Spiritual Journeys: Weekly Messages from St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Father Frank Munoz opens with a prayer and a parable about a man who waits his whole life to enter a gate meant only for him, warning that many people spend a lifetime waiting for others to act. He contrasts reactions to John the Baptist and Jesus—criticized as too ascetic or too worldly—and notes that even cities that witnessed Jesus’ deeds rejected him. He cautions against a consumerist, market...

Deacon Pete reflects on a difficult Father’s Day sermon prompted by Jesus’ harsh words about setting family members against each other, concluding that Jesus is not condemning fatherhood but redefining it under the kingdom of God, where even the sacred institution of family is subordinate. He explains that in Jesus’ time family meant economic survival, inheritance, and religious community, so foll...

Mother Paige focuses on compassion in the lectionary readings, highlighting the Greek word “splagchnizomai,” Jesus’ gut-wrenching compassion for people “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd,” an indictment of failed leadership. She describes Jesus commissioning the twelve to proclaim that the kingdom (or empire) of heaven has come near, contrasting this “good news” with Rome’s imper...

Rev. Madeline opens with prayer and situates the sermon in the season after Pentecost and the lectionary’s journey through Matthew, where Jesus teaches the Kingdom of God through stories and metaphors. She imagines the Kingdom as a banquet or rowdy party already underway: after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus welcomes the poor, mournful, hungry, persecuted, and others through healings that restore...

Graduating senior Tegan Inns reflects on growing up at St. Peter’s from infancy, first experiencing faith through church community and activities like Easter egg hunts, Advent candle-making, children’s sermons, and praying nightly with her sister. As an acolyte, she began paying closer attention to services and saw Mother Paige’s teachings as life lessons, while youth group discussions with Madeli...

Deacon Pete delivers a Memorial Day homily that contrasts the holiday’s cultural start-of-summer tone with the church’s solemn remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring veterans present and especially fallen service members and their families. Centering on John 15—“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”—he explains that Jesus speaks on the...

Deacon Pete reflects on Pentecost as the celebration of God’s divine indwelling through the Holy Spirit, recalling an childhood conversation with Father Boyd about connecting with God in ourselves and others. He contrasts this with the disciples’ fear behind locked doors, noting that fear can be physical, emotional, or communal, and that resurrection does not deny suffering but enters and transfor...

Bishop Susan preaches at St. Peter’s on the Ascension, describing the disciples’ in-between moment after 40 days of the risen Jesus teaching about new creation before ascending from the Mount of Olives. Drawing on trips to Israel, she portrays Jerusalem as holy yet conflicted, both today and in Jesus’ time, and imagines Jesus ascending with a clear view of the Temple, Golgotha, Roman power, and or...

Mother Paige reflects on Paul in Athens using the Temple of the Unknown God to meet people where they are and proclaim that God is not far from us: “in Him we live and move and have our being.” She asks the congregation and those worshiping at home why they came—praise, community, peace, guidance, love, even donuts—and says that whatever we seek, the answer is love. Turning to Jesus’ farewell addr...

Rev. Madeline reflects on discipleship and faith by lingering in Psalm 31, describing the Psalms as ancient prayers spanning the full range of human experience. She notes Psalm 31’s distinctive intertwining of lament and hope—pleas for rescue, fear under persecution, and tentative trust in God existing at once—and connects this pattern to Acts’ account of Stephen’s stoning and Luke’s crucifixion n...

Mother Paige leads an instructed Eucharist on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday), offering three brief teaching addresses instead of a single sermon to help confirmation/reception candidates and the congregation understand the service’s history and theology. She explains liturgy as “the work of the people,” with God as the audience, then walks through the entrance rite (Easter accl...

Mother Paige opens with her sermon prayer—asking that God’s word be spoken and heard—and reflects on preaching with humility and trust in the Holy Spirit. On Good Shepherd Sunday she connects John 10 to the healing of the man born blind in John 9, describing how the expelled man is offered belonging as Jesus speaks of being the gate into beloved community where the shepherd calls sheep by name. Sh...

Guest speaker Rick Ochocki reflects on Luke 24:36 and the disciples’ struggle to recognize the risen Jesus, noting that it was Jesus’ actions—taking, blessing, breaking, and giving bread—that opened their eyes, and emphasizing Christians’ call to receive and practice peace. He shares personal grief after learning that FDNY Lt. Kevin Pfeiffer, a paramedic mentor, was killed on September 11, 2001, a...

