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Sermons 2019
THE SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION – EASTER DAY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews.
THE SUNDAY OF THE PASSION – PALM SUNDAY, homily by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Martin Buber’s story, The Angel and the World’s Dominion, tells of restless souls with little understanding; confused speechlessness; of a heaven that grows bright, shining, merciful, and abundant; too deep, too dreadful. Let us join in the great work of the two processions of Palm Sunday and Good Friday; celebration and suffering pain. Look inward and look to God.
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. Our spirits experience full times and times of want, times of work and times of rest, times of longing and times of joy, times when we understand and times we are dumbfounded. At all times, love is poured forth lavishly upon us, upon the world and upon our lives. Let us find and embrace that love.
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. We are new creations in Christ. By grace, we do not hold ourselves higher than those around us. Redeemed, we count ourselves blessed, not better. Thank God and ask God. Picture the parable of the prodigal son. Imagine yourself as that wastrel. Imagine yourself also as the older son, who always did right. Then picture yourself as the father, who loves both his sons. Reflect on what you pictured.
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Bear fruit. Rest. Welcome others and let others welcome you. Worship. Pray. Read. Walk. Meditate. Let your reading of scriptures raise questions for you, challenge you. Recognize the patterns of sin, broken promises, lament, reconciliation, love, loss, incarnation, resistance, passion, crucifixion, resurrection, and salvation in the daily news and in your life. Connect to the living Christ. Live into love.
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Dear God, let us not be silent. Let us, the citizens of heaven, testify that body and spirit are one, different as they are. Let us, the friends of the cross, endure our suffering by grace, and look for redemption, our bodies and souls resurrected, restored and whole. We, the citizens of heaven, have been formed in baptism. Let us write a new story. Let us accept the strength God offers our faith into practice.
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Lent is a time for simplicity, for cutting back to the essentials. We make time in our lives to study the Bible. We set aside time to pray. We humbly acknowledge our weakness. We rely more strongly on God to deliver us. We bind ourselves closer to our constant companion, the Holy Spirit. We endure temptation. Our restless souls are calm.
LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY – CARNIVAL SUNDAY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. After talking with God, the face of Moses glowed, frightening the Israelites so much that Moses started wearing a veil, so as not to alarm them. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we shine. We are not to hide our love of God. Let us dare to remove our masks and veils, even if the sight of us alarms people. We will not escape persecution and suffering if we glimmer instead of shine, if we murmur instead of sing. Let us set aside our fears. Are we not God’s own?
Link to a video of Fr. David’s first Sunday at SsAM in 2010.
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Yes, we live in a world of wounds, a wounded world, but God is with us. Let us embrace the lives we have been given. Let us trust in God’s goodness. We can be instruments of peace and healing. We can be healed. Let us search our souls. Let us live extravagantly! Let us seek peace, union, faith, hope, light, joy, understanding, and forgiveness.
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. You are challenged to answer two questions. (1) What are the major pressures, demands, and expectations in your life? (2) How does your practice of Christian faith help or hinder you in maintaining your equilibrium in the face of these expectations, demands, and pressures in your emotional and physical renewal, and in your spiritual renewal? Try to answer these in the coming week, especially looking for ways in which your time at church can be more refreshing.
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Experience has prepared us to accompany others in their moments of sorrow. Grief needs company and empathy, especially from those with experience. Good, beauty, truth — let us look for these. Let us turn toward the light and, if we can, if it is within our means, let us point others toward the light, not forgetting to let them point us toward the light. It is, after all, a matter of moving together.
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Let us treat others as fellow subjects, not as inert objects; as partners, not obstacles; people worthy of our love, not things to disdain. Let us make our home in God’s love. We are not trinkets in God’s collection, nor exhibits in God’s zoo, but sisters and brothers in God’s family. We eat and drink the bread and wine. We receive the gift of Christ. Here we are, Lord, send us forth!
