Sermons

Sunday sermons may generally be found on our YouTube channel. 

Here is a tutorial on how to subscribe to a channel. here: The most recent sermons are listed below.

Recent Sermons

The Second Sunday after Pentecost

June 19, 2022 Proper 7

Juneteenth at Gerasa by the Rev. Salying Wong

This sermon by Pastor Salying connects the history of Juneteenth with the story of the demoniac in Gerasa. Only some people think freedom is good news. Those who depend on the structures of bondage for their privilege and order will be full of dread at the coming of the good news. The good news of Jesus Christ is freedom from bondage–and the those who are freed are also freed to proclaim it.

Trinity Sunday

June 12, 2022

The Trinity: where we live our ordinary lives by the Rev. Salying Wong

Trinity Sunday is a lynchpin between seasons with theological foci and a season without any; between Advent-Easter and ordinary time. Trinity Sunday caps off a time of deep theological investigation with a feast of mystery, awe and wonder. Now, we are ready to walk into ordinary time with humility.

The Day of Pentecost

June 5, 2022

God’s Love Language by the Rev. Salying Wong

High-context, low text. People who study culture and languages would say some languages are high-context, low text… It is when you don’t say much (low text), but the messages are passed along in non-verbal ways…

Unfortunately, the attempted recording of the sermon for this Sunday was unsuccessful. But you may find a transcript here.

Seventh Sunday in Easter – Sunday after Ascension

May 29. 2022

For God So Loved the World by the Rev. Salying Wong

A contemplation on the Ascension as it intersects with the Uvalde shootings.

The sermon was not recorded this Sunday. A copy of the text may be found here.

Sixth Sunday in Easter

May 22, 2022

Finding Hope by the Rev. Bertram Nagarajah

Deacon Bertram’s sermon considers the tragedies of the Buffalo shooting and the ongoing war in Ukraine and Jesus’ words of his abiding presence with his disciples.

Fifth Sunday in Easter

May 15, 2022

A Recipe for Fruitcake by the Rev. Salying Wong

Pastor Salying tells a story, as an outsider, of giving hospitality to her fifth grade teacher–to illustrate how important it is to receive hospitality, especially to build the church. This connects with the vision of Peter in the book of Acts and his openness to receiving from the gentile Cornelius. It means the time of fear is over and the walls that separate are being dismantled.

Fourth Sunday in Easter

May 8, 2022

Iconic Ornamentals at St. Thomas by the Rev. Salying Wong

Tabitha in the Acts of the Apostles was called a disciple. She was known for her love in the things she made with her hands. In this sermon, you will see a few examples of the beautiful things made with loving hands in service to worship of God–which means, they are icons.

Third Sunday in Easter

May 1, 2022

Discipleship After Resurrection by the Rev. Salying Wong

The disciples are back at the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus. But, they are fishing in the dark. Like them, we might also ask how does one practice discipleship when Jesus’ presence isn’t clear, when we have to recognize him when our eyes are of no help? How do we follow him and continue the work he was doing, which is to love the world?

Second Sunday in Easter

April 24, 2022

The Wounded Resurrected Body by the Rev. Salying Wong

Jesus offers the intimacy of his wounded resurrected body to his disciples so that they might trust him and be released from the locked places where fear has bound them. He releases them for that abundant life that he promised to them, a new life of peace and forgiveness.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

April 3, 2022

When You Have Nothing Left to Give by the Rev. Salying Wong

The time has come. The hour is here. Jesus will die. What do you do for the one you love when there’s nothing left to do? Mary of Bethany shows the way.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 27, 2022

The Parable of the Beloved Elder Son by the Rev. Salying Wong

The elder son, in the famous parable of the so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son, is forgotten. No one goes to get him in the fields when the party gets started. This painful event shows how families are made of broken people. Jesus uses this parable to show how the love of God has always been there and is ours–even when we’ve all been lost in the hurt. It is this love that gives us the abundance from which we can forgive and reconcile–it is this love that doesn’t demand that life gets fixed before we get healed.

Third Sunday in Lent

March 20, 2022

Please Cure the World of Ambiguity or Not by the Rev. Salying Wong

Jesus speaks to people who sum up tragedies with bad theology, all in service of keeping the world clear and certain. Instead, Jesus puts himself in the midst of tragedy and so puts God in the depth of it. He tells a parable about the mysterious fig tree and makes the parable a door into a universe where things aren’t so clear–yet, God is there.

Second Sunday in Lent

God Our Mothering Hen by the Rev. Salying Wong

March 13, 2022

Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem. On his way are foxes that desire to kill him. But, he desires to spend his life in the midst of violence to embrace the wayward within his mothering wings, as a hen gathers her brood. Alas, “Jerusalem” does not desire it? Do we? What would it mean to desire God’s desire for us? What would we have to surrender to be gathered, along with all whom God desires, within the abode of these wings of God?

