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Sermons 2018
04/22/2018 THE 4th SUNDAY OF EASTER sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. While Good Shepherd Sunday might seem to convey a comforting theme about how Jesus takes care of us, it actually rallies us to follow Him, to reach out to those from “another flock,” so that all might know new life in the risen Christ.
04/08/2018 THE 2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Although the disciple Thomas will forever be branded as “Doubting Thomas,” he reminds us that in seeing the wounds of the risen Christ, we see our own wounds, and that as Jesus is raised from the dead, God gives us new life in the midst of our struggles. Belief in the resurrection is not about holding onto “correct” theology, but to a way of life grounded in the love and power of God given to us and to the whole world.
04/01/2018 THE SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION: EASTER DAY sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. The stone has already been moved from the entrance. The barrier is gone. The way is open before us. Do not be afraid. Enter in. Seek and you shall find. Go forward and be found. Death has died. Hallelujah!
03/25/2018 THE SUNDAY OF THE PASSION: PALM SUNDAY Homily by the Rev. David Andrews. Embrace intentionality. Embrace time. Embrace your calling in life. Embrace the world. Remain with Jesus and stay awake. Pray that God’s will be done.
03/18/2018 THE 5th SUNDAY IN LENT sermon by The Right Rev. Kevin S. Brown, Bishop of Delaware. We want to see Jesus, to see for ourselves, to be convinced and not left in doubt. Love is simple but it is not easy. Love transforms the world every day. We are keepers of an idea worth dying for, worth living for. Proclaim it by word and example!
03/11/2018 THE 4th SUNDAY IN LENT sermon by Maryann Younger, Preacher. Faith means more than holding up a placard or carrying a sign, good as those acts may be. Remember to listen for the Spirit’s whispered direction. Whatever you would make well, remember that you need to be healed. Lift your eyes!
03/03/2018 THE 3rd SUNDAY IN LENT sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Return and rest! Let your spirit, your emotions, your body, your intellect, your social interactions rest. Welcome the grace of God. Let God do the work, carry the load, get ’er done! In returning and rest we shall be saved. In quietness and in confidence shall be our strength.
02/25/2018 THE 2nd SUNDAY IN LENT sermon by the Rev. Lloyd S. Casson. A Holy Lent is a time for fasting, meditation, reflection, prayer, self-denial, study of scripture, and good works. Find out who you are and who you are meant to be. Rediscover why you were born. You have a burden, but God makes it light. Accept God’s forgiveness.
02/18/2018 THE 1st SUNDAY IN LENT sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Lent is a season to rest and reflect. “CEASE” is the word we emphasize. Stop being productive for a time. Let the imperfect remain unperfected. Let God be God, who alone is perfect. Welcome God’s grace, you who need it as much as anyone else.
02/11/2018 THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY – Carnival Sunday, sermon by Maryann Younger, Preacher. Go back down the mountain. During your joyous, transfiguring moments, drink in the inspiration. Hold it to your heart. Then, by God’s grace, settle into the ordinary to heal and be healed, to trust and be trusted, to embrace the vulnerable and be yourself vulnerable.
02/04/2018 THE 5th SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Do the ordinary work of healing and reconciliation. Do not wait for miracles. They will happen in their own time. Remember to rest. Go to deserted places to pray, then move out of your comfort zone to connect with the world. Heal the divisions. Share a simple touch. Then rest. Get comfortable and be comforted.
01/28/2018 THE 4th SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Stressed? Of course you are, if you are like us! So spend less time connected to your devices and spend more time connected to your heart. Listen to what is inside you. Go deeper. What is God saying to you? Wake up! Grow up! Clean up! Show up!
12/24/2017 The THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! The early Christians hid in the catacombs. They were not part of the established order. Like them, we can be faithful in study, prayer, and generosity. We can be lovingly confrontational. We can share the light. We can pour out the good poured into us. Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!
01/14/2018 THE 2nd SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY sermon the the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. As we commemorate two forbidding emissaries of Christ, champions of justice, let us emulate them as well. O God, You of grace and glory, grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days. We know we must speak and act — gently, compassionately, and boldly — but let us first listen for your voice.
01/07/2018 THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY sermon by Eucharistic Minister, Maryann Younger, Preacher. We are 60% water. 71% of the earth’s surface is covered in water. Common as it is, perhaps because it is so common, John the Baptist used water to symbolize repentance and we continue to use water in baptism. You who have been baptized, go out into the world to be the hands and feet of God, to do good, not evil, and to proclaim the goodness of God.
