Breathing the Eternal Breath

Listen to sermon here: Breathing the Eternal Breath Readings for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5 – Year C) 1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) Psalm 146 Luke 7:11-17 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on June 5, 2016. Two Fridays ago, as most of you know, I got married at Grace cathedral on […]

Prayer Labyrinth Wedding at Grace Cathedral

The Arc of the Spiritual Universe Bends Towards Inclusion

Listen to sermon here: The Arc of the Spiritual Universe Bends Towards Inclusion Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C) Acts 11:1-8 Psalm 148 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on April 24, 2016. This morning I want to preach about a man who’s not afraid […]

Beholding the Lamb, Being Held by the Shepherd

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) Revelation 7:9-17 Psalm 23 John 10:22-30 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on Good Shepherd Sunday (April 17), 2016 How do we reconcile an all-powerful and all-loving God with a world of suffering? For millennia, this question has haunted Jewish and Christian […]

Method in the ‘Madness’ of Forgiveness

Readings for the Second Sunday of Easter (Year C) Acts 5:27-32 Psalm 118:14-29 Revelation 1:4-8 John 20:19-31 This sermon was preached at Grace Episcopal Church in Martinez CA on April 3, 2016. Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen! (He is Risen indeed!) I trust you all had an inspiring Holy Week and a glorious Easter Sunday. I […]

Joining the Banquet: A Palestinian Perspective on the Prodigal Son

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C) Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b – 32 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on March 6, 2016. About six years ago, I had the privilege of attending an international conference in Jerusalem, where I befriended several Palestinian Christians, shared Eucharist […]

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 […]