Rev. Stuart Higginbotham, DMin

In the Crucifixion, God takes all of human experience and pain onto God's Self, entering into the deepest crevices of death to heal the pain of our lives. By reflecting on God's all-embracing love, we see that we have no reason at all to fear death.

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Park

So much around Holy Week involves symbols, metaphors, and very specific "labor". All that silver doesn't polish itself, and flowers don't just jump into pots! Eight hundred service leaflets have to be composed, edited, printed. Choral music work for Easter begins shortly after the final verse of Silent Night on Christmas Eve. It can be easy to go through the Triduum with a checklist, marking off "things done" and still "left undone" as the days go on. Which is why it is so important to take the time to sit with the questions. Pilate's questions to Jesus "What is 'truth'?" and "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus' question to Simon in the Garden "Could you not stay awake and pray with me for even an hour?" And Jesus' question to God "Why?!? Why have you forsaken me?!?" Some believers emphasize the importance of knowing the "right answers." We tend to emphasize the importance of sitting with "the hard questions." Tonight, we sit with Jesus' question to his disciples in the upper room "Do you understand what I have done for you?"

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

It is tempting to skip straight from Palm Sunday to Easter, and if we do, we miss so many of the powerful moments Holy Week invites us to explore. By exploring a different Gospel text this year, we can reflect on the potential we have for transformation as we step into these holy days. What do we need to face, so that we can nurture healing in our lives?

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This sermon explores the extravagant, unsettling act of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with a goodly portion of expensive perfumed oil—a gesture of love that defied the logic of her world. In contrast to the practical and measured response of the world, Mary embodies the dangerous oddness of the Gospel. We are invited to join her in disrupting systems of control and scarcity with acts of imagination, grace, and abundance.
For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This week we explore the unexpected situations that shift our perspective: a marriage-jeoparding trip up a Colorado mountain road, and a parable from scripture that we both love and hate. What does it truly mean to see the world, our situation, and ourselves differently? What will it cost us and what are we willing to sacrifice for perspective?

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This sermon explores the story of Moses, a man caught between identities, carrying the weight of his past in his body. It reveals how God meets him—not in perfection, but in exile—and calls him by name, inviting him to stand still and recognize his belovedness. Through Moses’ journey, we are reminded that holy ground is not a distant place but wherever God meets us, calling us to belong.

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Throughout the Biblical story, God makes a series of interconnecting covenants, extending from all of creation to specific people in particular contexts. Our challenge is to ask ourselves why we so often choose the most narrow one, yielding to our impulse to focus God's grace on our lives and make ourselves the center of the narrative. How can we see ourselves as part of the whole and celebrate God's presence in every aspect of life?

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this sermon for the First Sunday of Lent, we explore the vulnerability of being truly human and the difficulties of hiding behind masks of perfection. Drawing from the story of Jesus in the wilderness, we are reminded that the Word of God is near us, in our hearts and on our lips, even when we are stripped of everything else. This Lent, let us challenge ourselves to confront our nakedness and embrace who God calls us to be: fully human.

For episode transcripts and more about Grace Episcopal Church, visit online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gracechurchgainesville.org⁠/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.