Sermons by Washington National Cathedral

January 16, 2022: Sermon by Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner

"Dr. King was not just a dreamer. He was a doer. You and I have the same spiritual power that King had. The power that got Jesus up out of the grave is available to you and I when our lives are rooted in Christ."

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner preached on MLK Sunday, asking us to make loving God a priority. 

January 9, 2022: Sermon by the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith

“As I stand here this morning in the light of the Epiphany, reflecting on the importance and the meaning of our baptisms, I can't help but wonder – what responsibility do we have as Christians to protect the health and welfare of our democracy?”

Remembering Jesus’s baptism and the first anniversary of the January 6th attacks, Dean Randy Hollerith reflected on our role as Christians in protecting democracy.

January 2, 2022: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.

“I am reminded that spiritual growth is very difficult if we live our lives in solitude. We all need each other.”

The New Year is often a time for growth and setting ourselves up to succeed. As the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. reminded us on Sunday, this is easier to do when we ground ourselves in scripture and community.

December 26, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope

The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope preached on Sunday, December 26, 2021, the First Sunday after Christmas Day.

December 19, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas

“As you have heard me say from this pulpit before, but it bears repeating…no one, absolutely no one, is more or less worthy of a decent place to live, a secure job to work, enough food to eat, or the means to health and well-being…Because here is the thing – we are all lovingly created out of the dust of the earth as children of God.”

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Canon Theologian Kelly Brown Douglas asked us what it means for God to love us into loving.

December 12, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Patrick Keyser

What do you make of John the Baptist? He’s often described as eccentric or wild, but the Rev. Patrick Keyser says that “John's most remarkable quality is his steadfast, unwavering sense of his identity and purpose.”

John knows who he is and is confident in the message he relays – the savior is coming.

December 5, 2021: Sermon by the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith

“Have you not learned that love has nothing to do with pardon or forgiveness, that it only loves and loves and loves?”

John the Baptist’s words arrive to us shortly before Christmas, telling us to repent right as we’re celebrating the most momentous expression of love that the world has ever seen. Dean Randy Hollerith tells us that repenting opens us up to the love around us.

November 28, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Dana Colley Corsello

“I may not perceive God's righteousness as always fair, but because of the blessings afforded at my birth, I have always been able to make a way when there is no way…It is time we make a way for others who haven't been able to make their own way.”

Advent is here, and with this season comes a reorientation to a just and hopeful future for all. The Rev. Canon Dana Colley Corsello preached on the First Sunday in Advent.

November 25, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.

The Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr. preached on Thanksgiving Day.

November 21, 2021: Sermon by the Rev. Professor David Wilkinson

"There's something about the kingship of Christ, which reminds us that we are not masters of this world."

 

Quoting “Hamilton” and Teddy Roosevelt, the Rev. Professor David Wilkinson, professor at Durham University, preached on the Christ the King Sunday.