Sunday Sermons

Rev. Jordan Rippy preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., focusing on Exodus and the golden calf rather than the Gospel reading. He situates the story after the Ten Commandments and describes how the Israelites, anxious during Moses’ long absence, fear God has left them and turn to an idol, a reaction he compares to a lack of “object permanence” and notes congregants share in similar spiritual anxiety. He reflects on how difficult it is to admit being wrong and change one’s mind, citing Adam Grant’s categories of preachers, prosecutors, and politicians versus “scientists” who seek truth. Rippy highlights the unsettling moment when God plans to destroy Israel but relents after Moses urges God to remember deliverance from Egypt and promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, emphasizing that while sin matters, mercy and renewed commitment are possible through remembering deepest promises.00:00 God Changes Course00:27 Setting Up Exodus01:11 Moses Missing Anxiety02:46 Why We Resist Change04:04 Think Again Framework05:46 Golden Calf Showdown06:59 A Human God08:10 Remembering Promises09:10 Grace To Change

Rev. Jordan Rippy preaches on Exodus at St. David’s Episcopal Church, recounting Israel’s journey from slavery through the Red Sea into the wilderness, where repeated crises over bitter water, food, and now thirst lead the people to quarrel with Moses and test God, asking, “Is the Lord among us or not?” He argues their fear is understandable and that the deeper issue, shared by congregants, is not God’s abstract existence but God’s perceived absence amid unanswered prayer, grief, and uncertainty, citing Elie Wiesel’s anger at God’s “apparent absence.” God answers not with a lecture but by standing on the rock and providing water. Since such miracles are rare, Rippy suggests discerning God’s presence by looking for the “fruit of the Spirit”—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—as visible signs of God’s unseen work while learning to live the questions.00:00 Massah and Meribah00:24 Exodus Story Recap02:07 Thirst in the Wilderness03:16 Is God With Us04:33 Elie Wiesel on Absence05:59 God Answers with Action06:53 Finding God in Fruit08:01 Fruit of the Spirit09:35 Living the Questions10:13 Eyes to See God

This is a recording from the sermon preached at St. David's Episcopal Church on Sunday, September 20th, on the Seventeenth Sunday in Pentecost. Rev. Jim Quigley introduces the congregation to Paul’s letter to the Philippians as a four-chapter love letter written from prison, centered on suffering and shaped by hope and humility. He outlines Paul’s call to see our stories as living expressions of Jesus’ story, and to discover hope through deeply personal, transformative encounters born of vulnerability to love and expressed as rejoicing. Rev. Quigley shares the pastoral story of Jim and Sandy Kolb and their daughter Amalie, when, amid irreversible cancer and an imminent life-or-death decision, he married Amalie and Ryan in the oncology ER so Jim could keep his promise to attend her wedding. He closes with Paul’s exhortation to rejoice, pray, and trust God’s peace.00:00 Opening Prayer and Setup01:41 The Roux Sermon Metaphor03:12 Why Philippians Matters04:14 Four Dimensions of Suffering05:18 A B C D Roadmap07:14 Jim and Sandy's Dark Diagnosis09:52 Wedding in the ICU14:04 Rejoice Always and Closing

This is a recording from the sermon preached at St. David's Episcopal Church on Sunday, September 13th, on the Sixteenth Sunday in Pentecost. Rev. Kristen Hawley shares a homecoming message shaped by attending Daniel Bentley’s ordination the day before, highlighting a baptismal prayer that begins with forgiveness and asks God to grant an inquiring heart, courage, love, and “joy and wonder” in all God’s works. She contrasts this big, grace-anchored life with the “economy of smallness” that counts, measures, and keeps score, connecting it to Peter’s question about forgiving seven times and Jesus’ call to forgive far beyond that, illustrated in the parable of the unforgiving servant. Rev. Hawley urges the congregation to shed transactional habits, embrace God’s abundant welcome, and “go big” in love, grace, and kindness as a new program year begins.00:00 Welcome and Logistics00:35 Ordination Inspiration01:49 Baptism Prayer Promise04:12 Called to Big Living04:53 Smallness vs Grace06:10 Peter Asks About Forgiveness07:45 Parable of Unforgiving Servant10:36 Love You More Game12:47 Homecoming Charge Go Big14:13 Final Blessing and Amen

Rev. Jim Quigley preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church on September 6th, the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, explaining his unease with challenging lectionary texts—especially Matthew’s guidance on addressing sin in the church—and recalling how confirmation students found Psalm 139 “creepy.” He urges congregants to trust scripture’s discomfort and offers three considerations: the gospel’s goal is restorative relationship through listening; Jesus’ instruction to treat an unrepentant person “as a Gentile and a tax collector” implies continued welcome, since Jesus ate with them (“we can’t sin our way out of this house”); and the church must not claim ultimate judgment, while recognizing that binding and loosing means actions in the church have real consequences. He references the Episcopal Church’s long debate on sexuality, Resolution A069, and Gene Robinson’s consecration, emphasizing that what the church does matters, and closing with a prayer for peace, love, and forgiveness.00:00 Opening and Setup01:11 Psalm 139 Story03:15 Why This Text Feels Dangerous06:04 Three Gospel Considerations06:18 Restoration Over Shame08:07 Welcome the Gentile08:57 Binding Loosing Humility10:18 Church and Sexuality Journey12:52 Hospitality Toward God14:34 Prayer for Peace

