Some have said that truth is the first casualty of war. No so. Truth perishes long before the first shots are fired. And lies are needed to sustain every war. Despots count on our docility, our complicity. There are signs today that tyrants and despots and strongmen have met their match in a global citizenry that are saying, “We don’t believe your lies anymore. We are tired of hatred. Something new is stirring among us.”

“Loving Truth When Falsehood Reigns” is a religious interpretation of the forces rising to stop aggression, speak truth to power, and confront falsehood. I’m not naive. People of every age have found themselves again intoxicated by the lure of mis-information, propaganda, and lies. But there can always be an awakening. And when the people awaken, they can end authoritarianism. This sermon is based on Ephesians 4.14-16 and a reading from bel hooks’ book, All About Love: New Visions. It was preached on the First Sunday of Lent, March 6, 2022.

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When my children were growing up, there were a few key messages I tried to reinforce over and over. . .

A helluva week.

War. Sanctions. Scenes of fleeing civilians. Uprisings around the world. We feel like we’ve been here before. Afghanistan. Syria. Iraq. Untold suffering. But this time, it feels like a slide toward oblivion. And we’re not out of a global pandemic. There’s still massive injustice to reckon with and heal. And the environment is becoming less and less hospitable to human life.

What can religion offer that’s not just some form of spiritual bypassing? Is there anything religion can do to transfigure this apparently damned world? In this mediation, I explore all that. And on Transfiguration Sunday in the Christian year, we ponder the meaning of an ancient story for modern life and the turbulent days we’re living through.

“Transfigure Us” is based on the Gospel of Luke 9.28-36. Transfiguration Sunday, February 27, 2022. . . .

What do you do when you run into one roadblock after another? When you’re frustrated, stymied, stumped? Here’s a meditation on the importance of time and tenacity. It’s based on a reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6.1-13) and a poem, "Snowdrops," by the Nobel laureate, Louise Gluck. I preached the sermon on February 6, 2022 at Davis Community Church, Davis, California.

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Have you ever been stumped? Have you come to a place where you didn’t know what to do next? Out of ideas? Foiled? Thwarted? Frustrated? Stymied?

There’s not a human being who hasn’t run into a road block of one kind or another. Maybe a crossword puzzle stumped you. Maybe a relationship problem stumped you. Maybe you had a medical problem that thwarted diagnosis, a math problem that foiled your knowledge, a fork in a roadway that wasn’t on the map and left you scratching your head. . . .

Love is a hackneyed and often over-used word in our culture. In this sermon I explore the relevance of the Bible’s great passage on love (1 Corinthians 13) for our lives today. What can this ancient writing on the nature of God as love offer us in this often hardened and hateful world? Come and see.

“God is . . .” A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 13.1-13. Davis Community Church. January 30, 2022

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Our reading today, or at least a few verses from it, is among the best known passages in the Bible. That’s both a blessing and a curse. It’s a good thing because, since it’s so well-known, it must be saying something that’s universal. It’s a bad thing because it’s so familiar that we’re likely to take its meaning for granted and miss what it can teach us about living well today. . . .