Sermons by Washington National Cathedral

December 18, 2022 Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan

“The life of Joseph drifts into mystery, but I invite you to consider Joseph as more than an afterthought, but as one who had a pivotal role in God’s plan. Joseph’s story has much to tell us about the way the God comes among us. Along with Joseph, we too are called to hear God’s message to us in the midst of complicated situations, and to be faithful, even when we don’t know where it all leads.” 

The Rev. Canon Rosemarie Logan Duncan shares the birth narrative of Jesus as it is told in the Book of Matthew, where we glean insight into how God appears among us. Through this telling, we are reminded that God is with us, and that he has been here before. 

December 11, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.

"This is the moment when someone needs to hear what you've seen and what you have heard, what we have seen and what we have heard. This is our moment. This is our season to tell the good news. This is our moment to declare to the truth that states Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life."

On Sunday, the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. preached on the season of Advent as the moment when we are called to share the good news of Jesus. Advent is our season as Christians because it reminds us of the life that we have been called to live.

December 4, 2022: Sermon by the Very. Rev. Randy Hollerith

“The legacy of Jesus's unreasonable ministry has outlasted every other princely power and nation. During these remaining weeks of advent, as we prepare to receive the Christ child, ask yourself, how unreasonable am I willing to be for the kingdom? Are you willing to be unreasonable enough to forgive someone in your life who does not deserve to be forgiven?”

The Very Rev. Randy Hollerith, Dean of the Cathedral, reflects on Jesus’s ministry, urging us to repent of our self-absorption and apathy, our cynicism, our doubt, so that we can see the possibility that our world can be a better place, if we're willing to follow the way of Jesus.

November 27, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Dana Corsello

“The call of the season is to recognize that we're not paying attention to what really matters. To confess that we are alive, yet dangerously asleep. Jesus warns us that we cannot afford to walk through life with eyes wide shut, to be asleep at the wheel. We do so at great peril.”

The Rev. Canon Dana Corsello, Vicar of the Cathedral’s Congregation, reflects on the holy season of Advent and its significance as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.

November 20, 2022: Sermon by Canon Historian Jon Meacham

“These words of Jesus mark the culmination of his public ministry with the proclamation of a kingdom in which good shall be wrought from evil, in which the sinful shall be redeemed, and in which the condemned shall be made whole.”

Canon Historian Jon Meacham reflects on the profound significance of Jesus’s redemption of the criminal crucified next to him.

November 13, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Patrick Keyser

“In the Christian context, any discussion of death and our mortality must come to our assurance that nothing, not even death, will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is indeed cause for great hope. Yet at the same time, it is not an invitation for us to spend our time waiting for the promise of the glorious age to come. The question is what to do with the gift of life God has given us.”

The Rev. Patrick Keyser reflects on the question of how, in light of our mortality and limitations, we are to live a life of purpose and meaning.

November 6, 2022: All Saints Sunday Sermon by the Very Rev. Randy Marshall Hollerith

“If you want to know what Christianity is really about, if you want to know what Jesus is really about, then you need to look no further than the Beatitudes. Jesus turns the values of the world upside down and proclaims that God's values are very different.”

The Very Rev. Randy Marshall Hollerith, Dean of the Cathedral, reflects on the Beatitudes and how they stand in opposition with ideologies such as Christian nationalism.

October 30, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Jan Naylor Cope

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Notice Jesus doesn't say anything about liking. We're called to love and to pray for those with whom we differ.”

The Rev. Jan Naylor Cope, Provost of the Cathedral, reflects on the intersection of religion and politics, urging us to be guided by the way of Jesus, the way of the Scripture.

October 23, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.

“It was the Samaritan's actions that allowed Jesus to show us that it is not enough to define who is my neighbor, but it is essential to be neighborly. The call to action requires a compassion and a love that is not bound by social constructs, but motivated by heavenly compassion to transform and move beyond these binding constructs that we have put in place, that we have created that limit our community, that limit our relationships, that keep us separated.”

The Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. preaches on the parable of the good Samaritan, reflecting on how we can be neighborly in our own lives today.

October 16, 2022: Sermon by the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith

Oh, mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. Brothers and sisters, remember that Micah 6:8 provides not only a picture of what God requires of us, but it provides us also with a roadmap toward building the kingdom of heaven here on earth.”

The Very Rev. Randy Hollerith reflects on the well-known words of the prophet Micah (6:8) and how we are called to apply the behaviors that God demands of us in our society today.