Readings for Maundy Thursday Exodus 12:1-14 Psalm 116:1, 10-17 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-17,  31b-35 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 14, 2022 Last month, I spent a day hiking the Headwaters Forest Trail, a 5 ½ mile trail along the Elk River that winds up into an old-growth redwood […]

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week, named after the palms that were used like confetti when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. On this day, we carry palms and shout, “Hosanna!” which means “Save!” or “Saviour” to commemorate Jesus’s Triumphal Entry. Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday because we read the account of […]

Readings for the Feast Day of William Law 2 Peter 1:3-11 Psalm 1 Matthew 6:1-8 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday April 9, 2022 at Sequoia Park in Eureka.  William Law was a Church of England priest in the 18th century who challenged Anglicans to take Christian living seriously in […]

This article was written for the April 2022 Chronicle newsletter for Christ Church Eureka, soon after attending the Solemn Requiem for the Rev. Dr. Louis Weil on Friday April 1, 2022 When I was in Berkeley last weekend to attend my wife Ashley Bacchi’s Borsch-Rast Lecture at the GTU, I had the opportunity to also […]

Readings for Laetare Sunday, the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C) Joshua 5:9-12 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Psalm 32 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 27, 2022. Happy Laetare Sunday! Today is a day in which we are invited to rejoice (which is the English translation of the […]

Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 20, 2022. There is a strong temptation among Christians and religious people in general to engage in a very insidious way of thinking that is called ‘blaming the victim.’ It is essentially blaming the victims […]

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent (Year C) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 6, 2022. The forty days of Lent have begun, even though today (Sunday) is not counted as one of those days. Remember Sundays are still feast days throughout the season of Lent, so if you’ve […]

Readings for Ash Wednesday Joel 2:1-2, 12 – 17 Psalm 103 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 This homily was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022. On Ash Wednesday, we recognize our mortality and finitude, our utter dependance on God for every single breath we breathe. As the author of […]

Readings for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on February 20, 2022. Last Sunday, we heard the opening words of the Sermon on the Plain, a sermon that Jesus preached after staying up all night in prayer and after calling his twelve disciples, on […]

Readings for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year C) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on February 13, 2022 Because I think we’re overdue for a cheesy joke, I have a question: What happens to maple trees on Valentine’s Day? They get sappy! During this weekend of fun distractions like the […]