Sermons From Grace Cathedral

“And let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Rev. 22).   Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Rev. 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 John 17:20-26

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA The Sixth Sunday of Easter, 11 a.m. Eucharist May 25, 2025   Acts 16:9-15 Psalm 67 Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 John 14:23-29

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2F16 5 Easter (Year C) RCL 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Eucharist Sunday 18 May 2025 | Bay to Breakers   Acts 11:1-18 Psalm 148 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35   Most holy God, make all things new. Make all things new, beginning with us. Amen.   “People don’t realize how a [person’s] whole life can be changed by one book.” I came across this sentence at the age of twenty-two in a book that changed my life, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I put on his worldview like a pair of reading glasses that suddenly brought the truth about our society into focus. Tomorrow we celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of his birth at a historical moment when his teachings could hardly be more important.   Our Acts passage concludes with Luke writing, “God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11). How can we too experience this “repentance that leads to life?” The Greek word for repentance is metanoia. It means a change in our nous, the very core of our being, in th

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco The Fourth Sunday in Easter, Mother's Day May 11, 2025   Acts 9:36-43 Psalm 23 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30

Th​is sermon explores what makes a true movement leader, building from the gospel passage from John 21 and scholarship of Raymond Brown. Love, vicarious authority, and sacrifice emerge as the Christlike qualities needed—not only in the church but in social movements today. From Occupy to Black Lives Matter, we see the power and risk of decentralized movements. Our call as people of faith is to recognize, support, and embody leadership that is loving, accountable, and willing to sacrifice for the common good.   Easter 3C RCL: • Acts 9:1-6,(7-20) • Psalm 30 • Revelation 5:11-14 • John 21:1-19

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2F13 Easter Sunday (Year C) 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Eucharist Sunday 20 April 2025   Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1,2,14-24 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Luke 24:1-12

In this sermon, the Rev. Canon Anna E. Rossi explores the profound theological and emotional struggle to find meaning and God's presence amid suffering and atrocity, using the lens of the aftermath of the Shoah (Holocaust.) In all circumstances, even in the face of overwhelming evil, there is a human impulse to seek understanding through faith. The message affirms God's presence not in power or escape, but in solidarity with suffering —  applying Jewish feminist theologian Melissa Rafael’s assertion that God is in the ashes.” Through the crucifixion, it portrays divine compassion and calls the faithful to witness, serve, and love amid injustice, embodying Christ’s presence in a wounded world.

The Rev. Canon Mary Carter Greene Grace Cathedral, San Francisco   Exodus 12:1-14 Psalm 116:1, 10-17  1 Corinthians 1:23-26 John 13:1-17,31b-35

Clergy and laity of the diocese gather to renew their vows of ordination and services in a beautiful Holy Week liturgy with the Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, preaching and presiding. This year, we will joyfully install the Very Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge as Dean of the San Francisco Deanery. Further, Oil of Chrism is consecrated in the midst of the liturgy, and healing oil blessed. Oils will be made available to the congregations of the diocese, and containers will be provided.

In her Palm Sunday homily, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde reflects on the tension between purposeful action and humble acceptance, using Jesus’ journey to the cross as a model of courageous surrender. She draws on Scripture, the Serenity Prayer, and personal experience to explore how we are called to live with intention even when faced with hardship or circumstances beyond our control. Jesus' deliberate path into Jerusalem and his ultimate acceptance of suffering illustrate a profound trust in God—not passivity, but a love-rooted surrender that brings strength and freedom. Budde invites listeners to open their hearts during Holy Week, to name their struggles honestly, and to find grace in the stillness, the silence, and the shared journey with Christ through whatever cannot be changed.

The intensive sensory experience of today’s Gospel might obscure the context of a meal. This is especially poignant in a gospel that has no institution narrative, but offers a rich Eucharistic interpretation through themes of memory, community, and ethics. Mary’s act of anointing Jesus symbolizes memory, recalling Jesus’ command to remember Him. The community aspect is highlighted by Mary’s role as a full disciple, reversing social hierarchies. The ethical message challenges Judas’ insincere concern for the poor, urging the community to embody Christ’s love in service to the world. Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 Psalm 126 Lent 5C

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco March 30, 2025   Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke15:1-3, 11b-32

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2F12 3 Lent (Year C) 11:00 a.m. Eucharist Sunday 23 March 2025   Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9   The time has come to change your life. Alex Ross writes about a sound and light installation by the composer John Luther Adams (1953-) at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. It is called The Place Where You Go to Listen. The title refers to Naalagiagvik, a beach on the Arctic Ocean, where a particular Inupiaq woman could hear and understand the voices of whales, birds, other creatures and even the whole planet around her.   “O God… my soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast” (Ps. 63).

March 16, 2025 The Second Sunday in Lent   Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35