Rotten Apple Seeds

Here is today’s sermon, March 1, II Lent, Year A. It is based on John 3:16. In it i discuss how we understand Divine Beauty, rather than power. Thus, the Cross teaches us a new aesthetic.

Here is today’s sermon, February 22, 2026, I Lent, Year A. It is based on Matthew 4: 1-11, the Temptation in the Desert. In it, I explain that, when Jesus acts in history, He redeems the past, the present, and the future. I discuss Jesus redeeming the Hebrew in the Desert, fulfilling Satan’s temptations in his own time, and redeeming us today.

Here is today’s sermon, February 18, 2026, Ash Wednesday, Year A. It is based on the idea that ashes represent absence, or lack. We are anticipating the True Presence at the end of Lent into Easter.

Here is today’s sermon, February 15, 2026, Last Epiphany, Year A. It’s is based on Matthew 17:1-9, the Transfiguration. In it I show how the Transfiguration is one bookend of God’s glory and the other bookend is the crucifixion. We are beginning Lent, so we are looking toward Golgotha.

Here is today’s sermon, February 8, 2026, V Epiphany, Year A. It is based on Isaiah 58 1-12 and Matthew 5: 13-20, “You are salt…You are light”. In this sermon I explain how this is an internal critique of religious people, that we are called to BE who we ARE, to live the law rather than fulfill obligations.

Here is today’s sermon, February 1, 2026, IV Epiphany, Year A. It is based on Matthew 5: 1-12, the Beatitudes. In it I make the point that the Beatitudes are not properly understood as those qualities we need to possess in order to “earn heaven”. Rather, they are glimpses of the Divine presence in the present: God’s grace is so rich and abundant that God ‘s presence is encountered among the forgotten and overlooked.

Here is today’s sermon, January 18, 2026, II Epiphany, Year A. It is based on John 1: 29-42, John the Baptizer identifies Jesus. In it I make the distinction between the Hebrew notion of sacrifice and how it differs from pagan notions of bribery of the Gods.

Here is today’s sermon, January 11, 2026, II Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Year A. It is based on Matthew 3: 13-17, the Baptism of Jesus. In it is described how often in the scriptures, Jesus is revealed through the symbols of water, cloud, and dove. I discuss the chaoskampf theory, of how creation was accomplished through a struggle between the waters of chaos in the waters (Leviathan) and the orcas of Order imposed by God. I remind the congregation that we encounter the Divine in our struggles of chaos and confusion.

Here is today’s sermon, January 4, 2026, The Sunday of the Epiphany, Year A. It is based on Matthew 2: 1-12, the Journey of the Magi. In it, I make the observation that, given the distance (in light years) that stars are from this planet, it is likely that the Star of Bethlehem was already dead by the time the light arrived to guide the Magi. Since the source was already dead, but the Light continues to inspire and guide us, we see that Resurrection is written into the very grain of the universe.

Here is tonight’s Christmas Eve sermon. It is base don Luke 2:1-14(15-20), the Birth of Jesus. In it I distinguish between optimism and hope. I make the point that hope offers a pathway and agency for us who follow the Baby in the manger.