homilies

What We Hand On

What We Hand On

A Sermon for Maundy Thursday

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you…” Every time I hear those words, a shiver runs down my spine. These four short verses that we just heard from Paul were what my childhood church used as a sort of eucharistic prayer on Communion Sundays. Paul’s account of the Last Supper—the first Eucharist—always evoked a sense of groundedness for me. I was fascinated as a kid with history and heritage and the idea of passing stories down through generations. And at some level, I knew intuitively that the Eucharist was part of a big story—bigger than any family history we rehearsed at home or national myth we learned in school. I wanted to share in this story more intimately; so as an 8 year old I looked forward with eager anticipation to my Easter baptism, when I would get to take Communion for the first time.

Fruit That Will Last

Fruit That Will Last

A Sermon for the Feast of St. Absalom Jones

On November 6, 1746, in a little town in Delaware, a remarkable baby boy was born and named Absalom. Born into slavery and separated from his family as a child, Absalom resolved early on not to let his masters control his fate. Even as a kid, Absalom saved his pennies to buy a Bible and a primer and learned to read. As an adult, he worked hard, saving money and fundraising, so he could free his wife from slavery. By the time he was 38, he’d managed to purchase his own freedom too.

Joy stirred up

Joy stirred up

A Sermon for Advent 3 (Year B)

My Indian grandmother is the one who taught me to love the Psalms. Every morning Ammachi would spend an hour, sitting in her chair by the bay window, just reading the Bible. Her English was excellent, but she always read it aloud—in a soft voice, barely audible above the sound of the chirping birds. It’s her voice I hear in my head as I read the psalms, especially today’s.