Harrowing Of Hell

Make Room For Love

To watch the sermon click here. I grew up in Detroit, in the city, and I went to school in a suburb called Grosse Pointe. I loved the school I went to. I loved the gothic building, the green acres of land that it sat on, I loved that it was right on the water

Joseph’s Mother

To watch the sermon click here. I recently returned from my annual retreat in Montana, where I gathered with six men I went to seminary with. We’ve been praying together for 25 years. Once a month we talk by phone, and once a year we gather in Montana to review our lives, to wrestle with

Tears are the Lens through Which we See Clearly

To watch the sermon click here. This season is an opportunity for practicing lament. In the gospel today, Jesus laments what is happening in his world when he says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” I have had a lot of lament on my heart

We Are All Mothers

To watch the sermon click here. We meet Mother Mary in today’s Gospel. She is a new mother, and trouble is brewing. She feels it in her gut. She heard it from Simeon in the Temple in Jerusalem when they brought baby Jesus to be circumcised. Then Joseph had a dream instructing them to leave

You are Part of God’s Plan

To watch the sermon click here. Merry Christmas! It is good to see you here this evening.            This is the night when we remember the story of the birth of Jesus, isn’t it. It is a big story that had a big impact on the entire world. And yet, it bloomed forth from a lot of

Life is About Practices

To watch the sermon click here. When Margaret, my twenty-five year old daughter, was in third grade, we were living in Los Angeles. After one of her soccer games, where she probably scored five goals, which was not unusual, “A big guy, tall guy, tears in his eyes came up to me…” that’s a Seth

God in Front of Us: Love as Co-creation

To watch the sermon click here. “If I live in love, then I am always investing myself in the future of another” (Ilia Delio The-Not-Yet-God, p. 258). That’s a quote from an author I’ve been reading lately. Her name is Ilia Delio, and she is a Franciscan nun (my speech to text spells this “none,”

When Jesus Calls You Family

To watch the sermon click here. My sister Kimmi is 5 years younger than I am. I had to watch her a lot when we were growing up. One time, when she was 6, maybe 7 years old, something our parents did or said or wouldn’t let her do made Kimmi really, really mad. Mad

Holy Holon: Entangled in the Spirit

To watch the sermon click here. I’m glad to be back. I just returned from a big family vacation to Belize. Kristin and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary this year. Our son Desmond turned 20 this year. Our daughter Margaret turned 25. So, we decided to take a family vacation to someplace fancy and far away. Somehow Belize became our destination.