Grace that Saves a Kvetch Like Me (and MEYG)

Readings for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13 Year B Track 2) Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 Psalm 78:23-29 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on August 2, 2015. Each year, over the last three years, the Marin Episcopal Youth Group has teamed up with the Jewish youth at Congregation […]

Lament and What the Lectionary Leaves Out

Readings for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11 Year B) 2 Samuel 7:1-14a Psalm 89:20-37 Ephesians 2:11-22 Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 This sermon was preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael CA on July 19, 2015. I have been to several Episcopal parishes in this diocese (and beyond) and St. Paul’s San Rafael has one unique characteristic that […]

Christ’s Non-Judgmental Ministry of Presence

Readings for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8 Year B) 2 Samuel 1, 17-27 Psalm 130 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Mark 5:21-43 This sermon was preached at Grace Episcopal Church in Martinez CA on June 28, 2015. About a decade ago, I worked as an interfaith chaplain at the San Francisco General Hospital, mostly ministering to patients in the […]

Waking Up Christ Inside Out

Readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7 Year B) Job 38:1-11 Psalm 107:1-3, 23 -32 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on June 21, 2015. A couple days ago I watched a fantastic animated film called Inside Out, which creatively portrays the emotional life of […]

Trusting in the Slow Work of God

Readings for the Third Sunday of Pentecost (Proper 6 Year B) 1 Samuel 15:34 – 16:13 Psalm 20 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 Mark 4:26-34 This sermon was preached at Grace Episcopal Church in Martinez CA on June 14, 2015. Six years ago, I preached my first sermon in an Episcopal church on today’s Gospel parables about […]

A Caldera of Grace

Readings for the Second Sunday of Pentecost (Proper 5 Year B Track 1): 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) Psalm 138 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-35 This sermon was preached at Grace Episcopal Church in Martinez CA on June 7, 2015. Thousands of years before Moses received the Torah from Mt. Sinai, there was a massive explosion about […]

Sympathy for MacPhisto: Finding Apocatastasis in U2

A couple weeks ago, I attended my fifth U2 concert, which inspired me to dust off an old paper that I wrote for a course in seminary. The course was titled “The Spiritual Journey of U2” and it was co-taught by Professors Barry Taylor and Ryan Bolger at the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological […]

Drenching Our Discernment in Prayer

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year B) Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 Psalm 1 1 John 5:9-13 John 17:6-19 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on May 17, 2015. In a little more than a month, the House of Bishops will gather in Salt Lake City to elect the 27th […]

The Secret to Joy

Readings for Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Acts 18:1-8 Psalm 98:1-4 John 16:20-23a This open-ended homily was preached at All Saints Chapel at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley CA on May 15, 2015. A grandmother was watching her grandchild playing on the beach one day when a huge wave came and took him […]

“How Long Will You Take Away Our Life?”: Followers of the Good Shepherd in Baltimore and Nepal

Readings for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Acts 11:19-26 Psalm 87 John 10:22-30 This sermon was preached at All Saints Chapel at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley CA on April 28, 2015. In our Gospel this morning, the Judeans gather around Jesus and ask, “Ayos potay ten psyche humon aireis” (Εως […]