Sermons from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

The Journey of Belief: Beyond Doubt and into Faith

The Rev. Joyce Keeshin reflects on belief in the resurrection through the Gospel story of Thomas, who refuses to believe until he sees Jesus’ wounds and then confesses, “My Lord and my God,” while Jesus blesses those who believe without seeing. She connects belief to Christian living—love, care for those in need, loving enemies—and to communal and personal expressions of faith in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds and the baptismal covenant (“I will, with God’s help”).
Rev. Joyce contrasts personal and societal beliefs with what Jesus asks believers to trust: love. Citing Frederick Buechner, she distinguishes “believing in” as intellectual assent from “believing God” as a lived relationship, illustrated by an Italy pilgrimage where an agnostic received first communion and a Franciscan preached with deep personal conviction. She concludes that scripture is written so people may believe Jesus is the Messiah and have life in his name.

The Audacity of Belief: Embracing the Impossible Resurrection (Easter) - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

In an Easter sermon from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, The Rev. Philip DeVaul reflects on the “ridiculous and impossible” claim that Jesus truly died and rose again, noting that even the disciples struggled with grief, fear, and uncertainty, shown in their different responses at the empty tomb. The sermon argues Easter is powerful precisely because life can remain brutal even when love is embodied in Jesus. Citing Peter Rollins, the preacher says belief in the resurrection is shown by living as if it is true—loving enemies, seeking peace, justice, healing, and reconciliation—rather than merely holding correct ideas. Jesus’ descent to hell is described as emptying it, implying Jesus will find and save even the lost and unwanted. The congregation is invited to pray, “Lord, I believe; help my disbelief,” and to join God’s work in the world.
 

Truths in Storms and Salvation: The Divine Journey (Easter Vigil) - The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade

In an Easter Vigil sermon with readings from Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and Romans, The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade says the church gathers “in the dark to tell the truth” about the world, sin, death, God, and the church, using Hurricane Katrina to show that disasters are not only meteorological but also social, political, moral, and spiritual, revealing structural racism, neglect, and greed. He links Katrina to the Genesis flood, arguing both address collective, systemic sin that fills the earth with violence and unravels creation. Noah’s story is framed as a salvation pattern—enter, endure, emerge—echoed in Exodus and fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection. Salvation is depicted as shared, active care, not private escape, calling the church to be an “ark-shaped body” that shelters life, protects the vulnerable, and refuses abandonment, trusting God’s covenantal mercy and resurrection hope that death will not have the last word.

Cosmic Struggles and Sacred Cleansing (Maundy Thursday) - The Rev. Gary Lubin

The Rev. Gary Lubin, preaching on Maundy Thursday with readings from Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 11, John 13, and Psalm 116, reflects on Holy Week’s cosmic conflict and the paradox that God “wins by losing.” He focuses on Jesus washing the disciples’ dusty feet—including Judas’s—as an intimate act of vulnerability, hospitality, and deliverance, inviting listeners to imagine the sensory experience as cleansing not only feet but psyche, soul, and spirit. He describes Peter’s resistance and portrays Jesus as both servant and host at the Last Supper and at every Eucharist. He explains “Maundy” as mandate: Jesus’ command to love one another by washing one another’s feet as sacramental service, extending care to strangers, the marginalized, and even enemies, surrendering to grace and returning to the work of loving others.

Engaging in the Work of Salvation (Palm Sunday) - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

Rev. Phil preaches on the five days between Palm Sunday’s “Hosanna” and Good Friday’s “Crucify him,” arguing the shift happens when people move from hearing stories about Jesus to being confronted by Jesus’ actual teaching. He describes Passover as a time when Israel recalls God’s deliverance from Egypt and longs for present-day salvation from Roman occupation and injustice, expecting a Messiah to fix everything. Instead, Jesus teaches costly participation in salvation—love enemies, turn the other cheek, and recognize God’s presence in one another—challenging self-centered faith focused only on personal afterlife. Many people respond not with hatred but complacency, returning to daily life. Rev. Phil connects this to modern marches and asks what happens afterward, urging listeners during Holy Week to truly listen to Jesus, stay present, and join the work of justice, peace, and mutual care.
 

Love's Resilience in Times of Trial - The Rev. Joyce Keeshin

I have to confess that I felt considerable resistance to preaching on Job. I didn't want to be immersed in a story about suffering during a time when there is so much suffering around us. But here we are, and what kept me going with this was the memory I have of a dear friend and a parishioner from here.
 
