Sermons at St. Dunstan's

📖 Scripture: John 10:1–10 Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.” In Follow the Shepherd, Fr. Harry Mathis reflects on John 10:1–10 and what it means to recognize the voice of Christ, trust His leading, and enter into the abundant life He offers as the Good Shepherd and the Door. In a world full of competing voices, Fr. Mathis reminds us that true peace, protection, and life are found in following Jesus.

📖 Scripture: Luke 24:13–35 Jesus is not merely known through information, but through communion. Drawing from the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, Fr. Michael explores how Scripture points beyond itself to the person of Jesus Christ—and how He is ultimately made known to His people in the breaking of the bread. While the Word of God forms and teaches us, it is at the table that we are invited not only to know about Christ, but to share in His life. Fr. Michael invites us to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist as participation in Christ’s body and blood, where the risen Lord continues to reveal Himself to His Church.

📖 Scripture: Acts 2:14a, 22–32; 1 Peter 1:3–9; John 20:19–31 Doubt is not absent from the resurrection accounts—it is woven throughout them. Fr. Michael Strachan reflects on the surprising presence of doubt among Jesus’ first disciples, showing that even those who saw the risen Christ struggled to believe. In a world where every failed messianic movement ended in collapse, the early Church proclaimed something unprecedented: that Jesus had risen bodily from the dead. He explores why that claim was so extraordinary, why doubt is not the enemy of faith, and why those who believe without seeing are called blessed.

📖 Scripture: John 20:1–18 Christ is risen—Cristo ha resucitado. In this bilingual Easter sermon, Fr. Michael Strachan is joined by Fr. Luis Diaz, who translates as the proclamation of the resurrection is shared in both English and Spanish. Together, they reflect on John 20 and the moment Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Christ in the garden. The resurrection of Jesus is not simply a return to life—it is the beginning of a new creation. In the darkness of the garden, Mary hears her name, and everything changes. This bilingual proclamation is a sign of the Church’s unity across languages and cultures, and a reminder that the risen Christ calls each of us by name. Alleluia. Aleluya.

📖 Scripture: John 20:1–18 On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene stands in the darkness of the garden, searching for Jesus—and hears her name. Drawing from John 20, Fr. Michael reflects on the resurrection not simply as a return to life, but as the beginning of a new creation. In the garden, the risen Christ appears as the true Gardener—the second Adam—restoring what was lost and calling his people into a renewed world. What we encounter in the resurrection is not only an empty tomb, but the fulfillment of every human longing: for love, for justice, for beauty, for communion. The voice Mary hears is the voice behind every echo—the one our hearts have always been searching for. The risen Christ calls each of us by name. And like Mary, we are sent to go and tell.

The Easter Vigil begins in darkness. From the new fire to the long story of Scripture, the Church waits—remembering creation, exile, rescue, and promise—until at last we arrive at the empty tomb. Fr. Michael reflects on the resurrection as the turning point of all history. In the light of the empty tomb, everything changes. What appeared broken on Good Friday—justice, beauty, truth, love—is not abandoned, but fulfilled. The resurrection does not erase the darkness. It transforms it. The light of Christ shines backward into the whole story of Scripture, revealing that every “broken signpost” has always been pointing to him—and now shines forward into our lives, calling us into a new way of living. As those baptized into Christ, we are sent into the world as witnesses of that light—living signs of the new creation breaking in.

“There is a great silence on earth today.” On Holy Saturday, the Church keeps watch in stillness as Christ lies in the tomb. Yet beneath that silence, something profound is taking place. This ancient homily from the early Church proclaims the mystery of the Lord’s descent to the dead. Christ enters into the darkness—not as a captive, but as a conqueror—seeking out Adam and Eve and raising all who have fallen asleep. In words that have echoed through the centuries, the risen Christ calls out: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Holy Saturday reveals that even in the deepest silence, God is at work—bringing life out of death, and light into the darkest places.

