The Cross and the Wolf Within

Readings for Good Friday Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 22 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1 – 19:42 This sermon was preached on Good Friday at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on April 3, 2026. About 800 years ago, the people in the Italian city of Gubbio were being terrorized by a fierce wolf who was not […]

St. Francis and Sister Death

Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year A) Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 Psalm 130 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 22, 2026. “Well, everything dies, baby, that’s a fact / But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.” These are lyrics from the song “Atlantic City” by Bruce […]

Seeing Christ’s Healing Power in Sister Earth

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent – Laetare Sunday (Year A) 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Psalm 23 This sermon was preached at St. James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy on Sunday March 15, 2026. It’s a joy and honor for me to be worshipping with you and preaching here at St. James […]

Listening to the Wind and the Silence with Nicodemus

Readings for the Second Sunday in Lent (Year A) Genesis 12:1-4a Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 Psalm 121 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday March 1, 2026. During these Sundays in Lent, we will be reading passages from the Gospel of John that each invite us to engage with one of our […]

Sensual Asceticism

Readings for the First Sunday in Lent (Year A) Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Psalm 32 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Sunday February 22, 2026. There’s a scene in C. S. Lewis’s science fiction book Perelandra in which the hero of the space novel named Ransom travels from Earth to […]

The Mysterious Conversion of St. Francis

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 Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Ha pater sou ha blepon en to krypto apodosei soi. Your Father (pater) who sees […]

It Is Good for us to Be Here

Readings for the Last Sunday after Epiphany (Transfiguration) Exodus 24:12-18 2 Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9 Psalm 2 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka on Shrove Sunday February 15, 2025. “It is good to be here. It is good for us to be here.” During an ecumenical event in Sacramento last month, Roman Catholic priest […]

Christian Unity Based on a Question

This article was published in the Times-Standard on Saturday February 7, 2026 as “A Question to Propel Us Toward True Christian Unity” By the Rev. Daniel DeForest London, Ph.D. The week of Jan. 18 to 25 was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a week bookended by the Feast of the Confession of St. […]

Q: How Long? A: Behold, the Lamb of God!

Readings for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 49:1-7 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42 Psalm 40:1-12 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 18, 2026. In March of 1983, the Irish Rock band U2 released their third album, titled “War”; and the opening track of the album is called “Sunday […]

Our Baptism, Belovedness and Behavior

Readings for the First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord Isaiah 42:1-9 Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 3:13-17 Psalm 29 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on January 11, 2026. Today is the feast day of the Baptism of Our Lord (when we baptize Theodore Alex Zheng); it is also the […]