Rev. Kristen Hawley preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church on Romans 12, continuing a summer journey from Genesis into Paul’s letter and its “therefore” in chapter 12: if God is merciful and faithful, how shall we live? She contrasts a transformed Christian life with a spiritual checklist, warning that congregants often turn love, hospitality, prayer, and generosity into scorekeeping for God’s approval. Using The Good Place’s point system and Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ predicted suffering, she argues the problem is the scorecard itself and that “take up your cross” means surrendering the illusion of self-salvation and control. Paul’s call is to genuine, non-transactional love—rejoicing and weeping with others, welcoming strangers, refusing revenge, and seeking peace “as it depends on you”—leaving outcomes to God. Congregants gather not because they’ve earned grace, but because Christ invites them, and are sent to bear love’s fruit.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:16 Summer in Genesis01:45 Romans Hinge Point04:06 Living Sacrifice Next05:08 Love as a To Do List08:08 Beloved Before Doing08:47 The Good Place Scorecard11:05 Peter and the Cross14:59 Genuine Love and Freedom16:54 Table Grace and Sending

Rev. Jim Quigley preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. on August 23 (Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost), reflecting on the day’s readings and seeking a responsible, helpful word about God. Noting disagreement about Jesus in “Who do you say that I am?” and Paul’s effort to unite believers in Rome, he highlights three marks of strong faith from Romans: don’t be ashamed or bashful about the gospel; remember that righteousness began “long before Moses” with Abraham’s trust, not law-keeping; and hold faith amid “lions and tigers and bears” because God is present and nothing can separate us from God’s love. He urges congregants to be a living sacrifice as the body of Christ—“Christ has no body but ours”—and closes with Howard Thurman’s counsel: do what makes you come alive, because the world needs people who have come alive.00:00 Opening Prayer00:17 August Transitions00:43 Finding the Through Line02:23 Who Is Jesus03:32 Paul Writes Rome06:16 Stronger Faith Together07:27 Dont Be Ashamed10:48 Long Before Moses12:55 Nothing Separates Us14:54 Christ Has No Body16:35 Come Alive Story18:44 Final Blessing

Rev. Kristen Hawley preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. on the final Sunday of the summer Genesis series, culminating in Joseph’s reconciliation with the brothers who sold him into slavery. She invites congregants to imagine Joseph’s uncontrollable weeping—an embodied breaking of years of silence and unresolved family wound—making reconciliation possible when words could not. Drawing on Psalm 133, Marilynne Robinson, Madeleine L’Engle, and examples like the prodigal son and personal experiences of grief, she argues that humans insist on being right, which blocks unity, yet we are made for communion and wholeness. Joseph holds all the power but chooses tears, embrace, and renewed relationship, showing reconciliation is not erasing evil or the past, but trusting it need not determine the future and that God can make a future from broken fragments.00:00 Welcome and Genesis Finale01:36 Psalm on Unity02:14 Joseph Reveals Himself05:54 Why Tears Open Doors09:49 Fallibility and Being Right11:44 Made for Reconciliation13:54 Power and Mercy in Joseph15:40 What Reconciliation Looks Like17:09 Closing the Genesis Journey

This is a recording from the sermon preached at St. David's Episcopal Church on Sunday, August 9th, on the Eleventh Sunday in Pentecost. Rev. Jordan Rippy revisits Genesis to set the scene from creation through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, arriving at Joseph and the brothers’ hostility toward him, including Joseph’s dreams of ruling over them and the choices of Reuben and Judah to put him in a well and then sell him for twenty pieces of silver. Rev. Rippy reflects on Reuben and Judah as examples of sins of omission and commission—what we leave undone and what we do—linking this to confession and the commandments. Turning to Joseph’s robe, Rev. Rippy explores how it symbolizes perceived scarcity and longing for love and blessing, proclaiming instead the gospel’s abundance and God’s presence in “the gutters” of life, assuring the congregation that God does not abandon them.00:00 Setting the Scene00:57 Joseph the Dreamer01:53 Well or Silver02:39 Dreamcoat Detour04:01 Sins Done Undone06:01 Scarcity and the Coat07:20 There Is Enough08:01 God in the Gutters08:51 Not Abandoned

Rev. Jordan Rippy preaches at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. (July 26, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost) on Genesis’s ancestral narratives, focusing on Jacob before reconciling with Esau. Alone and anxious by the Jabbok River after sending his family, possessions, and gifts ahead, Jacob wrestles all night with a mysterious figure—man, angel, God, or himself—and refuses to let go until he is blessed. The blessing is a new name, Israel, for striving with God and humans. Rev. Rippy rejects the idea that God manufactures hardship to teach lessons, but highlights that Scripture is full of faithful wrestling that can change us. Citing Nadia Bolz-Weber’s recent suffering, he emphasizes transformation through struggle and encountering God “in the person right in front of us,” praying that congregants be changed and bear Christ’s image.00:00 Invocation And Setup00:35 Genesis Recap Jacob And Esau02:14 Jabbok Night Wrestling02:56 Who Is The Opponent03:40 Blessing And New Name03:55 God Does Not Cause Trials05:41 Wrestling That Changes Us05:58 Nadia Bolz Weber Witness07:21 God In Front Of Us08:34 Prayer To Be Transformed10:04 Closing Amen