Tag: love

This is the Way

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, November 2, 2025 || All Saints C || Luke 6:20-31

Today, on the day we celebrate all the saints, I’d like to talk to you about one element of sainthood that binds together nearly all the saints – their utter dedication to the words Jesus speaks in this morning’s Gospel lesson. The people we honor as saints were not superheroes of the faith; rather, they were ordinary people who trusted God to shape their lives into vessels of justice, peace, and love. The saints who were martyred could have fought back, but chose death instead of abandoning their commitment to nonviolence. The saints who modeled the values of God’s reign could have shrunk into the scenery of their centuries, but chose instead to speak out about the injustices happening around them. The saints who were denigrated in their time could have reflected the hate and fear and indifference of their societies, but chose instead to shine brightly with the light and the love of God.

Continue reading “This is the Way” →

The Good Samaritan

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, July 13, 2025 || Proper 10C || Luke 10:25-37

As I prepare to go on vacation after today’s services, I am so glad that the piece of scripture I get to talk about this week is the parable of the Good Samaritan. Easily in the Top Five most memorable parts of the Gospel, the story of the Good Samaritan stands as Jesus’ most enduring teaching about what it means to be in relationship with other people. So let’s spend the sermon time this morning unpacking this parable and see what Jesus has to teach us about the danger of “othering” and the power of compassion.

Continue reading “The Good Samaritan” →

The Flow of God’s Love

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, June 29, 2025 || Proper 8C || Galatians 5:1,13-25

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

St. Paul says that this commandment sums up the whole law. Jesus says that this commandment, along with the command to love God, makes up all the law and the prophets. The command to love one’s neighbor as one’s self is central to the daily lives of Jesus’ followers – from his first disciples all the way down to us. So let’s talk about this commandment today, about what it means for us and how we might live it out in our own lives.

Continue reading “The Flow of God’s Love” →

The One Whom Jesus Loves

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, April 20, 2025 || Easter Day || John 20:1-18

Good morning and welcome to St. Mark’s on this Easter Sunday morning. I am so glad to be here worshiping with you today on this most sacred of all Feasts of the Resurrection. On this day, we proclaim that nothing in all creation, not even death, can separate us from the love of God in the power of the Risen Christ. On this day, we celebrate the emptiness of the tomb and the fullness of new life granted through the Resurrection. On this day, we run alongside Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter to witness the miracle of miracles.

Continue reading “The One Whom Jesus Loves” →

Love Your Enemies

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, February 23, 2025 || Epiphany 7C || Luke 6:27-38

(Content warning: I talk about the Holocaust in this sermon.)

Love your enemies. This is the most shocking thing Jesus says in the entire Gospel. Love your enemies. We read this and throw up our hands, thinking Jesus must have gone mad. How could we possibly do such a thing? The whole point of an enemy is that you don’t love them. Enemies are to be defeated and demeaned and destroyed, right? The history of our war torn world would say yes. But our savior says differently. Love your enemies, Jesus says. If we’re going to take Jesus seriously – take ALL of what he says seriously – then we need to wrestle with this command to love our enemies. So that’s what we’re going to talk about today. What does it mean to love our enemies?

Continue reading “Love Your Enemies” →

By the Grace of God

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, February 9, 2025 || Epiphany 5C || 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Today I’m going to talk about grace. This is a word we use a lot in church, but “grace” is one of those concepts that defies easy definition. So this morning, we’re going to try to squeeze our way to an understanding of grace by looking at how we use the word in other contexts and then by looking at the story of the Apostle Paul.

Continue reading “By the Grace of God” →

Love and Good Deeds

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, November 17, 2024 || Proper 28B || Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25

Every night at dinner at my house, my family shares a simple ritual before we say grace. We go around the table and say where we saw kindness that day. When Leah and I take our turns, our kindness is often that the other person made dinner. Many times, mine also come from people at this church whose kindness ripples out in a multitude of ways. Every kindness we share at dinner stems from a small, simple act, and each alone doesn’t seem like it amounts to much. But when we collect the kindnesses together, we add them, like stitches, to a great tapestry of goodness and love.

Continue reading “Love and Good Deeds” →

A Loving Prescription

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, October 13, 2024 || Proper 23B || Mark 10:17-31

Two weeks ago, we talked about clinging to the impediments that stand in our way of the abundant life that God yearns for us to live. Last week, we talked about Jesus’ desire for everyone to find deep, meaningful connections and build loving, mutual relationships. And today, we are going to tie those two ideas together as we talk about Jesus meeting someone on the road. Notice that I’ve just said that Jesus met “someone” on the road. I’m saying “someone” here for a specific reason. I know it’s not like me, but I’m being vague on purpose. 

Continue reading “A Loving Prescription” →

Breathe in the Holy Spirit

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment
Sermon for Sunday, September 1, 2024 || Proper 17B || Mark 7:1-23

Today we’re going to spend the bulk of the sermon breathing through a guided meditation. We’re going to invite the Holy Spirit in through our inhalations; then, with our exhalations, we will breathe out into the world the values of a life lived following Jesus. But before we get to the meditation part, just a little background.

Continue reading “Breathe in the Holy Spirit” →

Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2023: The Funeral Homily

Published on by Adam ThomasLeave a comment

During my sabbatical, I’m not writing new sermons, so on Mondays I am choosing one post from every year of WheretheWind.com to highlight. In 2023, my church was in the midst of an unprecedented number of deaths and funerals in the parish. This sermon was a response to that reality and is now one of the most often viewed posts on this website.

Continue reading “Sabbatical Retrospective, Year 2023: The Funeral Homily” →