Transformative Love: Following Jesus in a Complex World

Wheat and Weeds: Finding Love Amidst Fear - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

Rev. Phil opens the sermon with Fred Craddock’s story about a wrath-focused preacher being removed from the pulpit, highlighting the line, “We’re real mean SOBs, but we refuse to believe that God is meaner than us,” to challenge fear-based interpretations of Jesus’ parables. Preaching on the parable of the wheat and weeds, he argues that God does not make “weeds” because every person bears God’s image, and that the parable describes life on earth rather than speculation about the afterlife. He emphasizes three points: Jesus acknowledges the reality of evil and real suffering; human beings are not qualified to perfectly identify and eliminate evil because they will uproot good along with harm, and that Christians are called to love as Jesus did by tending what is healing and nourishing rather than sorting people as good or evil. He concludes with hope for those harmed or marginalized that evil cannot win and God’s children will shine like the sun.

God's Love in Every Soil: A Reflection on Faith and Belonging - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

In a sermon on the parable of the sower (Matthew 13), Rev. Phil admits struggling with the text because it can trigger fear about being the “right kind of soil” and even judging others, a fear rooted in being taught that God might reject people for imperfection. Reframing the parable through Jesus’ teaching in Matthew, God’s kingdom of grace, mercy, healing, justice, and reconciliation; Rev. Phil argues Jesus is not threatening people but describing varied human responses to the truth that all are loved and included in God’s plan. The focus is not on perfect soil but on the sower who spreads God’s love indiscriminately, showing God’s unconditional faithfulness. Though people may be different “soils” day to day, Jesus remains faithful. A practical invitation is to soften the heart by loving people as they are, treating them as made in God’s image without demanding they “get it.”

Rest in Love: Breaking the Burden of Social Expectations - The Rev. Joanna Leiserson

This sermon by Rev. Joanna Leiserson, based on readings from Zechariah, Romans, Matthew, and Psalm 145, reflects on Jesus’ critique of “this generation” that judges by outward expectations and offers rest to the weary. Rev. Joanna describes how cultural standards enforced by elites and influencers can be exhausting, focusing especially on the cosmetics industry and how makeup upholds norms of beauty tied to whiteness, racism, sexism, and conditional self-worth. As an example of liberation from these burdens, Rev. Joanna recounts Scott Vincent Borba, a successful cosmetics CEO who felt empty, prayed for help, gave away his $3 billion fortune to charity, and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, finding joy and purpose serving the poor. Rev. Joanna urges embracing Jesus’ lighter yoke of love, rejecting “spiritual makeup,” and loving especially the marginalized, sharing a personal story of being accepted without makeup after cataract surgery and feeling decades of shame lifted.

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.