Sermons 2025
November 2, 2025 All Saints Sunday "Saints Abound"
When I say the word saint what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It is probably one of the famous saints, like one of the apostles, or Francis, Theresa, Patrick, or Joan of Arc. You might also think of saints for reasons other than sainthood. Who do I mean? How about St. Joseph because of the baby aspirin, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or the St. Lawrence River? Of course, we cannot forget the New Orleans Saints.
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October 26, 2025 Pentecotst 20 “Confessions”
I do not know anyone who likes admitting they made a mistake. Whether it is one as innocuous as a spelling error or more egregious as causing damage to someone or something. We buy radar detectors not to be better drivers, but so we will not get caught speeding. Spell check fixes our real typos. If a waiter makes a mistake in our favor tallying our check, we do not say anything, but if the error is in the restaurant’s favor, we make a fuss and expect the waiter to be extremely apologetic. When we make a mistake in a presentation, we blame an assistant or editor for not catching it. Our child gets into a fight with another child on the playground, and we immediately accuse the other child without investigating what happened. It goes back to when we were children and the first thing out of our mouths was, “He started it.”
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October 19, 2025 Pentecost 19 “As Close as Your Heart”
If you were out with a friend having a deep conversation about life and how you find meaning, how would you respond to a question about where God and or Jesus fits into the way you live your life? We might respond, “How about those Dodgers?” or “What lovely weather we have been having. I so love the fall.” Anything to change the topic. We feel our relationship with God is private. Or we are not comfortable talking about God even with a good friend. We are uncertain about our relationship with God, we hope it is good enough.
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October 12, 2025 Pentecost 18 “I Thank You God”
When someone gives you a gift, has you over for dinner, or helps you with a project, what do you do afterward? I should hope you say “thank you” or write a thank-you note. From my youth, I was taught the importance of writing thank-you notes. We had to have special stationery for such notes. It could not be lined notebook paper. It should be nice cards and envelopes from the stationery store. I learned that cream colored paper was best with matching envelopes. I remember Crane was the brand of choice. While using nice stationery was good, what was essential was writing the note in your own hand and getting it in the mail promptly.
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October 5, 2025 Pentecost 17 “Gotta have Faith”
“Increase my faith.” As thick as the disciples can be at times, this one takes the cake. Jesus could do many things. He could heal the sick, raise the dead, calm the seas, cure the blind and lame, dumbfound the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, just to name a few, but how is he supposed to increase someone’s faith? Perhaps he could hypnotize them, or maybe just zap them and give them more faith, or create a pill when taken daily, could increase faith. He could call it vitamin F.
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September 28, 2025 Pentecost 16 "Money, Money, Money, Money"
In the reading that we just heard from the First Letter to Timothy, there was a phrase that has become an aphorism. Did you recognize it? If so, tell me what you heard. Yes, it is “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” More often, we hear this aphorism changed to “money is the root of all evil.” There are slight but significant differences between the two. For one, there is the difference between the definite and indefinite articles. That is “the root” and “a root.” In the letter to Timothy, the writer considers the love of money as one of a group of things that are at the root of evil. Whereas the aphorism makes it the only root of evil. It is interesting how one little word can much such a big difference.
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September 21, 2025 Pentecost 15 “Say what?”
Who among you feels like you have a lock on the meaning of the parable we heard Jesus tell in today’s Gospel?[1] Preachers and scholars agree that this parable is difficult to understand. There are parts that just do not sound like Jesus, especially the part about making “friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth.”[2] Jesus often turns the ways of the world upside down to make a point, but he does not tell us to do something shrewdly misleading in order to gain salvation. What is up with this parable and Jesus?
[1] Luke 16:1-13 NRSVUE
[2] Luke 16:9 NRSVUE
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September 14, 2025 Pentecost 14: “Making it Whole”
A lost sheep and a lost coin. Two different things, one is living, but the other is inanimate. The sheep got lost while the coin was lost; we don’t know how. The only aspect they share is their lostness. What does it mean to be lost? The dictionary tells us someone who is lost does not know their whereabouts, like the sheep in the parable. A thing can be lost, which means it is misplaced; we do not know its location. However, lost has other meanings that have nothing to do with location. What other kinds of lostness are there?
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September 7, 2025 Pentecost 13: "The Choice is Yours"
Let me begin with a rhetorical question. It is something I want you to ponder and not respond to immediately. Could you give up everything for the sake of God, Jesus, and the Gospel? When I say everything, I mean everything—family, friends, possessions, housing, money, reputation, and any other thing that you hold dear. It is a demanding question that I ask. Yet, Jesus commands that we do this in today’s Gospel.