12/24/2017 The 4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Mary, mother of Jesus, is important for many reasons. One reason is that she said “Yes” to God, as did Abraham and the prophets. You, too, are called upon every day to do good and to do better. Say “Yes!”
12/17/2017 The 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Joy is the theme. Even in loss and grief, God comes among us. Let the exile return home. Proclaim the year of jubilee. Hear the good news. Love justice. Let us live like the blessed people we are. Rejoice always. Test everything. Hold fast to what is good. Hear the Word. The Messiah has come into the world!
12/10/2017 The 2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Let go of your striving after things, after stuff, and after reputation and honors. Return home! Let go of your hatred and fears. Return home! Let go of your doubts about yourself and others. Come home! Be alive! See the hand of God at work in the world and in your life. Then you will be at home with everyone, everywhere, for you will be in communion with God, with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit, even when you are confronting injustice. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, “Come home!”
12/03/2017 THE 1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT sermon by Guest Preacher, Maryann Younger. Cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light! Embrace scripture, tradition, and spirit! Exercise your reasoning powers! Plead for grace! We lack for nothing if we clothe ourselves in light. God offers us shining robes of radiance. Look at one another! See how the light radiates!
11/26/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Two competing kingdoms want our allegiance. Moralistic therapeutic deism is one, a system of belief common in this country. We, on the other hand, proclaim Christ, who is close at hand, present with us, whose death and resurrection justify us. We pray. We proclaim our confidence in God. Our ancient faith is alive and new. Through Christ all things come into being, are ever renewed. God is not separate from us, but envelopes us, embraces us, imbues us with the Holy Spirit.
11/19/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. There are three keys to the abundant life: gratitude, sacrifice, and generosity. Let love guide your heart and you will have life abundantly! Ask God for what is good, what is best, not just for yourself but for those you love, your neighbors, and even your enemies. Taste, eat, drink. Know that God is good!
11/12/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. The world at peace? We are far from that. Gun violence is epidemic! Prayer is a good start, as is reading scripture, which tells us that noting can separate us from the love of God. It also tells us to love our enemies as well as our friends and family, the selfish as well as the generous, the miserly as well as those who love.
11/5/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by guest preacher, Kim Eppehimer, Executive Director of Friendship House. We at Friendship House live out the parable of the Good Samaratan every day, offering care and hospitality to the homeless and the transient. We are the saints of God ministering to the saints of God, all of us holy ones, all of us giving and receiving. It is a blessing to give, and a blessing to receive. You have more to give than you can know, and more to receive.
10/29/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.
10/22/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by guest preacher, Dr. Mildred McClain. We are warriors. We are at war. The enemies of the earth have forgotten their roots. When we get tired, we are tempted to surrender, but be steadfast! Stand! Trust in God! God is with us through the trials of fire. Humble yourself before God that God may exult you! Resist evil! Remain steadfast in the faith! Let God use you!
10/15/2017 SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. We give thanks for the entire creation and our place in it. Peace, unity, and sustaining care are basic to the universe and are in us. Creation is good and so are we. The Big Bang continues to resound in the space around us and within us. We teach, we learn, we act, we rest, all in God’s love. Hallelujah!
10/08/2017 sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Violence is all around us and within us, to take by force, to take what is ours, or we to take from someone else. Will the violent be punished violently? Not us, for we are eager to repent! We are learning to love, even our enemies.
10/01/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. It is natural to think in the extremes of either/or, of black and white, of yes and no, leaving out the middle. It is natural to settle for easy answers. God’s bounty overflows. It goes beyond our easy conceptions.
09/24/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. “Be still and know that I am God”. So says Psalm 46, written many, many centuries ago. Even then it was hard to be still and difficult to trust in God. In our times, as then, the future is uncertain. Anxieties easily rule our busy lives, but we do not have to let them.
09/17/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Forgiveness is in short supply because it is hard work. Yet it is essential if we expect to be forgiven. Pray for our persecutors that they, like Saul, might be transformed into champions of the good. Let us learn the way of forgiveness and so increase in love. May we and our institutions call upon the tradition of forgiveness and teach it.
09/10/2017 sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Anger, hostility, hatred, racism, violence all frighten us. Even the earth rages in flood and earthquake. We are outraged and want to rave to whoever will listen. But we are not about that. We are to bring the presence of Christ into the world. God is with us! Let us then witness lovingly, with forgiveness.
09/03/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Pray for those caught in the floods, not only the floods caused by Hurricane Harvey, but also those caught in the flood of partisan politics. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Live in harmony. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.
08/27/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Do not be a conformist but be transformed. Renew your mind. Read the Bible. Read without sunglasses, without blinders. Live into a new way of thinking. Forget yourself and see the good around you. Learn to love. Be transformed.