A transcription of this sermon may be found here.

First Sunday in Lent

Tomorrow’s Bread by the Rev. Salying Wong

March 6, 2022

Jesus and the devil have a conversation about need–in the form of bread. Should one take control of one’s need? Should we give into all our anxieties about what is unknown? What need do we have of need?

A transcription of this sermon may be found here.

Ash Wednesday

What God Can Do With Dust by the Rev. Salying Wong

March 2, 2022

On Ash Wednesday, we take on the mark of dust as a sign of our trust in what God can do with dust.

A transcription of this sermon may be found here.

Last Sunday after the Epiphany – Transfiguration

The Light Is Real All the Time by the Rev. Salying Wong

February 27, 2022

The last Sunday of Epiphany is also Transfiguration Sunday. It is the Sunday before the season of Lent begins. Lent means spring–that is, the time when light begins to flood our days. So, it is an apt time to witness the brilliant divine light when the veil is pulled back on that mountain.

The sermon was not recorded this Sunday; a transcription may be found here.

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

February 20, 2022

The Measure You Receive by the Rev. Salying Wong

The Sermon on the Plain is for the victim. It is about the nature of God’s love to heal our deepest wounds. This grace is so generous–if pours on us over and over again, endlessly. What we thought would be like a measure of grain we purchase becomes a measure that is beyond measure–and it is ours, for free; and it is for us; and it never runs out.

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 13, 2022

Oi! Woe! Whoa! by the Rev. Salying Wong

The Beatitudes and Woes of Luke’s Gospel describe the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God. What makes for a happy life? Is the happiness the main pursuit of life? What is the role of suffering and pain? Jesus says, “Pay attention!”

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

February 6, 2022

Die, Rise, Fish

Learning to fish for people is a much more mysterious process than a miracle of fish gathered in nets. Peter will learn how as he follows Jesus and confronts his own failure; he will learn how when he confronts his own ego and allows it to be buried with Christ and rise with Christ. It is in this surrender that he will acquire the qualities of a fisher of people.

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

January 30, 2022

I See in a Mirror Dimly (a sermon in verse) by the Rev. Salying Wong

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Who’s the best preacher of all?

Mirror, mirror in my fair hand,

Who’s the best servant in the land?

Mirror, mirror in the church,

Who sits highest on the perch…

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

January 23, 2022

Recovering Identity in Times of Change by Lou Poulain, LLP

Returning from exile, the Jewish community rediscovered their identity in a changed world. Today’s church must reshape our identity and mission in our changing world.

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

January 16, 2022

The Nudge, the Dream, the Work by the Rev. Salying Wong

Jesus needed a nudge from mom to walk into his ministry; MLK needed a nudge from Mahalia Jackson to work for the “dream”. We at St. Thomas are now working on our dream for the future of our parish. We are nudged on by love.

First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Winnowing Fork and the Unquenchable Fire by the Rev. Salying Wong

January 9, 2022

Why does Jesus get baptized? Pastor Salying interprets the Baptism of Our Lord in the context of the Season of Epiphany–a season of enlightenment and awakening. She argues that Jesus’ baptism reveals the dynamic self-giving love of the Trinity, an embrace of love into which we are invited, so that we might also hear what the Father’s says, “You are my child, my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.” This baptism, unlike other baptisms, is where the Spirit winnows away the chaff, all the nonsense of our false identification with happiness–all that is burned up. What remains is what is of substance, the wheat that provides sustenance to ourselves; the germ that may be planted and proliferated to give more life to the world. This is the baptism of the Spirit and of Fire.

Second Sunday after Christmas

Border Crossings by the Rev. Salying Wong

January 2. 2022

In this sermon, Pastor Salying tells her story of crossing the border to United States–even as that event was full of uncertainty, the uncertainty that followed was even greater. Often, to cross a border is to cross into more uncertainty. In a world out of our control, faith helps us find a foothold. Most of all, what helps is making new life by making it together–in community.

Christmas Eve

The Christmas Homily was not recorded.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

On Sunday, December 19, 2021 we celebrated with a liturgy of Lessons & Carols; there was no sermon.

Third Sunday in Advent

On Sunday, December 12, 2021, we had our Annual Christmas Pageant in the usual place of the Sunday sermon.

Second Sunday in Advent

10,000 Degrees by the Rev. Salying Wong

December 5, 2021

The Prophet Malachi urges the people to be reconciled with God and neighbor.  But reconciliation is not for the faint of heart.  It will feel like being burned in 10,000 degrees; it will feel like being scrubbed in a bath of lye.  Is this God’s wrath and judgment?  Or is it our wrath and judgment?  How do we prepare for the coming of the Lord?

First Sunday in Advent

Chronos, Kairos, Advent by the Rev. Salying Wong

November 28, 2021

Advent is time that wells up to fulfillment; it does not run out. It is the time to look for the signs of new life, not destruction. It requires silence to perceive.

Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King

In Celebration of the 110th Anniversary of our Parish: Interviews with long-time members

November 21, 2021

Pastor Salying Wong spoke at some length with long-time members Norma Medlin and Jane Doman. The video with Norma may be found here.

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Birthpangs by the Rev. Salying Wong

November 14, 2021 Proper 28

The Gospel of Mark offers no soft consolation. Jesus tells his disciples that they cannot bypass suffering. Some will try to jump over the labor of suffering–announcing that all is accomplished before it is accomplished, pretending that Jesus has already come to save the day in his second coming. But, Jesus says not to believe it. In fact, the suffering is the birthpangs to new life–one must labor in order to create the end of the story. This is the good news.

All Saints Sunday

Risen Life, Present Tense by the Rev. Salying Wong

November 7, 2021

The sign of Lazarus’ raising points to the reality that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus declares this before he raises Lazarus, before he himself is crucified, died, risen and ascended. Jesus declares this not as a causal reality, but as a present reality. Jesus came in the midst of our human condition–loss, pain, death–to show us that these things do not have the last word. In Jesus, the Word made flesh, the last word is resurrection and life.

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Stewardship Sunday

A Very Perfect Gift by Lou Poulain, LLP

October 31, 2021 Proper 26

Our identity as Christians is built on worship, gospel, community and service. As we answer the call to be steward of these things, it is an answer to extend ourselves in care for one another in the midst of our most local expression of church.

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

On the Way: Insight from the Margins by the Rev. Salying Wong

October 24, 2021 Proper 25

Bartimaeus sits by the roadside, sits along the way, sits on the margins. And though he is blind, he has insight to who Jesus is. He cries out, “Jesus, Son of David!” He declares the messiah on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem. The way that Jesus walks is cruciform. Bartimaeus proclaims salvation by giving the insight we need to have a new perspective. This new perspective (literally repentance) is the insight/sight we need to see the Kingdom of God.

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Is the Vice President Seat Open? by the Rev. Salying Wong

October 17, 2021 Proper 24

You need repentance to see the Kingdom of God. That is, you need a new mind, a new perspective (metanoia). It isn’t like other kinds of kingdoms, where the head positions give you power and glory. In Jesus’ Kingdom, the seats to his left are right are the cross. Suffering is part of this kingdom. All who follow this way will serve as one who has to contend with suffering. It is in the midst of suffering that our servanthood is purified–as not about having power and honor, but even eschewing hatred and bitterness in the worst of it. That’s how you walk into God’s kingdom.

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Who Is Good? by the Rev. Salying Wong

October 10, 2021 Proper 23

The story of the rich man who was told to sell everything and the response of Peter and the disciples together reveal the essential nature of the Kingdom of God. It is not entered in by human goodness, which is tainted by our egos. Rather, it is a pure gift from God, whose goodness is purely from the place of mercy and love. Jesus looked at the rich man and loved him; Jesus looks at us and loves us. When we consent to the gaze of God and one our eye with God’s eye, the camel threads the eye of the needle. What is impossible with mortals is possible with God.

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Good News for the Divorced by the Rev. Salying Wong

October 3, 2021 Proper 22

Divorce has touched almost everyone’s lives, either directly or indirectly. The pain can close up the heart. This sermon contemplates Mark 10 and Jesus’ teaching on divorce. Setting his words in context, we can hold his words not as a prescription, but as eschatological hope. In the Kingdom of God, the hope is the hope of the vulnerable, the disempowered, and the shamed. It is welcome for the broken hearted.

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Stumbling Blocks by Lou Poulain, LLP

September 26, 2021 Proper 21

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Greatest Path by the Rev. Bertram Nagarajah

September 19, 2021 Proper 20

We can be too concerned about our own greatness, comparing and competing with one another. But, Jesus, before he goes to the cross, teaches them what is the path of greatness. That path is to love one another–especially in the here and now.

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Remembrance of 9-11 by Gage McKinney, LLP

September 12, 2021 Proper 19

Where were you during the events of 9-11? For those old enough, we know where we were. This is because of the scale of 9-11. In the Gospel of Mark, we see that when Jesus moves out of Galilee to the Gentile regions, the scale of the gospel message grows bigger. Yet, in the midst of the growing scale of the movement, Jesus brings it back to the personal, when he asks, “Who do you say that I am?” So, also, in the huge scale of tragedy of 9-11, God’s love comes to each person. God, who made the galaxies, is also God in each human heart. Life in God is lived across various levels.

