From Retaliation to Reconciliation: How to Love Your Enemies by St. George's

Jesus has taken his disciples aside on the mountain and is addressing them as a community. He doesn't say, "You are the lights of the world," he says, "Ya'll -- you all -- are the light of the world. You all, together, are the light that will shine in the darkness." This first piece of good news in this is that Jesus is saying we're already the light, and all we have to do is let it shine. And the other piece of good news is that we shine, together, in God's beloved community. So, beloved, let's go shine! (From Feb. 5, 2017)

There has been controversy in recent decades about saying “Merry Christmas.” Some people take offense, because they do not celebrate Christmas. I don’t want to get into all that, except to say that if we mean to give our Merry Christmas as a blessing, and someone does not receive it as a blessing, then maybe we can find some different words that feel more like a blessing. Maybe this sermon will give us some ideas. Certainly we can find something less generic and bland than Happy Holidays.

Elected to Testify by St. George's

This word from the Lord promises a healing in the aftermath of hurt. After breaking comes re-making. After the crisis comes a re-creating. We pray with hope for God’s grace. O God be merciful to us, for we long for you to make us whole again. We long to be made whole again.

If you remember just one thing from today’s sermon, I want you to remember that each of us is a beautiful flower in God’s kingdom garden. Each of us has been given grace to bloom where we are planted, even more glorious than Solomon, more grand than the richest ruler we could imagine. Look around. We are all God’s magnificent flowers. It’s true. Remember that if nothing else.

Sermon for June 19, 2016, by the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, St. George's Episcopal Church, Fredericksburg, VA.