Sermons

When I last lived in Chicago,  I lived in Andersonville but taught on the Southwest side.  Every morning I drove  the entire length of  Lake Shore Drive to the Eisenhower,  got off at Cicero,  driving past Midway airport to get to school.  No matter what,  this was at least a 45-minute drive. Then, I’d reverse […]Read more “If it isn’t Good News for the Poor, it isn’t Good News”

Years ago a theologian  from University of Chicago said this: “Christians ought to be celebrating constantly. We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, and merriment. We ought to give ourselves over to joy because we have been liberated from the fear of life and the fear of death. We ought to attract people […]Read more “Popping Champagne”

As many of you know, I recently went to Cancun, Mexico for a beach vacation. For many reasons, the beach has been, and will always be my preferred spot for vacation. The beach, to me, is the perfect place to relax and let the sun and waves literally and metaphorically wash over me—cleansing my body, […]Read more “Baptism of Our Lord”

I speak to you in the name of the One who created us, joined us, and is with us still. Amen. [Singing] O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant . . .     Wait, hold on: [Singing] O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant . . . There’s something wrong here. It’s […]Read more “Christmas Eve | O Come Emmanuel”

“You brood of vipers!”  Just imagine if you arrived each Sunday to church with some thundering indictment like that.  No one wants to be called out as a terrifying looking venomous snake, with deadly fangs, and according to dictionary.com – a word used to describe a malignant, spiteful and treacherous person.  Even my dog Willow […]Read more “What Should We Do?”

O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I speak to you in the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,Mother to us all. Amen+True Confession:I’m terrible atpreparing for Christmas.For years, our houseremained bare of decorationsbecause the weeksbefore Christmaswere all about preparingfor finals when I was a teacher,and now that I’m a priest,I’m too busywith church to […]Read more “Who Makes the Paths Straight?”

Advent begins… What comes to mind when you hear the word Advent?  A season of longing, waiting, pregnant expectation, a time of hopefulness, a call to stillness, a time to step back in prayer and preparation as we approach the day when we will once again hear the great news that God so loved the world […]Read more “Advent Begins…”

Sermon Preached at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Chicago, Proper 29, Christ the King, Year B: 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132:1-13; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37 For our Revelation passage this morning, “To him who loves us…made us to be a kingdom, priests serving our God…be all glory and dominion…” I speak to you in the name […]Read more ““When Did You Know?””

My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. I speak to you in the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mother to us all. Amen+ If you were here last week or if you followed the photos on Facebook, you know that we baptized six—SIX!—babies on All Saints’ […]Read more “Commitment Sunday: Putting our whole trust in God’s grace and love”

Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more. I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mother to us all. Amen+ There is only one movie worthy of our celebration of All Saints and that is the great Pixar film Coco. If you […]Read more “All Saints Day: No One is Lost”

Ruth says, “Do not press me to leave you…” When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. I speak to you in the name of one God: Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen. She saw that she was determined…Determination, according to the Google, “is a positive […]Read more “Determination that Redeems”

Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mother to us all. Amen+ Today in Mark’s Gospel we meet blind Bartimaeus, someone we might call an accidental saint. […]Read more “Accidental Saints”

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with majesty and splendor. I speak to you in the Name of the Living God: Holy Eternal Majesty, Holy Incarnate Word, Holy Abiding Spirit. Amen. Can imagination save you? Can a vision of the awesome stop our questions, […]Read more “Created for Amazement”

I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mother to us all. Amen+ The Rich Young Ruler. That’s what we call him, that’s how he’s come to be known over the years. He shows up in the three synoptic gospels. In Matthew he’s young, in Luke he’s a ruler, […]Read more “Who Can Be Saved?”

“And he took them up in his arms, laid his hand on them, and blessed them.” I speak to you in the name of one God: Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen. “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” […]Read more “Transforming Hard Hearts into Soft Hearts”

I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Mother to us all. Amen. I found myself years ago, in a dark chapel, praying with teenage girls, on the last night of an intense retreat—Kairos—the capstone of their spiritual formation in the Catholic high school where I was teaching English. […]Read more “Thick Love at All Saints’”

We love people who are the greatest,  those who amaze us  with their skills and talents,  Tiger Woods in his heyday multi-talented superstars like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Beyoncé,  or gymnast Simone Biles who is certainly a GOAT— greatest of all time— in gymnastics and  a courageous crusader against the abuse of gymnasts.  We love knowing  […]Read more “Sermon for Sunday, September 19, 2021”

Well, hello, All Saints! I can’t tell you how happy I am to FINALLY be here! As my home church, the church that sponsored me for ordination, the church that has been my gold standard of what a joyful, welcoming church looks like, you’ve often been on my mind. But for the past few months […]Read more “The Rev. E. Suzanne Wille’s First Sermon at All Saints’ Chicago”

I speak to you in the name of one God, Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit. Amen + The way forward requires remembering the wisdom of the past…the way forward requires remembering the wisdom of the past. This summer, I was gifted a journaling companion entitled “The Next Right Thing,” by author Emily P. Freeman. It […]Read more “The Way Forward Requires Remembering the Wisdom of the Past”

Sunday Sermon, 11:00 a.m. service | August 29, 2021 Sermon for the 11:00 a.m. service on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, August 29, 2021, preached by the Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson, assistant professor of homiletics at Virginia Theological Seminary Dr. Jefferson preached three distinct different sermons at each of our Sunday services at 8am, […]Read more “Defiled and Defiant”