📖 Scripture: John 18:1–40; John 19:1–37 On Good Friday, we stand at the foot of the Cross and witness the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. In John’s account of the Passion, the crucifixion reveals both the depth of human brokenness and the mystery of God’s redeeming love. What appears to be defeat is, in truth, the place where all the longings of the human heart—justice, love, meaning, and restoration—are brought into focus. Fr. Michael reflects on the Cross as a “broken signpost”: a moment where the signs that point beyond themselves seem to fail, yet in that very breaking, they reveal their true fulfillment. In the crucified Christ, we see not the absence of God, but his self-giving love poured out for the life of the world. Good Friday invites us not to look away, but to behold—to see in the Cross the truth about God, the world, and ourselves.

📖 Scripture: Exodus 12:1–14; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 13:1–15 On the night he was betrayed, Jesus loved his own to the end. Fr. Michael draws together Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 11, and John 13 to reveal the unity of the Passover, the Lord’s Supper, and the Cross. What begins at the table is not separate from what unfolds on Good Friday—it is one continuous act of self-giving love. As Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and gives them his body and blood, he shows that true love is not abstract, but sacrificial. The command to love one another flows directly from the love first given—love that goes to the end. Maundy Thursday invites us not only to remember, but to be drawn into this pattern of life: to receive Christ’s love, and to embody it in humility and service.

📖 Scripture: Matthew 21:1–11 As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the whole city is stirred and asks a single question: “Who is this?” Palm Sunday opens Holy Week with both celebration and tension. The crowd welcomes a king, but not the one they expected. Instead of power and conquest, Jesus comes in humility, riding on a donkey, revealing a kingdom unlike any other. That question—Who is this?—doesn’t fade. It follows the story through the week, leading to the cross, where the clearest answer is finally revealed. Palm Sunday begins the question. Good Friday answers it.

📖 Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1–14, Psalm 130, John 11:1–44 What does it mean to be set free? In John 11, Jesus stands before the tomb of Lazarus and speaks life into death. But the miracle doesn’t end with resurrection—He turns to those standing nearby and commands them: “Unbind him, and let him go.” This moment reveals not only Christ’s authority over death, but His desire to free us from everything that still holds us captive. Where in your life might Jesus be calling you out—and who is He inviting to help unbind you?

📖 Scripture: John 9:1–13, 28–41 In John 9, a man born blind receives sight from Jesus — yet the deeper miracle is not physical vision, but spiritual sight. While the man gradually comes to recognize who Jesus truly is, the religious authorities grow increasingly certain of their own understanding and increasingly blind to what God is doing before them. Their certainty closes them off from the very truth they claim to guard. This passage invites us to consider the difference between certainty and faith. Spiritual sight is not something we achieve through intellectual mastery or theological systems. It is a gift of God received with humility, trust, and openness to the light of Christ. As the story unfolds, the man who once sat outside the temple ends up worshiping Jesus as Lord — while those convinced they can see remain in darkness.

📖 Scripture: John 4:5-42 What is the Bible really about? Many people assume Scripture is primarily a guide for how we go to heaven when we die. But the story of the Bible tells something far bigger. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures reveal God’s desire to dwell with His people and fill the world with His glory. Beginning in Eden, continuing through the tabernacle and temple, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and carried forward by the Holy Spirit through the Church, the Bible unfolds one unified story: God coming to live among His people and renew creation. As those who belong to Christ, we are now called to be temples of the Holy Spirit—people through whom the life of God flows into the world.

📖 Scripture: Joel 2:1–2, 12–17; Psalm 51; 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:10; Matthew 6:1–6 Ash Wednesday confronts us with a tension: Jesus tells us to “wash your face,” yet we mark our foreheads with ashes. Are we contradicting Him — or entering more deeply into what He commands? Preaching from Joel’s call to “rend your hearts and not your garments,” David’s cry in Psalm 51, Paul’s appeal to be reconciled to God, and Jesus’ warning against performing righteousness, Fr. Michael Strachan leads us beyond outward religion to inward repentance. The ashes remind us that we are dust. The cross reminds us that Christ has borne the curse. It is not the ashes that define the cross — but the cross that defines the ashes. Lent does not begin with self-improvement. It begins with honest reckoning before a gracious and merciful God who alone can create in us clean and contrite hearts.