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it. We humans are not separate from God’s creatures but share a planet with them. As Thomas Berry said, the universe is a communion, not a collection, a communion remembered in the ritual we celebrate every Sunday here at SsAM. Each of us has a part to play but we are one in Christ. Let us renew our commitment. Let us stop, look, and listen.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. The work of freedom goes on, so that each of us may have equal justice under the law and, more than that, so we treat each other fairly, even lovingly. We cannot turn back. We cannot be satisfied with progress and not success. We have a dream. Let us live and act to make that dream real.
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Our God lives! If you listen to the words said every Sunday, even though many of those words are the same as previous Sundays, you will hear something new. Listen with curiosity. Listen in wonder, questioning the meaning of what you hear. What stands out? What is God trying to tell you? Listen and you will be refreshed!
THE EPIPHANY, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Attending a worship service at SsAM is like joining a caravan. People join together and make their way to an oasis of refreshing spiritual waters. We say prayers together. We listen to ancient readings and a contemporary sermon. We confess our sins and pray for the world. Then, having shared the bread and wine of communion, we move on, rejuvenated. Thanks be to God!
Sermons 2018
THE 1st SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. Prepare for Sunday! There is much you can do every day to connect yourself to God and so prepare yourself to fully rejoice in the praise of the Lord every Sunday. There is centering prayer, saying the Daily Office, and reading scripture. To start, pick one day a week and schedule a few minutes. Others have done this and now schedule time every day to purposely connect with God. You can too!
THE 4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT, sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Mary was willing to bear God’s son. Let us also welcome God’s Spirit into our hearts. Let us bear fruit worthy of repentance. Let us let God work upon us, to lift us up. For we are loved, redeemed, no longer self-sufficient but reliant on the Spirit, not just at Christmas but all year long, knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God.
THE 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT, “Rejoice Sunday” sermon by the Rev. David T. Andrews, Jr. The Kingdom of God is at hand! Rejoice! Rejoice? How can we rejoice with so much sorrow, anger, and suffering in the world? If you cannot rejoice, then share your wealth with others. Show mercy and walk humbly with God. Be fair. Be honest. Strip away the superfluous from your life. Let it go! Grace will be provided.
THE 2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT, sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” So said poet Carl Sanburg. Every child is a beacon of God’s loving light. Be comforted! Let your hearts be restless for the Good News! Do you doubt, feel shame and guilt, feel you have betrayed your own truth? Find peace in God’s love. You and I, we are really OK! Claim your birthright! Return to your native honesty and joy!
THE 1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT, sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. The kingdom of God is at hand! It may seem that we are spiraling out of control into chaos, that our times are perilous, yet we can trust in God and be realistic, we can have hope in the face of catastrophe. As writer Debie Thomas tells us in a recent blog post on the Journey with Jesus website, we can say hello to the here and now. We can live honestly in our own skins.
THE COSMIC CHRIST: The 7th Sunday in the Season of Creation, sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. We stand in awe before the mystery of creation. All of us are connected. The universe unfolds. The spark is within each of us. Love is at the center of the cosmos, before the beginning, beyond the end of time. Let us be who we really are at our core, the love of God.
STEWARDS OF CREATION: THE 6th Sunday in the Season of Creation, sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Let us pray daily that our expectations are realistic. Let us be merciful and forgiving to ourselves when we cannot meet expectations, and to others when they fail. Let us be generous in a world driven by the fear of scarcity and forgive ourselves and others when we and they are driven by fear. Let our church be bold in our planning and let it be overflowing with grace when those plans go astray. Let us pray daily.
VETERANS DAY: The 5th Sunday in the Season of Creation, sermon by Rupindar Grewal of the Sikh Community in Wilmington, Delaware. This, the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, is a good day to talk about peace and the end of war. Sikhs believe in soldier saints, those who fight for the right reasons, not for personal glory or vengeance. Inside each of us is also a war where we battle desire and fear, wanting to be free of their control.
THE 4th SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Yoga was originally a spiritual discipline and still is for many. It acknowledges the Spirit present in each of us, light we each share with our neighbors and the world. God will not let the light go out. In all circumstances, God is with us. An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941-1943 is a book the shows the tremendous weights some carry and encourages us to fight our part of the larger wars. As often as we can, let us reclaim peace and honor the light.
