John in July: God as Outcast (Jn 1)

This summer I need to buckle down and focus on the Gospel of John in order to prepare for the writing of my dissertation. I decided to take on the discipline of daily blogging in order to force myself to “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the Fourth Gospel. The current ambition is to write […]

St. Alban and the Sacrament of Baptism

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Alban Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 69:15-20 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:26-28a, 29-31, 40, 42 This sermon was preached at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Albany CA on June 22, 2014 Before England was called England, when it was just an island at the outermost edge of the known world, there […]

Wedding Homily for David & Martha

Readings for the Wedding of David William Harty and Martha Buckle Shear: Tobit 8:5b-8 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Matthew 5:1 – 10 This sermon was preached at the Wedding of David Harty and Martha Shear on June 21, 2014 at Ru’s Farm at Healdsburg Country Gardens in Healdsburg CA. Over the last few months, I have […]

The Spirit Who Empowers Us All to Be Bishops, Priests and Deacons

Readings for Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 20:19-23 This sermon was preached at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in San Rafael CA on June 8, 2014. Today is a special day not only because it is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church (the 1,981st birthday of the church […]

How to Overcome Ascension Deficit Disorder

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1:6-14 Psalm 68:1-10; 33-36 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on Sunday June 1, 2014 This last Thursday was the 40th day of Easter which meant it was Ascension Day, a day that commemorates a truth we claim every […]

Love Was His Meaning

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on Sunday May 11, 2014 In a song that Bob Dylan co-wrote with U2, Bono sings one of the most challenging lyrics in the whole U2 catalog […]

Julian of Norwich’s Invitation to “Pray Interly”

Readings for the Feast Day of Dame Julian of Norwich Isaiah 46:3-5 Psalm 103:1-4, 13-18 Showings Ch. 5 John 4:23-26 This sermon was preached at All Saints Chapel at Church Divinity School of the Pacific on May 8, 2014 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy Name As a freshman at […]

St. Mark and Wild Beasts

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Mark the Evangelist Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 2:7-10 Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-16 Mark 1:1-15 This sermon was preached at All Saints Chapel at Church Divinity School of the Pacific on April 28, 2014 “He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts” […]

Christ the Good Shepherd and the Question of Suffering

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year A) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on March 30, 2014. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” About five centuries before Christ, a young prince […]

Attending to Pelagius

Readings for First Monday in Lent Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Psalm 19:7-14 Matthew 25:31-46 This sermon was preached at All Saints Chapel at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley CA on March 10, 2014. The first British theologian used this morning’s Gospel (Matthew 25: 31-46) to support his argument that Christ judges Christians not based on their […]