The Sunday Sermon with J. Wesley Holcomb

Sermon | VI Sunday after Pentecost - Year C, July 19, 2025 - “The One Thing Necessary”

In this sermon, we are invited into the quiet urgency of choosing the one thing necessary. Drawing from Luke 10:38–42, the story of Mary and Martha, this message explores the tension between holy activity and holy attention. Through reflections on Amos, Psalm 15, and Colossians 1, and with wisdom from the Desert Fathers, the sermon gently warns of the danger of missing Christ’s presence, even in the midst of ministry. We are reminded that true discipleship begins not in doing, but in being with the One who holds all things together.

Sermon | IV Sunday After Pentecost - July 6, 2025 - "A Call to Mission"

This sermon on Luke 10:1–11, 16–20, explores the missional call of Jesus to a life that is bold, vulnerable, and grounded in peace. Drawing from both Scripture and the words of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan, he reflects on the cosmic consequences of faithful discipleship and the power of God's people to cast down the forces of evil through love, justice, and embodied witness. This sermon reminds us that while the mission may be costly and the opposition fierce, we have been here before - and we know the way forward. The way of Christ still leads us into shared purpose, community, and hope.

Sermon | II Sunday after Pentecost, Year C - “Named, Restored, and Sent Out”

This sermon invites us into the long, faithful work of following Christ after the fire of Pentecost and the mystery of Trinity Sunday. Preaching from Luke 8:26–39, it explores Jesus’ encounter with the Gerasene demoniac as a revelation of how the Triune God crosses boundaries to restore, heal, and send. With pastoral clarity and prophetic urgency, the sermon calls the Church to become a community that names injustice, restores dignity, and lives the Gospel in the everyday rhythms of discipleship.

Sermon | Trinity Sunday - First Sunday after Pentecost, Year C - “The Unity the Spirit Declares”

This sermon explores the living mystery of the Trinity through Jesus’ promise that the Spirit will guide the Church into all truth. It proclaims that the unity of God is not abstract but incarnate, not distant but drawing near. In a world fractured by division, this sermon invites the faithful to be shaped by the Spirit who declares the oneness of God and forms the Church to live that unity in grace, communion, and love.

Sermon | Laetare Sunday - Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C - "The Invitation Still Stands"

Preached at The Episcopal Church of the Atonement, Washington, DC Occasion: Laetare Sunday – Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year C (March 30, 2025) Text: Luke 15:11–32 This sermon invites us to pause in the wilderness and sit with the often-overlooked pain of the elder son. On Laetare Sunday, a moment of rejoicing in the midst of Lent, we hear not only the story of the prodigal's return, but also the ache of being faithful, present, and unseen. Preached by J. Wesley Holcomb III at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Washington, DC, a historical Black Episcopal Parish, this sermon holds space for the wounded who remain, the weary who wonder if they’re forgotten, and the long-faithful who have not yet felt the joy. In the end, the parable opens the door not just to the prodigal, but to all who stand at the threshold of grace. The table is set. The invitation still stands.