Sermons from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Discovering Divine Hospitality - The Rev. Canon Aaron Rogers

Rev. Canon Aaron Rogers, bringing greetings from Bishop Kristin White, preaches on Matthew’s emphasis that Christian discipleship is defined by being sent out. He argues that Jesus calls disciples to a “no-house hospitality,” going without possessions so they become vulnerable, dependent on others, and open to mutual giving and receiving, rather than practicing hospitality as privilege, status, or gatekeeping. Though empowered to heal and proclaim peace, disciples are to serve and be served, discovering God’s kingdom in relationships marked by kindness and compassion. Rogers illustrates this with a Kenya trip to aid a famine-stricken nomadic tribe, where the people, unable to offer food, gave their cups and utensils, transforming the visitors’ understanding of hospitality. He invites listeners to Jesus’ table, where all are welcome, power yields to vulnerability, and disciples are sent out again.
 

Transformative Love: Following Jesus in a Complex World

The Rev. Philip DeVaul delivers a sermon from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer that reflects on difficult sayings of Jesus in Matthew 10 about being “worthy” and the divisions that can arise even within families. He argues these harsh words make sense in context: Jesus’ whole ministry proclaims that God is present, faithful, and that every person is made in God’s image, known, loved, and belongs. Jesus heals and welcomes without requiring a creed, showing God loves everybody. But making love the center of life and insisting on everyone’s belonging confronts social hierarchies and can create enemies and conflict, including family rejection. Jesus warns that following him will transform lives, challenge beliefs, prejudices, and loyalties, and may be uncomfortable, yet nothing should block knowing one’s belovedness or recognizing it equally in others.

Crossing Spiritual Thresholds: Answering the Call of Faith - The Rev. Joyce Keeshin

… the word threshold? I found myself really resonating with that this week, and I asked people what their understanding of the words were.
A friend of mine who works with wood said, "Oh, a threshold, that's that thin piece of wood between one room and another. It's in a doorway and you walk past it each time you move from room to room." Another one talked about how a threshold frequently involves sacrifice. To be able to pass through something to move forward, we frequently have to be willing to let go of something else. And my trainer, my very patient trainer, talked to me about a threshold being when you reach that, that level of your performance where you just can't go any further.

Belonging and Love: A Vision Beyond Sacrifice - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

In this sermon from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Rev. Phil reflects on readings from Hosea, Romans, Matthew, and Psalm 50, focusing on Matthew 9 where Jesus calls the tax collector Matthew, eats with “tax collectors and sinners,” heals a woman suffering for 12 years, and raises a synagogue leader’s daughter. Noting the Pharisees’ fixation on propriety and appearances, the sermon highlights Jesus’ citation of Hosea—“I desire mercy, not sacrifice”—and the psalm’s critique of ritual sacrifice. Jesus is portrayed as extending God’s steadfast love to a diverse set of people without first demanding they become “right,” showing that all belong in God’s kingdom. Rev. Phil encourages “thinking right” by seeing oneself and others as included in God’s unconditional mercy, starting with being merciful toward oneself so mercy can be shared with the world.
 

Into the Dance of the Divine: Embracing the Trinity - The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade

In a Trinity Sunday sermon at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade reflects on Genesis, Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians, and Matthew 28:16–20, arguing that the Trinity is not abstract doctrine but God’s living reality inviting people into divine communion: Creator as promise, Christ as fulfillment, and Spirit as continued presence. Interpreting the Great Commission on the mountain, he emphasizes that the Church participates in God’s mission and that baptism in the singular “name” incorporates believers into the triune life, redefining identity beyond fear, empire, or despair. He connects the Trinity’s mutual, self-giving love to resisting domination, racism, and dehumanizing systems, notes that worship and doubt can coexist, and ends with Jesus’ promise of abiding presence and a call to live God’s love together.

When Water Flows - Anny Stevens Gleason

Today's preacher, Anny Stevens Gleason, prays for God’s Spirit, then reflects on Jesus’ festival proclamation, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,” linking it to a crowded water ceremony remembering Israel’s wilderness thirst and God providing water from the rock. Jesus’ words are framed as relational and about belonging: people thirst for connection even when surrounded, unseen, or valued only for usefulness. Gleason shares personal experience of trying to earn belonging through productivity and self-curation, finding instead that belonging came by showing up authentically, being witnessed by her fiancée Katie, and held by community. “Living water” is described as Spirit-filled mercy, courage, and love—not endless availability or self-exhaustion. The sermon connects this to baptism and Eucharist as sacraments of belonging, especially for Michael Edward Eslinger, baptized before achieving or proving anything, and closes with congregational reflections on freely given love and mutual longing for relationship with Jesus.

That We May Be One - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

This Sunday sermon asks what we want to be true for the world and for those we love after we are gone, noting how people often focus on being remembered, while Jesus, nearing death and speaking intentionally to his closest friends, prays instead that his followers would be one. This “oneness” is not about shared labels, forced agreement, or making everyone Christian, since people can share a religion and still commit terrible violence; rather, it is unity like that between Jesus and the Father—love, mutuality, respect, dignity, and belonging. The preacher says God’s desire is communities where no one is left out or treated as “the other,” and where God’s image is recognized in every person. Jesus’ Ascension is celebrated because it shows God’s faith in people, who are trusted through the Holy Spirit to do God’s work, so God is never gone and we are never alone.

We Are Not Orphans: The Presence of God Among Us

The sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, preached on Mother’s Day by The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade, acknowledges both gratitude for mothers and the pain the day can evoke, then proclaims the resurrection while turning to John 14:15–21 to address anxiety about Jesus’ departure. Framing John as a two-level drama for an early, wounded community and warning against anti-Jewish misuse of the Gospel, the preacher emphasizes Jesus’ promise to send “another Advocate,” the Spirit of truth, who abides with believers so they are not left orphaned. Keeping Jesus’ commandments is presented not as fearful obedience but embodied love that reshapes allegiances against “the world” understood as domination, fear, greed, revenge, and control. The sermon calls Christians to risk discomfort, resist othering, seek restoration when they fail, and rely on the Advocate who comforts, convicts, and leads the church toward God’s kingdom of mercy and compassion.

The Gate of Liberation: Finding Belonging in Faith

Jerusalem Greer, co-executive director of Procter Camp and Conference Center, preaches at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer using New Orleans artist Dr. Bob’s “Be nice or leave” and “All y’all are welcome, but you gotta act right,” she reframes Jesus’ sheepfold and gate not as a tool for othering but as an invitation to right relationship with self, neighbor, creation, and God. Drawing on her Southern Baptist upbringing and legalistic youth-group lessons, she names the true “thieves” as pride, greed, shame, and the lie “you aren’t really loved.” She emphasizes that Jesus saves people from the hell they create for each other and calls the church to communal, early-Christian care where everyone has enough, with the gate swinging both ways for restoration and mission.

Recognizing God's Presence: Beyond Expectations

In this week's sermon, The Rev. Philip DeVaul reflects on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24) alongside other appointed readings, recalling Bible study discussion and the recent death of former rector Bruce Freeman. Drawing from Freeman’s insight, the sermon emphasizes that God shows up when people are disappointed, broken, and sorrowful, not only in perfect moments. Jesus remains with the disciples even when they fail to recognize him, illustrating God’s faithfulness beyond human awareness. When Jesus is finally recognized in the breaking of bread and then vanishes, DeVaul suggests Jesus leaves them facing one another, inviting recognition of Christ in community. Connecting this to baptisms, the congregation is urged to take baptismal vows seriously, noting the baptized transform the whole community, and concluding that the gospel is about God’s steadfast presence rather than human performance.