Sermons from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

“Sometimes we have to break the rules, even break the law, in order to obey God’s law of love. Think of people like Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and take notice that all of these people are either women or people of color. […] I think sometimes we assume that breaking the rule or breaking the law will be detrimental to us, but sometimes we have to be bold. […] Sometimes breaking the rules shows us the way of love."

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

Luke 13:31-35

"Jesus is real love, and real love embraces us as we are, come what may. Real love embraces this world, puts to death our petty – our shallow – idea of what love is and raises us up into new lives of reconciliation, of love and redemption, lived out in our every day life here. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him, and we do not follow Jesus into the imagined past. We follow Jesus into the death of our idea of the way the world works so that we can live in the resurrected present.”

Luke 13:31-35

"This passage makes us consider how we might be given the world, and then forced to figure out how to carry it all on our own. […] But more importantly, it urges us to consider the alternative to evil – the path of grace and obedience, discipline and faith, that Jesus chooses when confronted by evil himself."

Luke 4:1-13

"Understand that real relationship, with people who are different than you, in Christ’s kingdom requires all of us to give something up of ourselves, and requires all of us to recognize God’s presence in other people who look, think, act, believe, and speak differently than us. It requires it. Drawing people into Christian community isn’t about making more people like us… it’s about expanding our understanding of what ‘us' is."

Romans 10:8b-13

“[…] if you want to understand intimate relationship with God, look no further than the person in the mirror. Look no further than the person right in front of you. It is our deep yearning as a people of faith in this church to know Jesus and to grow in love – to develop and to engage in and to draw nearer to God – to develop and engage in deeper connection… holy connection and communion relationship with God."

"I invite you this Lent to notice the moments in your lives. Notice the moments that stand out – the moments where something shifts. Notice God’s presence in those moments."

Exodus 34:29-35

Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]

"Non-violent response to injustice is not about compliance, it is about resistance. An act of non-violent resistance is not about being a doormat, it’s about being a door – a gateway to a greater truth… a higher power. Non-violent resistance is, in fact, one of the most powerful symbols of Christian love modeled most profoundly by our savior as he hung on the cross and said ‘Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.’ Today’s Gospel lesson is not about being a pushover. It’s about urging people toward love – love modeled for the oppressor as a better way."

Luke 6:27-38

"This isn’t about you becoming a better person. This is about recognizing who you were made to be, which is different. This isn’t about you aspiring to become better, more, or greater. This is about you understanding who you are right now. You are a person made to love your enemies.”

Luke 6:27-38

"You’re not struggling now because God is mad at you, and you’re not comfortable and wealthy now because God is oh so pleased with you. God loves the rich and the poor. Good loves the joyful and the sorrowful. God loves those who are loved by others, and he loves those who are hated by those around them. And to everything there is a season, but for God’s love there is no season."

"Let us be mindful that we can do nothing good without God, and that we need the help always of God’s grace. If we’re able to keep things in that perspective – if we’re able to keep our relationship with God front and center – that relationship is the blessing. And, whether the outside world is falling apart, or a constant party, that relationship is the blessing. With God at the center, we are blessed.”

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Luke 6:17-26