St. Paul's Cary: Recent Episodes
Brandon Jernigan
Each week, we share reflections meant to nurture your spiritual life. The homilies and talks are from services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cary, North Carolina.
Guest homilist the Rev. Isaac Villegas, Mennonite minister and author of “Migrant God,” preaches on the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Guest homilist the Rev. Wesley Spears-Newsome, associate pastor of Greenwood Forest Baptist Church in Cary, preaches on the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Erica Ridderman, Minister for Children, Youth, and Family Formation, preaches on the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista preaches on the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, his final service as Senior Associate Rector at St. Paul’s.
Duke Divinity Student Madeleine Preston preaches on the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, June 23, 2024.
The Rev. Alice Graham Grant preaches on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, June 16, 2024.
The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista preaches on the third Sunday after Pentecost, June 9, 2024.
The Rev. Alice Graham Grant preaches on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Mother’s Day, May 12, 2024.
The Rev. Canon Lindsey Ardrey, Canon Missioner for Diocesan Restitution and Reparations Ministry for the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, preaches on the Sixth Sunday of Easter.
The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024.
Jesus promises to bring about a new kingdom characterized by justice, healing, and transformation. Living as citizens of the kingdom involves making sacrifices, but Jesus shows his disciples that they need not be afraid.
We are not well. Our planet is not well, our society is not well, and most of our bodies are not well. Jesus offers healing, but first we must come to him.
Despite the trinitarian math of three equals one and one equals three, God is beyond words, explanation, or understanding.
Pentecost is a feast reminding us that kinship is found in entering into the gap, the space between us and the other. It is there that the Holy Spirit abides.
In John’s Gospel, the Easter promise is both about what happens after we die, and also a promise that we can live out here and now.
St. Stephen was one of the first called forth from the early Christian community to the servant ministry of deacon. Not only did he address the symptoms of the poor, oppressed, and those in need, but also the causes which led to his martyrdom.
On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Fr. Javier reflects on the nature of belonging in the church community: “Let us remember that we are dependent and vulnerable, let us rely on one another, for that is what the church is meant to be: a place where we share our gifts and where others’ gifts enrich our lives in return. This is a place where our debts to one another can never be repaid, so we have no choice but to remain grateful.”
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus stand for all of us: we, too, have heard the reports, but we haven’t seen the risen Lord. Thankfully, we don’t need to understand the mystery before Jesus meets us in our walk.
Thomas is led to a deeper faith in the person of the risen Christ. Our doubts can lead us to that same depth of faith.
The Resurrection of Jesus the Christ shows us that this extraordinary new life is right there in the ordinary pattern of creation that we so often fail to see. The risen Christ will continue to seek after us and call us, and all creation, to this life.
On Palm Sunday, Fr. Javier reflects on the disciples’ betrayal and complicity: “Now is the appointed time, now is the day of salvation. The question isn’t what we will do to make up for our sin, but how we will act in light of the fact that we are so extravagantly loved—how we will treat one another and the whole human family in light of the fact that we are completely, totally, and utterly forgiven.”
On the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Fr. Javier reflects on both the old testament and the new: “We do not see as God sees. We look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. God chooses the blind to help us see, the weak to show us what true strength looks like—the foolish things of this world to help us understand the wise.”
“I met a man who told me everything I have ever done.” So if Jesus knows all our sins, what is his reaction?
On the First Sunday in Lent, Fr. Javier reflects on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness: “From the brink of death, Jesus maps the way of life. By letting go, he helps us understand what it means to grab hold of that which is truly necessary.”
Jesus invites three of his disciples to a mountain top and is transfigured before them. Peter, James and John experience Jesus in a whole new way. But Jesus tells them not to tell anyone. Why is that?
Jesus calls us to the mountain to be leaders. What does it mean to be a people of the Beatitudes?
On the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Fr. Javier reflects on what a particular heresy from the 4th century has to teach us about being the church: “Let us remember our allegiance, not to exceptional leaders who look and talk the part, not to our idea of what church should be, but instead, to the beautiful, broken Body of Christ — imperfect though it may be.”
The Rev. Rod Reinecke, the founding vicar of St. Paul’s, joined a faith filled group of 20 families in 1958 and began a journey that continues 65 years later. A reflection on those early years and how thankful we are for all those early founders. May Rod rest in peace.
On the Third Sunday of Advent, Fr. Javier reflects on the text from Isaiah 35: “Try as hard as we might to be self-sufficient—to be prepared for every eventuality and circumstance—each and everyone of us is sorely in need of grace and mercy.”
What Saint Nicholas and John the Baptist have to teach us about preparing for Christmas.
William Holman Hunt’s painting, “Light of the World,” shows Jesus knocking on a door. Hunt says he wants us to let him in. Is he also inviting us to come out?
On the Feast of Christ the King, Fr. Javier reflects on the difference between prophetic hope and wishful thinking: “God is ready to gather the remnants of your life. God is always ready to help you hope anew. The question for you today is: are you ready to receive that word?”
How we then discover that God has always been with us in the changes and chaos of our lives, helping to rebuild our “Temple” stone by stone.
How do we, with the gifts we’ve received at Baptism, become part of a community that both forms us and calls us to leadership?
Hear Bishop Mary’s reflections on her ministry as Bishop of The Diocese of El Camino Real and how those experiences shape her call for all of us to ministry in our world today.
Are we a Pharisee church or a Tax Collector church. A reflection on what Jesus might be telling us in a well know parable.
On the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Javier reflects on the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge: “with the persistent widow’s example, Jesus shows us what it means to pray always and not lose heart. It means prayer, not only in private, but also in public. It means praying with our words as […]
Before we’re called to believe, or profess our faith, or confess our sins, God wants us simply to remember.
