauty, joy, and Good News that we could all use an extra dose of these days. It’s always good to proclaim it, but there seems to be an extra bit of relief this year to hear the message that the Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

April 19, 2025 - The Great Vigil of Easter

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you were to ask people what they most yearn for, after they go through the near-term wants and desires, most of us will eventually say “peace.” We long for peace. Scripture gives us the words of an often-used blessing that describes this longing – the peace of God which passes all understanding. One of the prayers that so many pray nightly in Evening Prayer is “Give peace in our time, O Lord.” Many just want some peace and quiet, we want peace in Palestine, Ukraine, and Sudan, we want a peaceful civil discourse. Peace is what so many want, and peace is the final emotion to consider this Holy Week. Since Palm Sunday, each sermon has focused on a different emotion as a way of entering into the drama of this week which finds its consummation in the peace of God.

April 19, 2025 - Holy Saturday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Holy Saturday is unlike any other day in the Church Year – both liturgically and theologically. On both counts, the day is stark. The liturgy is simple, because what is there really to do on a day of waiting? And while there certainly are writings and reflections on what it means to proclaim that Christ descended to the dead, it’s hard to develop much theology on a topic that Scripture is mostly silent. There is a sort of emptiness to Holy Saturday that can lead to despair.

April 18, 2025 - Good Friday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you want to sow disagreement, ask Christians what they think of the hymn “In Christ Alone.” Episcopalians typically aren’t involved in this debate, as the hymn in question was written in 2001 and our Hymnal was published in 1982, so we don’t sing it very often, if at all. What makes it a controversial hymn is the line, “This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save: Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” This Holy Week, each sermon is focusing on a different emotion as a way of participating in the drama of this week. Today, on Good Friday, we consider wrath.

April 17, 2025 - Maundy Thursday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Little children, I am with you only a little longer. Where I am going, you cannot come,” Jesus says to the disciples. This Holy Week, the sermons have all been focusing on the emotions of this week. When it comes to Maundy Thursday, one of the overriding emotions is anxiety, which is encapsulated in Jesus’ words to his disciples – I’m about to leave you.

April 16, 2025 - Holy Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Of all the emotions, disappointment might be one of the most difficult to move on from. There are strategies that can help us when we are angry, anxious, or impatient. Feelings of happiness, courage, or hope can all be fleeting, but there are practices that we can use to hang on to those positive emotions. But disappointment seems to just stick with us like storm clouds on a rainy day. On this Holy Wednesday, the emotion we’re reflecting on is disappointment.

April 15, 2025 - Holy Tuesday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tonight, as we continue considering the emotions of Holy Week, we turn to courage – both the courage that we see in Jesus and the courage that he intends to instill in us. This week which we call holy focuses on the Passion of Jesus. Passion, in Latin, means “to suffer,” which is where we get the phrase “The Passion of Jesus Christ.” But for us English speakers, “passion” more often means intense feelings and desires that are rooted in the heart. And this definition connects to courage. The root of the word “courage” is “heart.” So, when someone says “take heart,” it’s an appeal to be courageous. Ultimately, love is what drives the Passion of Jesus and so there is no Holy Week without the heart, without courage.

April 14, 2025 - Holy Monday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Holy Week, the sermons are focusing on our emotions – in particular, how the Passion of Jesus evokes different emotional responses from us and the characters of Scripture. Tonight, on Holy Monday, we consider fear.

April 13, 2025 - Palm Sunday

Lectionary Readings & additional Gospel reading

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Several decades ago, the cable network TNT used the slogan “We know drama” as a way of assuring audiences that their programming would be exciting, entertaining, and emotional. Well, in Holy Week the Church can borrow that phrase and say, “We know drama.”

April 6, 2025 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Everloving God, help us to lose ourselves so that we might be found by your grace. Amen.

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” St. Paul wrote that to the Philippian church and we’ve struggled with it ever since. I’ll speak for myself, but I know that I’m not alone in this, I don’t like losing things. Last week, I was looking for a particular pair of socks and couldn’t find them, it drove me crazy. I keep a planner so that I don’t lose track of appointments or tasks. My favorite sports teams are the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Miami Marlins, so though I’m very familiar with losing, I don’t like it. And while I know the value of humility, like all of us, I really appreciate accolades and recognition. Losing, whether it’s a pair of socks, an election, or an opportunity isn’t fun. And yet, the path of following Jesus is about exactly this – denying ourselves, losing ourselves, and taking up the Cross.

March 30, 2025 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Abiding God, help us to know that we are always at home in your love. Amen.

Dorothy was right, “There’s no place like home.” After two full days of travel, 10 days in Kenya, and 4 unexpected days in London, I am so glad to be home. The team that went to Kenya, Dora, Tory, and Amy, and I will have a lot more to say about the time in Kenya in the coming weeks and months, but I do want to say thank you to the Parish and the Foundation for sending us as representatives of St. Luke’s to our friends and companions in Mumias, Kenya. We had such a fantastic time and enjoyed rich food, fellowship, and worship as we further built our relationship with the Cathedral there. That being said, I think the four of us would all agree that it is so very good to be home.

March 23, 2025 - The Third Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

*Due to being stuck in London until Tuesday, this sermon was not preached, but is offered here in hopes that in reading it, the Spirit may still speak.

In name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” That’s a stark warning from Jesus that leaves me wondering what exactly it means to repent. Afterall, if repentance is how to avoid the other side of that “unless,” then I’m all ears.