Rev. Madeline challenges the common “Doubting Thomas” framing, arguing that Thomas’s skepticism after Jesus’ brutal crucifixion was reasonable and shared by other disciples, including Mary Magdalene and Peter. Drawing on Barbara Brown Taylor, she highlights how resurrection upends what seemed certain about death and power, making the disciples’ need for proof and understanding deeply human. She pr...

Mother Susan invites listeners to “walk with Jesus” through Holy Week, drawing on John’s Gospel and the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Reflecting on the passion narrative written decades after Jesus’ death, she emphasizes that the crucifixion was not a surprise but the completion of Jesus’ steadfast mission amid the clash between Roman violent power and a covenant of love. She recounts...

Rev. Madeline reflects on Maundy Thursday readings from 1 Corinthians and John, highlighting Paul’s words of institution for the Lord’s Supper and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. She explains Paul’s correction of Corinthian abuses where the wealthy feasted while the poor went without, emphasizing the Eucharist as remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice and unity in the body of Christ. She describes foo...

Mother Paige explains why this Palm Sunday lingers on Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem instead of rushing from palms to Passion and Eucharist, arguing that “Hosanna” means “save us,” not simply praise. She describes the scene as street theater and protest: Jesus’ humble ride on a young donkey fulfills Zechariah’s image of a peaceful king contrasted with Rome’s simultaneous procession of warhorses an...

Jesus Wept: Grief, Divine Empathy, and New Life in LentMother Paige reflects on John’s account of the raising of Lazarus as a Lenten Gospel that reveals Jesus as fully human and fully divine and teaches about grief. She notes how the story reverses John’s usual pattern by placing extended discourse before the sign, highlighting Martha’s theology of resurrection and the sisters’ anger that Jesus di...

Father Frank Munoz, a San Diego Sheriff’s chaplain, recalls responding to a missing three-year-old who was later found asleep in an SUV, using the incident to illustrate human blind spots and the difficulty of seeing ourselves as God sees us. He connects this to the Gospel story of Jesus healing the man born blind, noting that the disciples and Pharisees miss the miracle’s meaning by focusing on b...

Rev. Madeline reflects on Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, emphasizing how culturally transgressive it was for a Jewish leader to speak publicly with a woman—especially a Samaritan amid longstanding animosity between Jews and Samaritans—and noting the well’s scriptural associations and the disciples’ astonishment. She highlights that John’s Gospel frames the meeting as necess...

Mother Paige reflects on John 3:16 and God’s love for the whole world, paired with the call of Abram and Sarah to be blessed in order to bless every family on earth. She emphasizes that faith is an active verb shown in lived action, not merely intellect, doctrine, or a formulaic prayer, and that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness. Noting the broader context of Jesus’ conversation with...

Kathy Wilder, Executive Director of Camp Stevens, thanks St. Peter’s for ongoing support and shares a story from the 2007 Camp Stevens fire, including meeting a firefighter who had once been a camper through a foster care partnership and whose experience at camp helped shape her life and career after incarceration. Wilder connects the story to Jesus’ wilderness temptations, framing the temptations...

Rev. Madeline Polhill reflects on Jesus’ Transfiguration and Moses’ mountaintop encounter with God as moments of divine mystery and glory. Rather than explaining the spectacle, she focuses on what follows: the disciples’ fear and Jesus’ gentle reassurance, “Get up and do not be afraid,” connecting it to repeated “do not be afraid” moments throughout Matthew’s Gospel. She emphasizes that Jesus lead...

In this Sunday sermon, Mother Paige reflects on the teachings of Jesus, particularly focusing on the message of 'Stay Salty, Be Bright,' derived from the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. She emphasizes the importance of understanding Jesus' words about being 'the salt of the earth' and 'the light of the world.' The sermon encourages living out these virtues by al...

Mother Susan discusses the tradition of presenting Jesus at the temple, the symbols of light and purity, and the roles of Mary and Joseph as faithful parents. The sermon also touches on the importance of senior witnesses like Simeon and Anna, who recognized Jesus as the light for revelation. Mother Susan encourages the community to embody the light of Christ in their lives and reflects on the coll...