On the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Javier reflects on 2 Timothy and the laying on of hands: “we are all ordained into Christian ministry. You do not have to preach like Peter, you do not have to pray like Paul: the call isn’t just for the clergy. The call is for all of us. […]
Hear how the the parable of Lazarus and the rich man invites us to see what we may be oblivious to in our lives and how we can begin to become aware.
Feeling alone the lost sheep realizes a desire for community and belonging. The mystic and theologian, Howard Thurman, offers us a reflection on that experience.
In Jeremiah’s vision, the pottery God creates will only be as good as the quality of the clay.
During a Sabbath meal see how Jesus guides folks in the midst of his time and culture, while also challenging the norms and accepted ways of that culture. Could this be a model for what church needs to be in our time and culture?
The privilege of personhood means you may encounter people who are in need because they are bent over by the weight of life and need a freeing and loving word or caring touch.
On the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Javier reflects on the Letter to the Hebrews and what it means to be a a part of the great cloud of witnesses: “when we come to this Table… we are not just celebrating our communion with the people that we already know and love, but declaring our […]
As Isaiah challenges the people of his time to a faith marked not just by worship, but by how they live their lives in the world, a reflection on how St. Paul’s has worshiped and engaged in the world, particularly during the pandemic.
On the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Javier reflects on the story of Mary and Martha: “Yes, there is work to do—but we are meant for so much more than that. We are meant to enjoy life and connection. We are meant for communion.”
It may be an old favorite, but we’re not supposed to like the story of the Good Samaritan.
Whether by terrorist attack, through prejudice and discrimination against a minority group, in our political campaigns, or in our personal relationships, the violence and mistreatment we perpetuate on each other arise first from the inner violence that poisons and fragments the human heart. We need a change of heart. We need a heart at peace.
On the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Javier reflects on the nature of transitions in leadership: “We are not here to change the course of history. We are simply here to do our part: making the world a little kinder, a little braver in the face of apathy, adversity, and despair. Allowing our tiny, gracious acts […]
The sudden transformation of others can be frightening to us. What happens when we listen to that fear, and bring it before God?
In the Spirit , God joins us in the uncontrollable parts of our lives to both comfort and transform us.
On the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Fr. Javier reflects on Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “Having loved his own, the gospel reads, he loved them to the end… Death, you see, is not the thing that propels Jesus forward. Violence is not the singularity that redeems his work—rather, it is love that redeems. It is love that […]
This morning Zack dives into the way in which Jesus provides a foundation for us as we enter new seasons of life, and how Saint Paul’s has become the home for so many as they navigate their new seasons.
On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus gives his disciples one final commandment, love as I have loved you.
Who are these multitudes surrounding us on all sides? These are the saints — past, present, and future — unbounded by time or space. We call them the “communion of saints,” and you know some of them personally.
On the Third Sunday of Easter, Fr. Javier reflects on the Apostle Peter’s lessons on leadership (John 21:1-19): “Start close in, my friends. Just take one step, and then another, and see what God can do with a willing heart and a helping hand.”
Surrounded by war, violence and injustice in our world, we seek new hope. May this Easter lead us to the active pursuit of hope and newness of life through the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
On Good Friday, Fr. Javier reflects on the meaning of Christ’s crucifixion: “The good news isn’t that we can somehow change the past, or that we can do something to earn our forgiveness. The good news is that we serve a God who chooses to love us anyhow.”
Like each one of us today, everyday Jesus had choices to make. Why on the night that Jesus institutes the Eucharist at the last supper does he begin the evening by washing the disciples feet?
As Jesus was betrayed and crucified his followers would grow silent. But creation itself couldn’t keep silent. We’re all invited into Holy Week, to make silence and listen for what’s about to happen at Easter.
On the fifth Sunday in Lent, Fr. Javier reflects on Psalm 126 and the experience of exile: “We stand in the world as it is, hoping for the world as it should be. And the question before us—the people standing between the times—is simply this: will we succumb to inertia, apathy, and hopelessness, or will […]
The Rev. Candy reflects that we need to be a community of love and belonging, that’s my paraphrase of Jesus’ desire to gather together Jerusalem’s children just like a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
Lent is a season that reminds us from whence we’ve come and where we are going. In the midst of it we breathe.
This Ash Wednesday, Fr. Javier reflects on the relationship between fasting and feasting during Lent—and the difference between guilt and shame as we practice repentance and self-examination.
This week, Fr. Javier reflects on the role of prayer in mountaintop (or canal-side) experiences: “As the old spiritual goes, you don’t have to preach like Peter; you don’t have to pray like Paul. You can simply create time and space for Jesus to show up in your life. And that, my friends, is good enough.”
Having enemies is part of being a human. Jesus offers a vision of how to live – and even thrive – with them.
Listen to Fr. George offer a new meaning of the word Blessed that we hear in the Beatitudes. Hear what the word meant in the language of Jesus.
Do to technical difficulties, we were not able to record the full homily.
Fr. Javier reflects on how the prophet Isaiah and the apostles Peter and Paul discovered their vocation, and how we, too, might discover ours: “To find our purpose isn’t a single decision, but the work of a lifetime. And through that work, we are being saved—made into a people pulled from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Made into that vision of the heavenly banquet, the feast yet to come.”
Being the Body of Christ is a moving from “I” to “We”, from “Me” to “Us”. Exploring what it means to be the Body of Christ.
This Sunday, Fr. Javier reflects on Jesus’ first sign at the wedding in Cana and his message of abundant life: “We work so that we may better enjoy the life we’ve been given. We struggle so that others might do the same… In a world of cheap knock-offs—visions of happiness that are trite and ethereal; moments of immediate satisfaction that leave us feeling empty and alone—what kind of life might you truly enjoy?”