Harrowing Of Hell

The Particular Reveals the Universal Love of God

To watch the sermon click here. You can imagine how complicated it is for me to stand before you, Epiphany, a community where every single person is welcome, no matter who they are, where they come from or what they believe; and together hear Jesus instructing his apostles: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter

The Lord Needs Them

To watch the sermon click here. “The Lord needs them.” (Matthew 21:3) The Lord needs… We don’t usually think about God needing anything. We think about people having needs, not God. I experienced this last week when my very independent 12-year-old came down with the flu and pneumonia. He’s fine now, but for a couple

The Great Inversion

To watch the sermon click here. We must learn to see, to recognize the living God, even when the world around us looks like loss. Over the past few weeks, in sermons, liturgies, and forums, we have been digging into this theme as we’ve addressed topics of grief, death, and hope. This sermon is about

The Heaven Can’t Wait Book Club

To watch the sermon click here. When I was growing up, my family had this ritual. On the last Friday of each month, my mother would take my sister and me to Little Professor Bookstore. It was this cozy, independent bookshop and whenever we walked through that front door, the booksellers always remembered us, and

Alertness and the Crisis in Gaza

To watch the sermon click here. Good morning. I’m glad to see you here. As I mentioned last Sunday, the topic on the table today is Gaza. I know this probably won’t be a sermon that meets everyone’s expectations. In fact, I’ve already received a pile of emails with opinions and information to “help” guide

Truth in a Post-Truth World

To watch the sermon click here. I was watching the news the other day and I heard something that might startle you… Out of the mouth of a national leader I heard something I quickly perceived, based on a smattering of history, a little bit of science, and some common sense… I heard a bald-faced

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

Identity and the Reversals of Life

To watch the sermon click here. Well, here we go: the church’s annual soul-churning, week-long emotional roller coaster ride. It begins today, a day of ironies and paradoxes, of parallels and reversals.  Today we begin on a high note. I find it thrilling to enter into the scene in which Jesus rides triumphantly into Jerusalem,

Guardians of Grace

To watch the sermon click here. Part of my job as your priest is to pray every day. I use the Daily Office. It’s a rhythm of prayer and scripture reading that places me inside the unfolding story of God. It’s fascinating, sometimes challenging, sometimes consoling, but always insightful. I want to thank you for