Who years ago was struggling with a painful and devastating illness, one that she learned would take her life much sooner than she ever imagined. I was privileged to walk with her during that journey and to witness her faith growing as her body failed, and during the last month or so of her life, she chose to read Job.
 
I was thinking anything, but Job. Do not go there. But she was someone who knew her own mind and I respected that. And she read Job, she read it, not once, but twice in the last month of her life. And it comforted her. It comforted her greatly. And as I continued to see her suffer, as I continued to see her decline, I also continued to witness greater radiancy, greater love.

Finding Peace in Acceptance and Reconciliation - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

She didn't get along great with my parents. And there was always tension in that space. And then I always felt like I had to be on my best behavior or else. It always felt that way. And so it just didn't; she was not my favorite person to be around. And then when I was 16 I moved to New Hampshire.
I was living with my father in New Hampshire, and most of my family was still back in California. And my grandmother came to visit, and I was like, all right, let's do this. Here we go. Get the room clean, make sure the clothes are ironed. Make sure I'm the right kind of person for however long she's gonna be here.
Graciously. She was staying in a hotel so she wasn't staying in our place. Gave us a little bit of breathing room. So she comes and she visits. We're having a fine time. It is what it is. And at one point, you know, we're done with the day's visit and she's gotta go back to her hotel and she's at a walking distance, so she says, Philip, will you walk with me back to my hotel?
And I said, sure, grandma. So we walk back to the hotel. And then she's like, well, will you come up with me to my room? And I'm like, yeah, sure grandma. You know, where's this going? So I go upstairs and she's got this little sitting area in her hotel and she says, sit down. And we sit down and she said, I've gotta talk to you.
And I think, here we go.
 

Wrestling with God: The Journey of Faith and Transformation - The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade

There was a time when my own body became a battlefield. My skin burned, ached, and itched and rebelled without explanation. At first, it seemed like something that would pass a temporary trial, but it did not pass. And soon my skin and I went to war. My doctors grew tired. Their compassion began to fade. I became an insolvable riddle.
 
I was untreatable, then mysterious, and then they stopped acknowledging it at all, and I shrank from the world. I stopped talking. I stopped existing for a while. I learned the geography of shadows. I learned to hide my skin. Became both a shield and torment. A constant reminder of what I could not fix. I was raw with pain, ashamed and utterly alone.
 
But Jesus has a way of reminding us that we are never forgotten at first. The presence is only a flicker. Something I felt when I prayed or I sang gospel songs or read scripture in the middle of the night, my prayers were not elegant. I didn't have the strength. I only had groans in half form sentences, but still I kept at it.

Voices from the Margins - The Rev. Dr. Herschel Wade

 So we hear in urgent truth, the very act of speaking, of raising one's voice becomes an act of survival, an act of life. And as such, the voices of the marginalized carry a life-giving power. Even when the world tries to silence them. Their words can be keys to hope, healing, and liberation. But who is listening?
The life giving potential behind the voice of the powerless is something I believe as rarely considered. In fact, history tells us that societies often go to extraordinary lengths not to hear the words of the marginalized. Their voices are valued even less than their human bodies and what they say and think even less.
But I tend to believe that God created each of us with unique voices for the good of creation, the world, and for the good of each other. So much so that our lives, our very lives depend on it. Hearing every single voice, even if it makes us uncomfortable, even if they make us feel ashamed of our privilege, even if they speak of injustice, even if they make us change.
Even if they make our lives fuller and even if they speak for God, today's reading features the voice, the words of a marginalized servant. She is the very picture of vulnerability and she also has something to say in this reading. I believe that God is speaking to us and has something to say 

Cultivating Hope Amidst Despair - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

God's intent to bring us all into a unified connection and harmony, to a reconciled reality in which peace and justice prevail, and in which every single human being is honored as being made in the image of God, that vision has not been impaired, has not been delayed, but in fact belongs to us. That hope is real.
 
Now has anyone here ever heard of the term toxic positivity? Toxic positivity? Toxic positivity is the idea of insisting on having a positive attitude about everything so much that it's actually kind of toxic, that it's actually kind of gross.
 
The person who's like, you know, we gotta find the silver lining in this, and you're like, can you just let me be miserable for a second? There are times when we are sad, there are times when we grieve. And toxic positivity is that thing that sort of tries to shame us out of experiencing the fullness of our feelings by insisting that we only have a sunny disposition, that we pull our socks up and get moving and not worry about the sorrow and the sadness within.