08/20/2017 sermon by the Rev. Ray Michener. Lord, Lord, have mercy! We cry out to Jesus, the Son of David. We cry out even if we deserve nothing but scorn. We cry out because we are desperate for God’s generosity and abundance, for the crumbs from God’s banquet table. Instead, a seat is prepared for us, and new garments. We are treated like family.
08/13/2017 sermon by the Rev. Ray Michener. The storms around us rage. The waves threaten to sink our small boat, which we are constantly bailing. But look, Jesus is walking on the water, calm amid the thunder and lightning, the driving rain and the riven waves. Call to him! If you have faith, walk out to him.
08/06/2017 sermon by the Rev. Ray Michener. The witnesses tell us that the face of Moses glowed after he talked to God face to face. The witnesses tell us that Jesus on the mountain was transfigured. The witnesses have passed on the word: “Listen to Him!”
07/30/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not suffering, or doubt, or years of unbelief, or the worst sins imaginable. God loves us. We may not feel it or see it but it is there and makes all the difference. Search your heart and you may feel a drop of that love. Open your heart and you may experience a flood.
07/23/2017 Sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Be present as a witness. Offer relief. Give them a break. Be patient until the time is right. Confess our imperfections and that of our institutions. Pray. Read. Reflect. Learn to love. Imitate Jesus. Live with the weeds. If you cannot find better, use a rock as a pillow.
07/16/2017 sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Sin, Law, and Grace — There is now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ, we who love even though we fail, we who are found wanting, we who justly feel guilt and sorrow, we who are forgiven, we who forgive, we the guilty whom God loves, we who welcome grace, we whom God inspires.
07/09/2017 sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Are we born into sin? No! What God created is good. When we truly believe that, temptation flees. Be of good faith! Nothing is wanting! God will provide! Put down your burden and put on the yoke of Jesus. His burden is easy. His yoke is light.
07/02/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Abraham’s son, Isaac, was led by his father to a place unknown. Let us trust our Father as every day brings us into an unfamiliar place. Even if we try to stay in place, to preserve the familiar, we find it changes right in front of our eyes. Soon the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware will have a new bishop, someone to join us as the 21st Century continues to sweep us onward towards the unfamiliar.
06/25/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Jesus wants all of us. Let us present our selves, our souls, and our bodies to the Lord. Everything! Let us present ourselves even though we may fail. God’s grace permeates all our lives and is there for the asking at church, at work, at home, and at play. God’s grace abounds!
06/18/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Pray for the victims of domestic gun violence in our country but also pray for the shooters. Bullets fly and so do violent words. Pray for those shooting off their mouths and those who listen. And don’t just pray for them; learn to love them. Don’t laugh thinking it is impossible. Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?
06/04/2017 Pentecost Sunday sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. We can be at peace with our neighbors even when they are not at peace with us. They may persecute us, but we should not persecute them. We who have received the Spirit are called to take our place in a challenging world, one that may not be overjoyed to see us.
05/21/2017 sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Jesus prepared his disciples. We can allow God to prepare us. We can open ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We can love and let ourselves be loved. We can invite others in. Forgive those who trespass. Encourage one another. Stand with and alongside your neighbor. Lend a hand. Lend our hearts. There is hope in God’s call to us.
05/14/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. This is a time of transition for our diocese, which now has five nominees for our next bishop. We all enjoy and suffer transitions, personally and collectively as churches, denominations, cities, countries, etc. The Episcopal Church is no exception. Our new archbishop Curry calls us to be more consciously a part of the Jesus Movement.
05/07/2017 Good Shepherd Sunday sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Rowing is a team sport, each person moving their oar in perfect harmony with the others in the boat. We are all in the same boat, rowing towards a distant shore. Let us continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.
4/30/2017 The Third Sunday of Easter sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. After Jesus rose from the dead, his followers often did not recognize him at first. Even today, there are many things that cloud our vision so we do not recognize and welcome God’s grace in our lives.
04/23/2017 The Second Sunday of Easter sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. We believe the Good News, even though we, unlike the disciples, have not met Jesus in the flesh. But we have been touched by the Spirit, and so believe that good is triumphant, and death is not the final word.
04/16/2017 Easter Sunday sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. The glorious resurrection of Jesus from the grave came after his torture and death. His disciples huddled in grief and fear. But that devastation changed to joy. Let us, too, suffer the ordeals that life gives us. Let us endure, confident that our troubles will end and we will be, once again, fearless and joyful. (Note: there is some static in this recording we were unable to eliminate; that is, there are still some weeds in the wheat.)