THE 3rd SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF CREATION sermon by guest speaker, Erika Gutierrez, Network Delaware. People come to the U.S. for many reasons. Who will we welcome? If we are silent, we are part of the problem. Now is the time to make things right. Make peace with your own judging of others. See each person’s special gifts. Breathe and think joy. Have faith in one another, because we are all loved by God.
THE 2nd SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF CREATION sermon by guest speaker, Faizal Chaudhury, Islamic Society of Delaware. Let us leave the earth a better place than we found it. The earth is to be shared with all living creatures. We humans are trustees. Let us be faithful to God and to those who come after us. All we own is really God’s. We are accountable for what is placed in our care. Treat animals with respect and dignity. Plant a tree so that it may offer shade for decades.
The 1st SUNDAY IN THE BEGINNING SEASON OF CREATION sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Listen to God’s love and respond, not trying to rescue but embracing life, joining the great story of redemption. Let each of us and our institutions be expansive to all people, taking time to meditate how everything came out of nothing, how we came from nothing, how we are dust and to dust shall return.
The 20th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST by the Rev. David Andrews. We are called to live in humility with open hearts, like children responding with joy because the Kingdom of God is near. The world assaults us but we need not let our hearts harden. Be like theologian Karl Barth: read the newspaper, but keep the Bible open. Listen to David Lose: sometimes the issue isn’t the issue.
The 19th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Listen to the Holy Spirit! Listening is not easy. Our efforts meet opposition. Keep at it! Seek the simple truth of God’s love. The way of the cross is hard. It is costly. It hurts. Listening is hard work. Prayer is hard work. Go deeper! Delve into the soil, tend the shoots that spring up, harvest the ripe grain!
The 18th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Understanding is often lacking and those who do not understand are often the foolishly confident, even boastful, like the disciples of Jesus. Search for understanding! Try out the understanding you have and welcome correction. Do not argue and blame others. Open your heart to grace without expecting immediate answers to prayer. Wait for answers to appear. Open your eyes. Listen!
The 16th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Emily Gibson. Let God open our ears and loosen our tongues. We will not be restricted by habit. We will not insist on doing things the way they have always been done. Is something better waiting? What does God have in mind for us? God’s power is always at hand, but it is not under our control, not at our bidding.
The 15th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Savor your life! Do not simply gulp it down. Feast on the Word of God with your body, mind, and soul. Look at your neighbor. Listen. Welcome them into your life. Take the time. Open your senses. Chew on God’s Word. Linger. Embrace all that life offers, all of it. Invite life in! Savor our Savior’s redeeming love!
The 14th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. What does it mean to be free? Let others help. Form better habits. Learn to be at home with God. Honor what is past and, at the same time, live into our new reality. Be an example of Christ’s love. There’s a new world coming!
The 13th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. David Andrews. Is your soul hard to handle? Does it keep veering off God’s path? Time to get its wheels aligned! Call on God’s Spirit. Invite God in. Do this every day. Acknowledge your need to call on a power beyond yourself, something other than Google Maps to get you on the right track each day.
The 12th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. Are you hungry still? Gather with others. Do your part. Share with one another. Gather around the table. Are you hungry still? Recognize Jesus in the Eucharist. Recognize Christ in one another. Surpass your differences with others. Remember you are made in the likeness of God. Are you hungry still? Welcome the stranger.
The 11th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. Admit it! Confess! You are a sinner, a forgiven sinner, as blemish free as one who has never sinned thanks to God’s redeeming work. You have been washed clean in Christ, are washed clean again and again when you humbly acknowledge your plight and open your heart to God’s saving grace.
The 10th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by Maryann Younger, Preacher. There is no end to things that need to be done but it is better to sit still and seek God. Contemplation, prayer, and praise do not get things done. Quiet time does not make our TO DO lists shorter, but we need first of all to be full of the Spirit of God. Doing things often gets in the way of being with God. The task-oriented life can be inhospitable to God. Take time to seek God. Learn to wait upon the Lord!
