Rotten Apple Seeds

Here is today’s sermon, September 27, 2026, proper 22, Year A. It is based on Matthew 21:23-33. The authority of Jesus. In it I discuss the origin of legitimation in societies and the Church. I describe the specific practices which build community.

Here is today’s sermon, September 20, 2026, Proper 20, Year A. It is based on Matthew 20: 1-16, the Workers in the Vineyard. In it I make the observation that the human economy is one of scarcity of resources and finding the fair and equitable distribution. The Divine economy is one of abundance.

Here is today’s sermon, September 13, 2026, Proper 9, Year A. It is based on Matthew 18:21-35, “Forgive seven times seventy times”. In it I discuss the fact that when we are wronged, by others, by God, by ourselves, we create expectations of what needs to happen in order to reconcile. These expectations are debts and forgiveness is releasing debts.

Here is today’s sermon, September 6, 2026, Proper 18, Year A. It is based on Matthew 18:15-20, Conflict in the Church. In it I describe the situation that the Early Church faced: the inclusion of the Gentiles. We still struggle with Inclusion in the Church, the Nation, and the World.

Here is today’s sermon, August 30, 2026, Proper 17, Year A. It is based on Matthew 16: 21-28, “Get behind Me Satan”. In it I explain that Peter misused his newly granted power of the keys to the Kingdom by loosening Jesus’ binds so another could suffer in His place. Thus he failed to learn the lesson of the Canaanite Wmosn.

Here is today’s sermon, August 23, 2026, Proper 16, Year A. It is based on Matthew 16:13-20, “WHO do you say that I AM?” In it I observe the divisions and brokenness of our society. We as a congregation can heal and reconcile a lot of these wounds by attending to our common practices and shared habits.

Here is today’s sermon, August 16, 2026, Proper 15, Year A. It is based on Matthew 15: 10-28, Jesus and the Canaanite Woman. In it I explain that Jesus surrendered strategically to the Canaanite woman in the exchange. Often we make sacrifices for those we love as well.

Here is today’s sermon, August 9, 2026, Proper 14, Year A. It is based on Matthew 14: 22-33, the Walking on the Water. In it I make the point that Jesus could have stilled the storm in order to rescue Peter, but chose to meet him exactly where he was. Jesus meets us in our existential situations, but healing is always communal since sickness and disorder is also a community phenomenon.

Here is today’s sermon, August 2, 2026, Proper 13, Year A. It is based on Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. In it I discuss how we are called to be completely honest before the Divine, that our relationship with the Divine can be a struggle, but that we aer always changed by the encounter.

Here is today’s sermon, July 26, 2026, Proper 12, Year A. It is based on Matthew 13:31-33,44-52, Parables of the Kingdom. In it I discuss how we are the treasure, we are the pearl. We may make the world curious or fascinated by our eccentricity and thus, promote the Kingdom of Heaven

Here is today’s sermon, July 5, 2026, Proper 9, year A. It is based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, “Come to me all you who are burdened…” In this sermon, I discuss that many of our burdens are not imposed on us from outside, but rather, a result of our attachments, expectations, control issues, or illusions. To find peace, let us cultivate, “Wholehearted cooperation with the inevitable.”

Here is today’s sermon, June 28, 2026, Proper 8, Year A. It is based on Matthew 10:40-42, who welcomes another, welcomes Me, and who welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. In it I discuss the ways that we welcome people to our congregation and into our denomination. I explain that we welcome others not because of what they can give us, but because our congregation and communion is enhanced by thei...

Here is today’s sermon, June 21, 2021. It is based on Matthew 10: 24-39, the Hard Sayings of Jesus. In it I discuss our tendency to scapegoat others and how our congregations rises above this tendency.

Here is today’s sermon, June 14, 2026, Proper 6, Year A. It is based on Matthew 9:35-10:23, the Sending of the 12 Apostles. In it I note that our mission field is much different from theirs; we are called to a re-evangelization of hose who have been disillusioned or harmed by the Church. This called for considerable pastoral sensitivity and loving presence.

Here is today’s sermon, June 7, 2026, 5 Pentecost, Year A. It is based on Genesis 12: 1-9, the Call of Abraham. In it I discuss how the blood of Abel crying out to God from the ground has meted out on our history of conquest and colonialism. I explain that the grant of land to the Hebrews is an opportunity for reconciliation and peacemaking in our world.

Sermon for May 31, 2026, Trinity Sunday, Year A. Here is today’s sermon, which is on the Trinity. In it I compare the persons of the Trinity to the many versions of the person we marry.

Here is today’s sermon, May 24, 2026, Pentecost, Year A. It is based on the Pentecost readings, Acts 2:1-21. In it I explain that the foundation of the Church, established on Pentecost, is the experience of forgiven sinners sharing forgiveness with others.

Here is today’s sermon, May 17, 2026, VII Easter, year A. It is based on John 17:1-11. In it, I preach on the glory of God. Divine glory is not based on power or strength; it is beauty which is evocative, transformative, and draws us to each other.

Here is today’s sermon, May 10, 2026, VI Easter, Year A. It is based on Acts 17: 22- 31, “To an Unknown God”. In it, I draw the difference between living in a pagan and providential universe. I encourage the congregation to harken to the sense of the restlessness as the voice of the Spirit.

Here is today’s sermon, May 3, 206, V Easter, Year A. It is based on John 14: 1-14, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. In it I discuss how we read the gospel of John against itself. We find the term, “My Father’s House”, in the cleansing of the Temple in John 2. From this we learn how death purifies our love by making us unselfish lovers.

Here is today’s sermon, April 26, 2026, IV Easter, Year A. It is based on John 10: 1-10, the Good Shepherd. In it I challenge the idea of the pastoral innocent vision of shepherds and sheep and indicate that sheep are fundamentally animals of sacrifice. Who in our society is expendable and able to be sacrificed?

Here is today’s sermon, April 19, 2026, III Easter, Year A. It is based on Luke 24: 13-35, the Disciples at Emmaus. In it I invite the congregation to join me in a thought experiment imagining that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. Imagine how challenging it would be to convey this ineffable experience to others.

Here is today’s sermon, April 5, 2026, Easter Sunday, Year A. It is based on John 20:1-18, the Resurrection. In it I make the point that resurrection can happen to us all. Death is the school of love which purifies and make our love from human and transactional to selfless and divine.

Here is today’s sermon, April 3, 2026, Good Friday, Year A. In it is discuss the various theories of atonement, including substitutionary atonement and penal substitution. I conclude that what is most affirming and uplifting is the solidarity the the Divine wishes to establish with humanity and, thus, elevate and ennoble our lives and relationships.

Here is today’s sermon, April 2, 2026, Maundy Thursday, Year A. It is based on John 13:1-17, 31b-35, the Footwashing. In it, I discuss the term, anamnesis, in which the act of recollecting or remembering makes present the person. I note how the footwashing and the Eucharist are not nostalgia, but active remembering to be aware of the presence of Christ in our action.