04/15/2017 The Great Vigil of Easter sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Christ is risen! Hallelujah! This is the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of death and are restored to life. This is the night when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell and rose victorious from the grave. Light has been restored after a long period of darkness. Hallelujah!
04/09/2017 Palm Sunday sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. This Holy Week, ask yourself, “Who is Jesus?” A teacher, a faith healer, a prophet, the Messiah, the Son of God? Why did Jesus have to die? What is Jesus asking of you, for your life? Ask. Go deeper. Get to the bedrock of your soul. Of all the people who have parts in Jesus’s passion and death, with whom do you identify? Pray for them, and for yourself.
04/02/2017 sermon by guest preacher Kaamilah Diabate, MLK Jr. Communication Contest winner in 2016. Insights into what it means to be young and black some 50 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Ms. Diabate is a high-school junior.
03/26/2017 The Fourth Sunday in Lent sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. We all experience rejection. It can be mean-spirited, even evil. It can be based on ignorance or prejudice. Or, it can simply be that others are better and so are chosen for the award, the team, or the job instead of us. How are we, as Christians, to deal with our feelings of anger, injustice, resentment, and hard feelings? Are those feelings to dominate our lives, or can we forgive and find joy?
03/19/2017 The Third Sunday in Lent sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Following God, being faithful, means we must work to overcome what separates us from one another and from God. Pray. Meditate. Fast. Repent. Reach out. Find and celebrate the good in your neighbor.
03/12/2017 The Second Sunday in Lent sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. During Lent, we prepare for Easter by make a right beginning of repentance, by self-examination; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. In some ways, it is like getting ready for surgery, which my wife did this past week.
03/05/2017 The First Sunday in Lent sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Do you feel scattered? Unfulfilled? Lonely? Listen! God is reaching out to you inwardly and outwardly. See what there is to be found when you pray, fast, and meditate. See what there is to be found when you welcome others into your life.
03/01/2017 Ash Wednesday homily by the Rev. David Andrews. I invite you to the observance of a holy Lent, and to make a right beginning of repentance, by self-examination; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.
02/26/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Have you been to the mountaintop and seen God’s glory? Do as Jesus did. Walk back down into the valley and take God’s love with you. And do not pretend you are there only to give love. You are also there to receive it, for we are all human, channels of God’s love, if we will but listen.
02/19/2017 sermons by MLK Jr. communication contest winners, guest preachers Tyrek Traylor and Nana Ohemaa Asante. The second annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Communication Contest for New Castle County, Delaware was conducted on January 15, 2017. The competition is designed to challenge high school students to develop and communicate their ideas using poetry, speech, and/or rap, reflecting on Dr. King’s legacy while sharing their proposed action for change within the Wilmington community.
02/12/2017 sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. We forget that we are loved. We forget to be glad. When we remember, our members reunited, our beings whole, we cannot help but love God and one another. We forgive. We are compassionate. We celebrate!
02/5/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. How are we to live in the world? How is our joy to be restored? We are called to be like salt, preserving and flavoring life. Listen for God. Pray that you may hear. Let light in. Yours are the eyes, the hands, the feet, the compassion through whom God works!
01/29/2017 sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. The Lord requires you to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. You are called! Even though you are tried, tested, challenged, or doubting, you are called, as were those who came before us. Trust God. Look to God, who does not withhold love, gives us what allows us to answer, “Yes!”
01/22/2017 Post-Inauguration Sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Our smart phones and computers keep getting updated. Just as we get comfortable with one operating system, another takes its place. Aggghhh! Our nation has just changed its operating system. Soon we will wonder that we ever threw up our hands in frustration and impatience. We are patient. We are adequate to the task. We trust in God.
01/15/2017 Black Prophets Sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr. were witnesses to God’s love, that the world should have light and have it more abundantly. They were prophets sent by God into the world. You, too, should be active in the world, to transform it, to restore all people to unity with God and with one another.
01/08/2017 The First Sunday After The Epiphany – by the Rev. David Andrews. We are baptized into Jesus’ name and are, like Him, beloved by God. If the Spirit inspires us, we will love everyone we meet, something we cannot do without the inspiration of God. Otherwise, we fail to see people as individuals and instead see them as men or women, children or adults, rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat.
01/01/2017 New Year’s Day sermon — The Feast of the Holy Name — by the Rev. David Andrews. We live in changing times and even we are not constant. We have good days and bad, but we can give thanks every day, we can pray every day, reminding ourselves to continue in our surrender to God’s love.
Click here to see the complete archive of recorded sermons at SsAM.
