Sermons

February 25, 2024

Let’s pray: God of peace and justice, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. Amen.

Ever since I was a pre-teen, one of my favorite bible verses has been John 8:32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Something about it – I have a mental image of a cage opening and bird flying out into freedom. It’s beautiful. And frankly, much easier to appreciate in its simplicity than if Jesus had given the longer version that I’ve come to experience as an adult, which is something like: You shall know the truth, and it shall probably make you PROFOUNDLY uncomfortable, maybe even angry, it will haunt you for a while, and then hopefully if you have the courage to really wrestle with it, it will start to make some sense, and if you keep working at it, then the truth shall set you free.

February 18, 2024

This is the first Sunday in the Season of Lent, and I want to build on something I just learned.   That is, the  name Lent comes from the Old English word, “lencten”,  meaning “springtime.”  Defining Lent this way captures how preparing for a new growing season begins when the ground is still cold and dormant, and the fields look dead.

And it points to Lent as an opportunity to address ourselves to the necessary work of breaking up whatever’s become too hard and dense within us, adding spiritual nutrients and readying the soil/soul  for whatever spiritual seeds that the Holy One has offered for us to grow next, individually or as a faith community. 

February 11, 2024

Transfiguration Sunday

Text: Mark 9:2-9

Today we are celebrating Transfiguration Sunday, the hinge between Epiphany and Lent, between birth and death. As we just heard, Jesus is glorified (or transfigured) and the vision is shared by his closest disciples. Not only is Jesus filled with divine power before the eyes of his disciples, but the disciples are also changed by their experience. Perhaps we can say that Transfiguration marks the baptism of communal consciousness for the body of the Risen Christ, even though Jesus has not yet been crucified.

February 4, 2024

Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Psalms 104 points to a higher power, “All living things on earth and in the sea, whether wild or domesticated, birds, sea creatures, and human beings have some idea of the living Presence by whom they exist.” What could this be if it imprints even on the wild creatures? First thing that comes to mind is our life-giving sun with its inescapable quality. Over centuries we evolved from worshipping it to scientifically understanding it. Just like our parents who were once the only things we knew, until one day we realized their faults and understood, sometimes, why they did some things. I appreciate this rather evolutionary understanding of phenomenon in our midst.

January 28, 2024

Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

I am grateful and thankful, God, for people, places, and things and especially for the freedom to worship with you and share my views openly.  Also, my friend, Jose is willing to join me today in sharing his spiritual story increasing my gratitude even more.

In the moments ahead we plan to share some of the reasons it makes sense for the AA community and Seekers community to support each other.  At the same time, I admit that we are still asking a lot of questions.