Invitation to Generosity and Passiontide

Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year C) Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Psalm 126 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 6, 2025. In today’s Gospel, Mary of Bethany prays with her whole body, arousing multiple senses, and leaning into the earthy dirtiness of everyday life. She pours […]

The Arborist’s Tender Care

Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C) Exodus 3:1-15 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 23, 2025. Our readings for this Third Sunday in Lent explore the mystery of suffering in a world that we believe was created, according to the […]

St. Patrick, Herod, and Pontius Pilate

Readings for the Second Sunday in Lent (Year C) Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Psalm 27 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 16, 2025. About fifty years after the 318 bishops gathered for the first ecumenical council and adopted the Nicene Creed, a teenage boy in Britain named Maewyn […]

The Devil can Cite Scripture for his Purpose

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent (Year C) Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on March 9, 2025. So, our Lenten journey has begun once again; our Lenten fast in preparation for the great Feast of the Resurrection; our 40 days of […]

“Francis of Assisi” by Hermann Hesse – Prologue

I discovered that one of my favorite authors, Hermann Hesse, wrote a novella about one of my favorite saints, Francis of Assisi, and it’s never been translated into English. Using the original German version and an Italian translation, I have been slowly translating the novella Franz von Assisi (1904), with the help of AI. This […]

Another Sermon on Trees

Readings for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C Jeremiah 17:5-10 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26 Psalm 1 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 16, 2025. According to Jeremiah and the first Psalm, whose who trust in the Lord and those who delight in the Torah are like a tree […]

“Peace and Plenteousness within these Walls”: Rector’s Report on 2024

Readings for the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple Malachi 3:1-4 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 Psalm 84 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 2, 2025. Today we celebrate one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, also known as Candlemas, […]

Pray for our Prophets

Readings for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 Psalm 19 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 26, 2025. So, a preacher delivered a sermon that was rooted in Scripture, emphasizing God’s love and care for the poor, the oppressed, the […]

Jesus’s Commentary on Marriage and Friendship

Readings for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany – Year C Isaiah 62:1-5 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11 Psalm 36:5-10 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 19, 2025. I love that our readings today are all about weddings since today we are sandwiched between the fifth wedding anniversary of Jim Hendry and […]

We Are All Just Walking Each Other Home

Readings for the Feast of the Epiphany Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 72:1-7,10-14 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday January 5, 2025. Our Scriptures so often fill me with wonder and bewilderment; and I must say that, apart from Jesus himself, very few characters in the Scriptures fill me […]