📖 Scripture: Acts 1:1–8 On World Mission Sunday, Fr. Michael reflects on Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8 and what it truly means for the Church to be Christ’s witnesses — not only across geography, but across deep human boundaries. Drawing from the Old Testament vision of the nations streaming toward Jerusalem, Fr. Michael explores how the coming of the Holy Spirit reverses the direction of God’s mission. No longer do the nations come to the temple — now the temple goes with God’s people into the world. This calling challenges us to move beyond comfort, familiarity, and tribal boundaries, and to bear witness to Christ among those who are hardest to love, hardest to reach, and often farthest from us.

📖 Scripture: Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12 Drawing from Micah 6, Fr. Michael reflects on God’s covenant faithfulness and His call for His people to live lives shaped by justice, mercy (hesed), and humility. Scripture reminds us that God does not desire empty sacrifice, but hearts transformed by His steadfast love—lived out toward our neighbors. As we approach Lent, Fr. Michael invites us to consider not what we might give up, but how we might more fully reflect the mercy we have received in Christ.

📖 Scripture: Matthew 4:12–22 Fr. Michael Strachan reflects on Jesus beginning his public ministry in the shadow of state violence and proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Observing the Gospel reading alongside the words of the prophet Amos and the conversion of St. Paul, he calls the Church to discern the difference between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God. Repentance, Fr. Michael reminds us, is not simply feeling sorry, but turning around and walking in a different direction. Rather than aligning ourselves with power, security, or violence, we are invited to confess, lament, intercede, and pray for the coming of God’s kingdom — a kingdom marked by justice, mercy, and allegiance to Christ alone.

📖 Scripture: Matthew 16:13-19 Jesus has not saved us merely to sit in the light, but to shine it. Fr. Michael Strachan reflects on Christ as the Light of the world — the Lamb who was slain — and what it means for the Church to reflect that light faithfully. Drawing from John the Baptist’s witness, Isaiah’s vision for the nations, and the calling of the first disciples, Fr. Michael invites us to see that our radiance is never self-generated. Like the moon reflecting the sun, we shine only because Christ has first shined upon us. We are reminded that the light of Christ has a source, a purpose, a pattern, and a promise of sustenance. Fed by God’s Word and nourished at His Table, we are strengthened to carry that light beyond our comfort zones — into our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and to the ends of the earth — so that Christ may be known, worshipped, and obeyed.

This sermon emphasizes that true love, as defined by Jesus, is self-sacrificial and merciful. It urges listeners to extend their love beyond those who are easy to love. By challenging congregants to reconsider who is worthy of their love and to distance themselves from divisive influences like cable news, it calls for a deeper, transformative understanding of love in their lives.

This sermon emphasizes that the Christian faith is not about strict rules but rather about living by faith through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It encourages diverse expressions of faith and morality among believers. Listeners will be reminded that true Christian living involves love and freedom rather than judgment and legalism, fostering an environment of celebration rather than condemnation.

Fr. Michael's Sermon for the Feast of the Epiphany (Celebrated), January 5, 2025.

The sermon explores the profound significance of the Word made flesh as presented in the opening verses of John's Gospel, emphasizing the relationship between Jesus, grace, and truth. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of Jesus as the true light that reveals God and invites them into a transformative relationship as children of God.

This sermon celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ as the greatest gift, highlighting the fulfillment of God's promise and the return of His glory to the world, contrasting the humble beginnings of Christ with earthly powers like Caesar Augustus. Listeners are reminded that this good news brings great joy and is meant for all people, encouraging them to embrace and share the transformative message of salvation through Jesus.

This sermon explores the significance of Advent as a season of joyful expectation and preparation for the coming of Christ, emphasizing the belief that God has already become King through Jesus' death and resurrection. It encourages listeners to actively participate in spreading the message of the Kingdom by making disciples and calling for repentance, following the model of John the Baptist and affirming Christ's ongoing reign in the world.

Fr. Michael's Sermon for Good Friday, March 29, 20024

Fr. Michael's Sermon for Maundy Thursday, March 28, 2024

Fr. Michael's Sermon for Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Fr. Michael's sermon on Ephesians 2:1-10 for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10, 2024.