Gage McKinney, LLP

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ephphatha at the Borders by the Rev. Salying Wong

September 5, 2021 Proper 18

In Mark 7, Jesus leaves Galilee and goes to Tyre. He moves from Jewish territory to Phoenician territory and from agricultural and poor territory to urban and wealthy territory. But, he still has borders to cross. The Syro-phoenican woman teaches him that the borders of the Kingdom are opened (Ephphatha). When he accepts the transformation at this border crossing, he, too, gives liberation to the woman’s daughter–and ultimately to the deaf-mute man of the Decapolis. The liberation of the kingdom is contagious and crosses boundaries.

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Hey Jesus, Did You Sanitize? by the Rev. Salying Wong

August 29, 2021 Proper 17

Purification rituals help us remember that God is holy and that life with the holy God really matters. But, sometimes, we go sideways, thinking that the rituals themselves makes us holy–and then judge those who don’t do things our way as not as holy. When we go too far, we end up projecting the things we don’t like about ourselves onto others. But examination of the heart, which Jesus is discussing in the Gospel reading from Mark, enables us to use that which we would rather cast away as the very means to a pure heart–which is really a whole heart. When we can gain compassion for ourselves, it will be natural to be compassionate to our neighbor.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

End Where We Began by the Rev. Salying Wong

August 22, 2021 Proper 16

This fifth installment on the Bread of Life discourse considers the ultimate place Jesus has taken the crowd and his disciples–a place where they have nothing to offer for the boundless love they are being given. It is a place of utter vulnerability. Some will find this too scandalizing; but, for those who remain, they will be freed from the will of the flesh and be born again/from above–they will have power to become children of God.

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

More to Chew On by the Rev. Salying Wong

August 15, 2021 Proper 15

This fourth installment in the bread of life discourse explores the levels of meaning in the phrases “living bread” and “eat my flesh”. Some the allusions are to the Good Shepherd/Psalm 23 and to the eucharist. The invitation is throughout: the offering of life and life abundant.

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

The Multiplication Goes On by the Rev. Salying Wong

August 8, 2021 Proper 14

Continuing in the Bread of Life discourse in John 6, this Sunday we (and the crowd) contemplate Jesus’ origins from the beginning as the Bread of Heaven which gives life to the world. Jesus’ coming as intimate presence helps those who trust him erase the sense of separation from God, which is part of the human condition. When we feed on Jesus, the True Bread, we will multiply the work of trust–and so the miracle (of loaves and fishes) goes on and on.

(This is the third installment of the 5 week series on the Bread of Life Discourse set for the lectionary.)

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Do you believe? by the Rev. Salying Wong

August 1, 2021 Proper 13

Miracles leave us hungry again. But, a sign leads to eternal life, where we feast on the Bread of Life. To believe, in the Gospel of John, means to say yes to an intimate relationship with Jesus, who is God’s presence among us. The performance of the sign of multiplication, when understood merely as a miracle, treats the exchange with God as a transaction. But, when understood truly, leads to connection–leads to a relationship that is born of God, born from above. This is the invitation in the sign of loaves and fishes.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus Feeds Us with his Own Hand by the Rev. Salying Wong

July 25, 2021 Proper 12

This is the first installment of a 5-week series on John 6.  This sermon interprets the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes using the Prologue of John, as a sign of God come near through Jesus, to show abundant love and to call all into relationship–to give grace upon grace. No video is available, but you may read the manuscript here.

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Get Your Groove On by the Rev. Salying Wong

July 18, 2021 Proper 11

This is the rewrite of the Psalm 23 from today.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. When traveling, he puts my wheels in a righteous groove for a smooth ride, for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall return again and again to God’s presence my whole life long.

Here’s the sermon, “Get Your Groove On” on the psalm by Pastor Salying.

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

The Light Yoke by the Rev. Salying Wong

July 11, 2021 Proper 10

The story of the murder of John the Baptist is a harbinger of harder things to come. Today, Jesus teaches his disciples how to bear hardships.

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

July 4, 2021 Proper 9 Persevering Faith by the Rev. Salying Wong

Sometimes the work of the Gospel means rejection and change of tactic. In such times, we must be nimble, adapt, and have persevering faith.

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

June 27, 2021 Proper 8 No Shortage of Grace by the Rev. Salying Wong

This sermon has no video – meanwhile, here’s audio recording of the sermon on Mark 5,  No Shortage of Grace:  A sick poor woman; a sick rich girl: each receive healing, showing that in the Kingdom of God, there is no shortage of grace.

The Rev. Salying Wong

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

June 20, 2021 Proper 7 Emmanuel in the Boat by the Rt. Rev. Lucinda Ashby

In this sermon, Bishop Lucinda shows how Jesus is Emmanuel in the boat and in all places, in the tempest and also in fair weather.

Third Sunday after Pentecost

June 13, 2021 Proper 6

Seeing the Harvest by Lou Poulain, LLP

This sermon by Lou Poulain considers how to see the harvest, when the process of growth is so mysterious in the Parable of the Sower.

A video of this sermon maybe found here.