Sermons

We pick up this week,where we left off last week.That’s not what always happenswhen we use the lectionary.Last week we heard Jesus tell the disciples“I am the vine;you are the branches.If you remain in me and I in you,you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing.”Jesus concluded,“This is to my Father’s glory,that […]

Alleluia! Christ is risen!Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! “Whoever does not abide in meis thrown away like a branch and withers;such branches are gathered,thrown into the fire,and burned…”is not,despite what 19th and 20th CenturyAmerican evangelicals might have us thinkthe point of this passage.Jesus is at table with his friendswhen we drop in to John’s gospel

Alleluia! Christ is risen!Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! “And this is his commandment,that we should believein the name of his Son Jesus Christand love one another,just as he has commanded us.All who obey his commandmentsabide in him,and he abides in them.And by this we knowthat he abides in us,by the Spirit that he has given

(It’s on page 2 of your bulletin)Alleluia! Christ is risen!Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! On Tuesday as Brandon and I watchedlast Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonightwith John OliverI was remindedof my favorite quote from NT Wright’sSurprised by Hope.Oliver spends half an hourtalking about where the chemicalsfor lethal injections by the federal governmentand some statescome

In the folk opera HadestownHermes —both the narrator and a character —introduces us,the audience,to Hades, Persephone, Eurydice, and Orpheus.He warns us that thissung-through show is an old song,and it’s a sad song.But!He lets us know,it’s a love song.As we’ve walked this triduum,Maundy Thursday, Good Friday,and Easter —starting with last night —we’ve reflected on God’s love

Listen now to the Easter Sermonof St. John Chrysostomas translated for useat St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church,San Francisco. If there are devoutand God-loving people here;welcome to this beautiful,radiant feast.If there are any carefulservants of God,come and rejoice with the Lord.If anyone hereis worn out from fasting,tonight you will get your fill. If you’ve been

The folk opera Hadestownbegins with Hermes —both a character and narrator —singing about the road to hellwith a railroad line.He sings,“Someone’s got to tell the taleWhether or not it turns out wellMaybe it will turn out this timeIt’s a sad song…We’re gonna sing it anyway.” After introducing us to Eurydice and Orpheus,Hades and Persephone,Hermes tells

The folk opera Hadestownbegins with Hermes —both a character and narrator —singing about the road to hellwith a railroad line.He sings,“Someone’s got to tell the taleWhether or not it turns out wellMaybe it will turn out this timeIt’s a sad song…We’re gonna sing it anyway.”When Brandon and I saw Hadestown in NovemberI remarked to Paul

In his book Reconciliation,which some of us have been readingand discussing this Lent,Martin L. Smith writes,“Far from beinga remote third partyobserving us critically and dispassionately,God is our very life,the creative, sustaining environmentin which we live and moveand have our being.Our lives are rooted and enmeshed in God’s;our acts and thoughtsmove and touch God.Our acts and