From Blaming the Victim to Subverting the System

Readings for the Third Sunday of Lent (Year C) Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on February 28, 2016. There is a strong temptation among Christians and religious people in general to engage in a very pernicious way of thinking that is called ‘blaming the victim.’ It […]

Sitting with Lenten Tensions

Readings for Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:1-12 Psalm 103 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 This homily was preached at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in San Rafael on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016. It was Johannine scholar and Salesian priest Frank Moloney who first called my attention to the obvious incongruity built into the Ash Wednesday service, […]

Seeing the Transfiguration in All of Us

Readings for the Last Sunday after Epiphany (Year C): Exodus 34:29-35 Psalm 99 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2 Luke 9:28-36 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on Sunday February 7, 2016. About 1700 years ago, a Roman emperor imprisoned a kind-hearted priest for secretly conducting weddings for young Christian couples. The emperor […]

Brigid the Saint of Abundance and Light

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Brigid Judges 4:4-9 Psalm 138 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 6:25-33 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on January 31, 2016 (the Eve of St. Brigid’s Feast Day). Today we are celebrating the feast day of one of my favorite saints and one of the most […]