Rotten Apple Seeds

Here is today’s sermon, March 23, 2025, III Lent, Year C. It is based on Luke 13: 1-9, in which Jesus challenges the assumption that bad things happen only to bad people, or sinners deserve to have evil befall them. I discuss the reality of our fallen world needing redemption and how Jesus invites us to solidarity with all who are grieving.

Here is today’s sermon, March 16, 2024, II Lent, Year C. It is based on Genesis 15:1-12,17-18, the Covenant with Abraham. In it I discuss how the account prefigures the Passion of Christ, from Gethsemane through to the Empty Tomb. I discuss how we may find the answers to our concerns for generativity with Abraham’s faith on God’s Covenant.

Here is today’s sermon, March 9, 2025, I Lent, Year C. It is based on Luke 4: 1-13, the Temptation in the Wilderness. In it I discuss that, after Jesus’ Baptism, where His Divinity was acknowledged, the Temptations show His choice not to embrace Divine Power, but Human Solidarity. We encounter the Divine on our wilderness, as well. We are given The Spirit, Scripture, and Time in order to endure.

Here is today’s sermon, March 5, 2025, Ash Wednesday, Year C. It is based on faith as seeing. I invite the congregation to remove what cloud or obscures our sight or faith.

Here is today’s sermon, March 2, 2025, Last Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a], the Transfiguration. In it, I explain some components of Dominican Spirituality, including delivering the fruits of contemplation to others, and the Spiritual Path of Catherine of Siena.

Here is today’s sermon, February 23, 2025, VII Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Luke 6: 27- 38, the Hard Sayings. In it I explain that, while we may not receive reciprocation for our acts os self-sacrificing love, and will likely be rejected and harmed, it allows us to participate more authentically in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Thus, we are certain to inherit a share in His Resurrection.

Here is today’s sermon, February 16, 2025, VI Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Luke 6: 17-26, the Beatitudes and the Woes. In it I discuss that, instead of seeing this as a division and good vs. evil, the grace of Almighty God is able to bring fulfillment and solitary through both the Blessings and the Woes. There is a mix of darkness and light in each of these situations, indeed, all our existent...

Here is today’s sermon, February 9, 2025, V Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Luke 5:1-11, the Miraculous Catch of Fish. In it I put the teaching of Jesus in the context of the Sabbatical or Jubilee. I discuss how the Sabbatical calls us to rest, to allow God to give us abundance and meet our needs while we take the time for discernment. I give an example in our congregation how we may draw from ou...

Here is today’s sermon, February 2, 2025, The Presentation, Year C. It is based on Luke 2: 22-40, the Presentation in the Temple. In it I discuss how, in a divided world, the Gospel proclaims the unity of male and female, the generations, the Hebrew and Christian Covenants, and Worship and Witness. This message of unity we see lived out in the Eucharist.

Here is today’s sermon, January 26, 2025, III Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Luke 4:14-21, the Inaugural Sermon of Jesus in Nazareth. In it, I explain the Hebrew practice of the Jubilee. The Jubilee involves the forgiveness of debts, the freedom of slaves, and the redistribution of land. I explain how we practice Jubilee in our congregation.

Here is today’s sermon, January 19, 2025, II Epiphany, Year C. It is based on John 2: 1-11, the Wedding Feast at Cana. In it I explain how the miracle of the wine prefigures the Giving of the Spirit from the Cross or at Pentecost.

Here is today’s sermon, January 12, 2025, The Baptism of Jesus, Year C. It is based on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. Observing that John’s Baptism was a Baptism of Repentance, I reflect on whether Jesus, the Son of God, needed to be forgiven.

Here is today’s sermon, January 5, 2025, The Epiphany, Year C. It is based on Matthew 2: 1-12, the Visit of the Magi. In it I describe how we are, like the magi, on a spiritual journey, coming to know the Lord, and then returning to our lives changed and enlightened.

Here is today’s sermon, December 24, 2024, Christmas Eve, Year C. It is based on Luke 2: 1-14, the Birth of Jesus. In it I explain that this is a night which calls for hope, as we are beginning a journey of discipleship.

Here is today’s sermon, December 22, 2024, IV Advent, Year C. It is based on Luke 1: 39-55, The Visitation. In it I show how this is the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptural stories as well as the forerunner of the Gospel stories.

Here is today’s sermon, December 15, 2024, III Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Year C. It is based on Luke 3: 7- 18, the Preaching of the Baptizer. In it I explain that John was less of a “fire and brimstone” preacher and rather was instructing his followers how to live faithfully under Empire. I suggest how we may live faithfully as disciples in an inhospitable society.

A listener has communicated that I have been posting the same sermon over and over. I regret the error. I am now keeping a closer eye on the file that I am posting and this is the correct sermon for this week. It is based on Luke 3: 1-6, the Proclamation of John the Baptizer. I describe how we are setting the cast of characters for our story and that it is the story which unites us and redeems us.

Here is today’s sermon, December 1, 2024, 1 Advent, Year C. It is based on Luke 21:25-36, the Little Apocalypse. In it I describe that the violence outside of us is based on our own internal conflicts. We need to cultivate peace and silence in this busy Advent season.

Here is today’ sermon, November 24, 2024, Christ the King, Year B. It is based on the Kingship of Christ and the end of the Church liturgical year. In it I make the point that a Kin g, like Christ, embodies the people, and defines the era. Christ took on our personhood in the incarnation and was the Lord of the Sabbath.

Here is today’s sermon, November 17, 2024, Proper 28, Year B. It is based on Mark 13: 1-8, the Little Apocalypse of Mark. In it I discuss how the institutions and structures we live with are losing their legitimation. This is an opportunity for the Church, in that we are able to refine and redefine our message of resurrection hope.

Here is today’s sermon, November 10, 2024, Proper 27, Year B. It is based on Mark 12: 38- 44, the Widow’s Mite. In it I make the connection to the story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarapheth, 1 Kings 17. I also show how this offering prefigures Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Here is today’s sermon, November 3, 2024, All Saints (Transferred), Year B. It is based on John 11: 32- 44, the Raising of Lazarus. In it I provide a short overview of the history of making saints, from the Age of Martyrdom through today. I explain the reforms of Anglicanism, including not praying directly to saints, and the term, Blessed ______, rather that Saint _____. I show how the title, “Ble...

Here is today’s sermon, October 27, 2024, Proper 25, Year B. It is based on Mark 10: 46-52, the Healing of Bartimaeus. In it I connect the cloak that he cast aside to be healed with the naked fugitive in Mark 14: 51- 52 and the young man clothed with white garments at the open tomb in Mark 16: 5. I make the connection to the Eucharistic Prayer C, “Open our eyes to see Your hand at work in the worl...

Here is today’s sermon, October 20, 2024, Proper 24, Year B. It is based on Mark 10: 35-45, James and John Call Shotgun. In it I explain how service is cruciform. I discuss how we who are caring for a spouse, child, or parent are fulfilling this Divine mandate.

Here is today’s sermon, October 13, 2024, Proper 23, Year B. It is based on Mark 10: 17- 31, the Rich Young Man. In it I explain that the mission of Jesus was to proclaim the Jubilee in which debts are forgiven, slaves are freed, and the land is redistributed. I make a connection to today’s web of debt.