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August 31, 2025 Pentecost 12: "Eat Up"
By a show of hands, how many of you have ever served a meal to someone? As I expected, most, if not all of you, have. Here is another question: how many have served as waiters in a restaurant, café, or other eating establishments? This could include bar tenders and baristas. Not as many, but a goodly number. How many of you have served a meal at a soup kitchen or worked at a food pantry? Still a goodly number if not quite as many.
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August 24, 2025 Pentecost 11: “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”
In Virginia, until the end of the 1970s, we had ordinances known as Blue Laws or Sunday Laws. These laws prohibited the sale of certain items on Sundays. I remember going into a Hechinger’s store one Sunday (Hechinger’s was the local version of Lowe's or Home Depot) to find that many aisles were roped off and displays covered. When I asked why, I was told they could not sell items on Sunday that involved work, such as tools and mops, etc.
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July 27, 2025 Pentecost 7: "Tiger by the Tail"
Back in 1964, the country music singer Buck Owens and his band, the Buckaroos, released a song that went all the way to the top of the country music charts. It was called “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail.” The song begins with the chorus. The words are:
“I've got a tiger by the tail, it's plain to see
I won't be much when you get through with me
Well, I'm a-losing weight and a-turning mighty pale
Looks like I've got a tiger by the tail.”
July 6, 2025 Pentecost 4: "He ain't Heavy, He's my Brother"
How would you say Christians treat those who are found in transgression? [listen for shunning, outcast, gossip, shame, excommunication]. That is right, we shun them, gossip about them, shame them, and even excommunicate them. What is the one exception to this? [Listen for money, power, prestige, family] Unless, of course, they are “pillars of the community or the church,” and their financial support is critical. Then we look the other way.
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June 22, 2025 Pentecost 2: "More Than This"
Needs are the most basic aspects of life. Every creature has these needs. Abraham Maslow, in his hierarchy of needs, indicated that these are the needs for air, water, food, clothing, shelter, and sleep. These are the very aspects of life that we must have to survive from day to day. There is no doubt that if we do not have them, we will perish; they are that essential. However, if these are all we have in life, we are only existing or subsisting. Someone in this condition does not have time to seek education, art, music, maybe even procreation. It is only when basic needs are met that a person can set aside time for something more complex.
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June 8, 2025 Pentecost: "A Soldier's Heart"
Words, words, words. We are plagued with words wherever we go. Pick up your phone, and before you even call someone, it is talking to you. Get in the car and it talks to you. I went to the library the other day with the hope of silence, and everyone was talking. You would expect a song called “The Sound of Silence” to be quiet, yet that classic is full of words and music. I have met people who love talking so much it is hard to get them to stop. You can actually walk away from them, and they keep babbling on and on, not realizing their audience is gone.
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June 1, 2025 Easter 7: "All Are One"
About eight years ago, I made my last mission trip to the town of Azua in the Dominican Republic. For about 10 years, St. Stephen’s in Richmond sent two or three mission teams each year to Azua. There, we assisted the local parish in construction projects, including building their new church.
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May 25, 2025 Easter 6: "Wade in the Water"
Jesus is not always the easiest guy to read. He teaches in enigmatic parables. He performs miracles and then insists that no one speak a word about them. He says that he has come to fulfill the scriptures and then allows his followers to break some of those teachings right in front of the Pharisees. He loves and cares for everyone, but he is harsh with the Pharisees and the wealthy. He teaches his disciples to take on his ministry after his death, but keeps calling them faithless.
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May 18, 2025 Easter 5: "What a Revelation!"
I want to begin today with a question. What is your favorite book of the Bible? I will start so that you have time to think. My favorite book is Genesis. I love the variety of stories, the quirky people, and the way the narrative develops in fits and starts. I am fascinated by the pastiche of stories, including creation, flood, and the Tower of Babel.
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May 4, 2025 Easter 3: "Follow Me"
How many here have a library card? There is a library for which you do not have to have a card—that is the Bible. The Bible is not a single book but a collection of books.
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April 20, 2025 Easter: "Alleluia. Christ the Lord is Risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia"
Here we are it is Easter Day. We are rejoicing in the Resurrection of our Lord. We sing joy-filled songs. We hear inspiring scriptures and say heartfelt prayers. We wear our fancy clothes and hats. There is a festive reception awaiting us next door.
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April 18, 2025 Good Friday: "A Week to Remember"
Passion Week or Holy Week is seven days of drama. It begins jubilantly with the entry into Jerusalem as the crowds cheer on Jesus. But they are also pleading with him when they shout “Hosanna,” which means “save us.”