March 16, 2025 - The Second Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Preached at the Bishop James Hannington Memorial Cathedral in Mumias, Kenya

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Psalm 133 begins with: “O how good and pleasant it is when siblings dwell together in unity.” Indeed, it is so very good to be here. On behalf of Dora, Amy, and Tory, we are so delighted to be here, and we are overwhelmed with the beauty of your country and people. We are so very appreciative of the hospitality that you have shown us.

March 5, 2025 - Ash Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, you hate nothing that you have made, so keep us forever in the knowledge of this great love ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This warmer weather has been a nice change. Baseball is again being played and early flowers are budding. All of this means one thing: spring is nearly here. And along with Spring break and March Madness often comes spring cleaning – when we realize that we didn’t quite make the progress on the New Year’s resolution to be better organized and so, bolstered by warmer weather, we spring to action.

March 2, 2025 - Quinquagesima

Lectionary Readings

O God of grace and glory, help us to behold that which you are helping us to become ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the Church Year, today is known as Quinquagesima – that’s a fun word, isn’t it? Quinquagesima: it means that we’re approximately fifty days from Easter and that this is the Sunday before Lent begins. On these Sundays between the Epiphany and Lent, the sermons have been focusing on our worship – exploring what we mean when say that foundational to our identity is “intentional worship.” Our worship is intentional in that it is deliberately and prayerfully planned and led, and it is intentional in that it is done with a purpose in mind. Today, as this sermon series concludes, I want to consider that last bit – what is the purpose of worship?

February 23, 2024 - Sexagesima

Lectionary Readings

Forgive the sins of the preacher, O Lord, that only your Word be proclaimed and only your Word be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

For those who are paying attention to the news about the government, it’s a disconcerting time. Constitutional and historical norms are being disregarded, chaos and confusion are rampant, and there’s a tone of division and meanness that are menacing. You all know that in the Baptismal Covenant, we commit to striving for justice and peace among all people and pledge to respect the dignity of every human being. So for those of us who are committed to the ideas of treating people with respect, of caring for the environment, that families should not be ripped apart, that who a person loves should not impact their civil rights, that diversity and inclusion are not problems but virtues, for those committed to following the way of Jesus – we’re at a loss about what to do. Attending a rally can feel like an echo chamber, contacting Congress feels like an exercise in futility, posting on social media is vain virtue signaling, standing by idly and hoping that mid-term elections help seems too passive and naïve, and prayers are confusing because for many, this outcome is exactly what many prayed for. I wonder what Scripture has to say about all of this?

February 16, 2025 - Septuagesima

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I’m the last person to ask for advice about plants. I’m not sure if it’s overwatering, underwatering, a lack of fertilizer, or putting them in the wrong places, but not even a cactus that would make it in the barren desert is safe in my care. So don’t take my advice about plants, but do listen to Jeremiah and the Psalmist, they have something worth listening to. Jeremiah says “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals… they shall be a like a shrub in the desert… But blessed are those who trust in the LORD… they shall be like a tree planted by water.” And Psalm 1 declares that those whose delight is in the law of the LORD are “like trees planted by streams of water… everything they do shall prosper.”

February 9, 2025 - The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphanny

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Woe is me! I am lost.” Those words of the prophet Isaiah describe well what many have been feeling over the past several weeks. Another translation puts it as, “I am undone.” These days, there are two camps that most people identify with. One is just so sick and tired of the nonsense and division of politics that they have little to no tolerance for hearing about it at church. They want a respite and a shelter from all of that. They want church, and specifically the sermon, to speak about eternal truths instead of temporal realities. The other group wants to know that the Church sees the eroding of our democratic norms, they are perhaps afraid for themselves or someone they love, and they want assurance that God is aware of injustice, that this is a community that stands for something, and that our faith is relevant in our modern world.

January 26, 2025 - The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

A few weeks ago, I was putting together some assemble-yourself furniture. If you’ve ever done that, you know the importance of instructions. Yes, I know that some people like to approach some projects as puzzles to figure out, but that often leads to wondering if the extra parts at the end were intended to be extras, or are you missing some structural integrity? And, as aside, I offer you full and complete absolution for whatever words came out of your mouth while you were putting the furniture together. It’s a struggle, I know.

January 19, 2025 - The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

Come, Holy Spirit, and help us to dream holy dreams. Amen.

The passage that we heard known as the “wedding at Cana” is one of my favorite stories in Scripture. It’s such a rich passage with so many layers of meaning. Every time I study it, there is more Gospel grace and truth to encounter.

January 6, 2025 - The Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

Thank you for bringing us into thy perfect light, O Christ. Amen.

For most Christians in the United States, Epiphany isn’t quite an afterthought because it’s not always even a thought. Epiphany always falls on January 6th, after the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Sunday after the Epiphany is typically the day on which we remember the Baptism of Jesus, and so Epiphany maybe gets a brief mention during the Christmas pageant when the magi from Matthew show up in what is, otherwise, Luke’s story about the birth of Jesus. But Epiphany itself rarely gets to stand on its own.

January 5, 2025 - The Second Sunday after Christmas

Lectionary Readings (and full Gospel text)

In the name of our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

What would you do if you had no fears? If you could take any risk, go on any adventure, or do that thing you’ve always wanted to do, what would it be? That was one of the questions that we recently pondered at a youth group gathering. Several of our youth gave some insightful responses. And one youth said something that really resonated for me – “I’d be more honest with people.” It’s a great response. So often there are things that we want to say, but we worry how they will be received. Maybe we think we can offer some helpful bit of advice, but we worry they’ll take it the wrong way. Perhaps there is someone we want to give an affirmation to, but there’s a chance it will come out wrong, so we hold back. It could be that when someone asks us how we’re doing, we play it safe and say “I’m good” instead of asking for the help we need. We are bound by so many emotions and fears.