A Sign for CHoni, King Ahaz, and St. Joseph

On this Winter Solstice, this shortest day of the year, as our Jewish friends light the final candle of the hanukkiah, and as the circle of our Advent wreath comes to completion, I want to share a beloved story about a Jewish sage who asked God for a sign of his loving presence during a […]

Matthew’s Mini-Apocalypse

Readings for the First Sunday of Advent (Year A) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on November 30, 2025. On this first Sunday of Advent, we generally wish each other a happy new year as we begin a new liturgical year together. So, happy new year! Today, we begin our three-year journey […]

Be Still and Know…

Readings for the Feast of Christ the King, the Last Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 29 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on November 23, 2025. I’d like to begin by teaching you a simple chant, inspired by today’s psalm, a chant we sing at the beginning […]

The Perseverance of Samuel Seabury

Readings for the Feast Day of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury This reflection was shared at the monthly gathering of Associates and Oblates of the Community of the Transfiguration on November 14, 2025 Today is not the Feast of Samuel Seabury. Today is the Feast of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury, which is an important distinction since […]

Children of the Resurrection

Readings for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on November 9, 2025. There’s a song titled “Children of the Revolution” by a 70s glam rock band named T Rex, a band that our deceased beloved parishioner Rex White particularly […]

Vision of the Prophets, Eyes of the Poets

Readings for the Feast of All Saints’ Day This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on November 2, 2025. Today is the third and final day of the Fall Triduum: the three days of All Hallows’ Eve, All Hallows’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, which together function as a “powerful mirror-image of the […]

No Man is an Island

Readings for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on October 26, 2025. The message of this morning’s short parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector seems fairly simple and straightforward on the surface: be wary of self-aggrandizing piety […]

Giving Thanks with the Samaritan, St. Francis, and the Bodhisattva

Readings for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on October 12, 2025. I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation (Psalm 111:1) May I speak the unchained […]

“Behold, God’s Love for you”: Vida Dutton Scudder and the Showbread

Readings for the Feast Day of Vida Dutton Scudder This reflection was shared at the monthly gathering of Associates and Oblates of the Community of the Transfiguration on October 10, 2025 According to the Jewish Talmud, the Jewish high priests would keep 12 loaves of bread in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. It was called […]

Listening to trees with Jesus and St. francis

Sermon begins at 23:55 Readings for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22 – Year C – Track 2) This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on October 5, 2025. On this final Sunday of Creation season, Jesus uses imagery from creation to explain the mighty power of a little faith. When the […]