The 9th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. Do the next right thing and do the next thing right. What are you doing with your life? Seek to be compassionate, even to those who are not. Serve as you want to be served. Give all of yourself to God and your neighbor. Welcome friend and stranger. Receive the truth and reflect it. Do the next right thing and do the next thing right.
The 8th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. If you hear the music of heaven, dance! Dance before the light and glory of the Lord! Dance with grace, mercy, justice, peace, and equality. If you want to save the world, dance joyfully with God! Everyone, join in!
07/08/2018 The 7th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. It’s all about the grace, the grace, the grace. Chew on scripture until you hear its melody. Make haste slowly. God’s power is perfected in weakness. If you really want to succeed, surrender. The last shall be first. It’s all about the grace, the grace, the grace.
07/01/2018 The 6th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Paul W. Gennett, Jr. Next Wednesday is the 242nd anniversary of freedom here in the United States, of liberty and justice. We are bound together. We seek progress, not perfection. We seek a more perfect union; out of many, one. We the people of the United States of America have duties as well as rights. We are God’s people, whether we are in the light or in the shadows seeking the light.
06/24/2018 The 5th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Anna Waid. Be reassured! Yes, storms rage, chaos surrounds us and clouds our thinking. Focus on God, not the storm. Focus on your salvation, not the chaos. Look, search, seek for God’s victory. Open the doors and let in God’s triumphant Spirit. Join hands with the faithful. Reach out to those reaching out to you, even God.
06/17/2018 The 4th SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Anna Waid. God wants you to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s kingdom is like something you lost and turned everything upside down to find. If you are not in touch with the Kingdom of Heaven, search for it. Look for it in how you treat other people, in how you think about them. It is not easy loving other people, but that is where the Kingdom of Heaven is to be found.
06/10/2018 sermon by the Rev. Anna Waid. The creation story that begins the Bible is an ancient story, one that talks about why things are the way they are, especially why farming is so hard, and childbirth, too. But there is more to the story than pain. God provides for us, walks with us, waits patiently for us.
06/03/2018 THE 2nd SUNDAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Anna Waid. To be called is an honor but usually requires difficult changes. Our time is full of change, changes we may not like. In the midst of these changes, God calls us, perhaps to something new. Go where God calls you. God is honoring you, but you may be required to change.
05/27/2018 THE 1st SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST-TRINITY SUNDAY homily by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. God is all powerful, purely good, unbearably glorious, holy perfection. Jesus was God incarnate, made flesh. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, leaving us the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit dance together, one being, and we are made in God’s image, born again, seeing anew.
05/20/2018 THE DAY OF PENTECOST sermon by the Rev. Canon Lloyd S. Casson. All of creation groans with expectation. The Spirit moves us. We cannot sit still or be quiet. Strangers will think we are drunk, inebriated, out of control, irrational. Those who know God know us. They hear the truth, that God loves us, all of us, transforming the world, transforming us.
05/13/2018 THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER sermon by the Rev. Barbara Melosh. Everyone remembers Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, but who remembers Mathias, the apostle who took his place? We, as sinners, can identify with Judas because we, too, betray Jesus in many small ways, and perhaps some large ways, if we are honest. Let us be faithful by the grace of the Holy Spirit even if that means, like Mathias, we are forgotten by history.
05/06/2018 THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER sermon by the Rev. Barbara Melosh. The Gospel of John has many names for Jesus, including “Friend”. Some people claim Jesus is their best friend. Jesus called his disciples his friends. Jesus laid down his life for his friends. Who are his friends? Those who love God and their neighbors. Who can love their neighbor? Those who have welcomed God’s Spirit.
04/29/2018 THE 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER sermon by Maryann Younger, Preacher. Abide in love! God loves the worthy and the unworthy, friend and enemy. This is how we should love for it is how we are loved. We cannot love God and hate our neighbors. Joy and goodness are ours when we abide in love. Let us walk with our neighbors, whether they are good or bad, suffer with them and rejoice!
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.
— 04/15/2018 There was a sermon preached in music, not in spoken word.
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.
Sermons 2017
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.
