Calvary Episcopal Church - Memphis, TN

That is why we are here tonight. The last Word has been spoken, and it is Love.

Jesus starts with the particular and moves to the universal. One of his last thoughts on the cross was about one particular person, his mother. Would this person I love so much be taken care of? Before pouring out his life as a libation for the renewal of all creation, he does the very human thing of making sure Mary is taken care of. That was not just a human thing, but a true act of divinity.

It’s hard to use the word love, even if you’re Jesus, at supper with your friends, the night before you’re going to die. There are so many ways to get love wrong.

Inexperience was the exact quality Jesus was seeking to do something that had never before been done, to create a very different kind of kingdom. A kingdom not of might or domination, but a kingdom of the heart. The colt that had never been ridden could offer that gift of inexperience and naivete, the ability to carry Jesus into the city to help him and us see it through new eyes.

Inexperience was the exact quality Jesus was seeking to do something that had never before been done, to create a very different kind of kingdom. A kingdom not of might or domination, but a kingdom of the heart. The colt that had never been ridden could offer that gift of inexperience and naivete, the ability to carry Jesus into the city to help him and us see it through new eyes.

The senior rabbi at Temple Israel, Micah Greenstein loves Torah no matter where it comes from. "Torah" in a broad Jewish sense refers to the teachings and wisdom of Judaism, but he treasures insights on goodness, love, justice, shalom, and compassion from every faith tradition and every reflection of God's unity. What inspires Greenstein most about the Jewish legacy he lives and teaches is that it...

The Rev. Kirk Whalum believes that music is the language that communicates across borders. Music can break and enter into a person’s soul. The difference is a musician is not there to take; he’s there to give, to leave something. Whalum’s saxophone style blends his Memphis roots with Houston nightclubs and Parisian concert halls. When not on tour, he serves on the faculty of the Visible Music Coll...

The Rev. Kirk Whalum believes that music is the language that communicates across borders. Music can break and enter into a person’s soul. The difference is a musician is not there to take; he’s there to give, to leave something. Whalum’s saxophone style blends his Memphis roots with Houston nightclubs and Parisian concert halls. When not on tour, he serves on the faculty of the Visible Music Coll...

As creation constantly gives itself away, as one life within it is laid down for the next, as rot becomes nourishment for fallen seeds, where they die to become something new, we see that the cross and resurrection were not strange exceptions to the way things are. You and I are, when we cling fearfully to our separate lives at all costs, even imagining life in Christ exempts or insulates us from...

The Rev. Dr. Fentress-Williams lives at the intersection of the church and the academy. In addition to her tenured teaching position at Virginia Theological Seminary, she serves as the Senior Assistant to the Pastor for Teaching and Preaching at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. Dr. Fentress-Williams’ published work reflects her interest in a literary approach that highlights the multiple voices i...

As a rabbi drawn to Hasidism and Kabbalah, and a practitioner of Perennial Wisdom found at the mystic heart of all religions, Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s message is simple: Alles iz Gott: everything is a manifesting of God. He is inspired by anyone who dares to step outside the safety of sacred opinion to experience and perhaps utter Truth beyond “ism” and ideology. Love is a reaction to images we hold o...

The Rev. Amber Carswell interviews Rabbi Rami Shapiro about his ministry as a Rabbi, speaker, and author.

Maybe it would do us some good to take a hard look and unflinching listen to the words we wince to hear. We might stop making Scripture into our own image, for one thing, or buying into the image that others have imposed upon it. And that kind of deep engagement can lead us to hear it with new ears: “For God so loved the world,” this world, our world, the one right around you. You could see with n...

Pádraig Ó Tuama’s interests lie in language, violence, and religion. Having grown up in a place that has a long history of all three (Ireland, yes, but also Europe) he finds that language might be the most redeeming of all three of these. In language, there is the possibility of vulnerability, of surprise, of the creative movement towards something as yet unseen. He is inspired by any artist of wo...

Pádraig Ó Tuama’s interests lie in language, violence, and religion. Having grown up in a place that has a long history of all three (Ireland, yes, but also Europe) he finds that language might be the most redeeming of all three of these. In language, there is the possibility of vulnerability, of surprise, of the creative movement towards something as yet unseen. He is inspired by any artist of wo...

In the end, if there is a clear and unambiguous roadmap for a just and godly life, it is not the scriptures of Christians and Jews. Because our scriptures refuse to let even our scriptures become an idol by modeling a beautiful inconsistency. One that won’t even let a Law written by the finger of God have the last word. One that provides space for a single Moabite widow to walk into it and say, “W...

A native Texan and Tennessee transplant, The Rev. Meredith Day Hearn is an Evangelical turned Episcopal priest. Graduating from Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in 2015, Meredith’s love of poetry, songwriting, and storytelling deeply informs her understanding of God in the world. Her preaching seeks to investigate the sanctity of the ordinary, highlighting life’s inevita...

Dynamic, significant, and prophetic, Jemar Tisby is a public historian with the ability to explore racial justice solutions and cultural conversations that compel listeners to action. He provides audiences with richly-informed explorations, unflinching moral insight, and clear paths forward. He has recently taken the position of CEO of The Witness Incorporated, a nonprofit organization he founded,...

The Rev. Paul McLain and Mr. Jemar Tisby engage in conversation about race, religion, and more.

Saint Peter, Ida Wells, and we learn that to follow Jesus is to walk alongside suffering, including our own. Our call is to bear witness to the suffering, and when we see that evil is the root cause of some of the suffering and death around us, we shine a light on it and we root it out.

Margaret Renkl is the author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss. She is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where her essays appear each Monday.

Margaret Renkl is the author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss. She is also a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where her essays appear each Monday.

After the flood, Noah and his family do not become gods. They are not granted immortality. But they are given a promise. A promise and a sign. God’s weapon, a great and colorful bow, is laid down for good in the Hebrew story. It is pointed up at the sky and away from us forever, to remind us every time the sun cuts through a rain, that any deluge to come will not be God’s doing. A reminder that Go...

The Rev. Dan Matthews is a consistent favorite at Calvary’s Lenten Preaching Series. His preaching is inspired by powerful and meaningful stories like the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. In light of these stories, Matthews pushes us to recognize when genuine blessings come our way. He believes that these moments of being “kissed by God” are more than being in the right place at the right time...

The gift of holy forgetfulness is one that comes from the very heart of God. It is what God does. The psalmist sings that our transgressions are removed from us “as far as the east is from the west,” which is, of course, an infinite distance. They are not packed nicely and neatly into a manageable corner of a forgotten closet. They are gone — maybe not from your mind as they swirl in your head in...