In this sermon, our rector reflects on how Christian faith has often been shaped by an anxious focus on salvation that Jesus himself never centers. Drawing on John 14, he argues that Jesus’ words about being “the way” point not to exclusion or superiority, but to a way of life marked by trust, compassion, and openness to God here and now. When fear‑based theology turns faith into boundary‑making or nationalism, it loses sight of a God whose house always has room to spare.

On Good Shepherd Sunday, the image of sheep and shepherd can feel distant or even insulting. Drawing on Palestinian shepherd practices, Howard Thurman’s wisdom, and Psalm 23, this sermon explores discernment, trust, and how we recognize the voice that leads toward life rather than fear or domination.

On the road to Emmaus, the risen Christ walks unnoticed beside grieving disciples. The Rev. Lee Lowery explores how we remake Jesus in our own image, miss his presence in everyday life, and yet encounter him again in community, Scripture, sacrament, and the faces of those most in need.

Preaching on Doubting Thomas Sunday, the Rev. Joe Britton reflects on John’s Gospel and its surprising claim that the Holy Spirit is given on Easter Day itself. Drawing on music, lived experience, and the sacrament of baptism, he reframes Thomas’s doubt not as skepticism but as spiritual illumination delayed. Baptism, he argues, is the moment when Christ breathes the Spirit into us, opening our eyes to abundant life and commissioning us as co‑creators in God’s ongoing new creation.

We celebrate Easter this year in a world at war, a world tired, anxious, and hungry for good news that does not deny reality. This reflection asks what Christians really mean by victory when suffering, fear, and injustice persist. Easter is not about pretending everything is fine, but about refusing to let despair win.

On Good Friday, Angel Nalubega preaches a powerful homily about the cross. Leaning on the theology of James Cone, she says that we cannot understand the cross without the lynching tree. Christ the Victor is the suffering servant, the poor man.

The Rev. Simone Drinkwater explores the significance of the cross and passion narrative, emphasizing its central role in early Christianity. She challenges the modern focus on resurrection, urging believers to embody self-giving love and hope, transforming present suffering into a vision of the world to come.

This sermon reflects on Jesus’ raising of Lazarus as the culmination of his life‑giving ministry and a witness to God’s desire for human beings to be fully alive. It challenges Christians to confront the death‑dealing powers of our world that deny abundant life to so many. It ends by returning to the honest questions of a child, grounding hope in the conviction that no one is abandoned to the tomb.