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April 17, 2025 Maundy Thursday: "Following Love's Command"
Today is Maundy Thursday. The Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which translates as commandment. For this is the day we remember that in the Gospel of John, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, “that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”[1]
[1] John 13:35
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April 13, 2025 Lent 6 Palm Sunday: "Save Us Now"
This is a difficult Sunday to preach, because we are trying to do two things at once. The tradition is that Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. We enter Jerusalem with Jesus and the disciples... While your bulletin reads Palm Sunday, officially, the Church calls it Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday. Therefore, we are supposed to jump from the triumphal entry right into the Last Supper, trial, and crucifixion.
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April 6, 2025 Lent 5: “Abundant Life”
Over the past few weeks, we have been alternating between the Gospels of Luke and John. This is problematic because John is so different from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). Even when the Gospel of John uses a passage similar to ones in the Synoptics, he does something different with it. Take today’s gospel reading for example.
March 23,2025 Lent 3: "Burning Questions"
When Moses saw that burning bush about 3,500 years ago, it did catch his attention. It was aflame and yet not burning up. Moses, who was tending his father-in-law’s herd of sheep, was so amazed that he left the herd to get a closer look. As he approached, God called his name from the bush. Moses answered, “Here I am.”
March 16, 2025 Lent 2: “The Hen and the Fox”
A fox and a hen show up in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. The fox is Herod Antipas, according to Jesus. This Herod is a son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the one who expanded the Second Temple in Jerusalem. He is also the one who is identified in Matthew’s Gospel as the king the Magi encounter when they are looking for the child Jesus. He is also the one who ordered the slaughter of the innocents.
March 9, 2025 Lent 1: “Called to Become Irrelevant?”
Each year, the readings for the First Sunday in Lent are from one of the synoptic gospels about Jesus’ forty–day sojourn and fast in the wilderness. As we are starting our Lenten disciplines, it is good to remind ourselves what inspired this practice.
February 23, 2025: "Forgiveness be With You"
In today’s passage from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus gives us some rules to live by. Unlike what we might hear in the Book of Proverbs, these rules are counterintuitive, radical, and downright hard to put into practice. Like Joseph, Jesus tells us to love those who have hurt us. If we are struck on the cheek, we should offer the other one also. If someone steals from us, we should offer the remainder of what we have.
February 9, 2025: "Chosen"
Being chosen on the playground was fraught. Whenever a captain picked a team a different kind of panic set in. The best athletes would be called on first that was a given. All of us who were in the middle would dread one thing, being selected last. It was humiliating. Being chosen could be a troubling experience.
All of today’s scripture readings have something to do with being chosen. The psalmist is one of the chosen people of God.
February 2, 2025: "A Soul Set Free"
Most parents think their baby is special. I do not doubt that they are right in their assessment. Every child is special. When we meet a little child, we are engaged by their cuteness, our innate desire to protect, and wonder. We wonder about a new life that has come into the world. We are amazed at what they can do as an infant. We wonder about what the child may grow up to be. Then there are Jesus’ parents.
January 26, 2025: "You Can't Go Home Again"
Preaching The Good News is a tricky thing. First, there are many people who think The Good News is there to confirm what they already believe. They want to have their life affirmed. I saw a quote this week that read in part, “[Many] people go to church to be assured that they are good people who are part of a mostly good enough system…They don’t want to follow Jesus. They want Jesus to follow them and whisper, ‘You’re doing fine. You don’t need to change. I have the same enemies as you do.’”
January 19, 2025: "See Something, Say Something, Do Something"
This wonderful invitation is given by God to each of us. We can open our heart and prepare it to receive the newborn Christ child into our life. When we do, we will be changed. The change will not be recorded in photos or nostalgic movies. The change will be realized in the way we live. The effect, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, will ripple out into a world that is in need of hope.
January 12, 2025: "Whose Baptism is it Anyway?"
You may have thought that the rite of baptism was all about the ones being baptized. It is also about us who are affirming our baptism. For little ones baptism may seem simple, but for the rest of us baptism is multilayered. First, we must get our own spiritual house in order. We must remind ourselves of our baptismal promises and start doing a better job of living them. We must set an example for children and for each other. Second, we need to realize that perfection is not what is required, rather it is the striving to live into the covenant that is important. It is hard, but anything that is worth doing is hard.
January 5, 2025: "The Work of Christmas"
Today is the last day of Christmas. Despite what the secular world thinks, Christmas does not end on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is only the beginning. I know a young girl who told me she corrected her mother who thought that the twelve days of Christmas were the days leading up to Christmas Day. The girl was proud of herself for knowing that the twelve days start on Christmas Day. I think she is a liturgy nerd in the making.
Sermons 2025
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