James Derkits

Whether you are taking on a spiritual practice, or abstaining from something for the 40 days of lent, the season is about spending more time with God so that we can share Christ's love with others. Our Ash Wednesday service invites the church to self examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self denial, reading and meditating on scripture, or alms giving. ( Book of Common Prayer p. 265) That list is offered to the whole church; I would encourage choosing one thing to adhere or holdfast to during the entire season. When you miss a day, or fall off your practice, simply start fresh the next day.  Often times we try to take on too many things at once, or feel shame when we stray from our practice. The point of the season is not to try to earn God's love or blessing, we have already been given that by virtue of our existence and Christ's sacrifice for the whole world. In the knowledge of God's love for us then, this season is a time to clear our some of the clutter and noi...

Sermon preached at Trinity by the Sea  Epiphany IV (Feb 1, 2026)Year A Eucharist Vision There are weeks when I wish I could preach a sermon that changes the world. I wish I could so craft a sermon, bearing the fruit of prayer and study, that I could open a window so that what Jesus taught would be seen so clearly that we might join in his vision of reality of existence called God’s kingdom, and realize his teaching in our lives, then so caught up in that new way to see the world we would go out from here as a body of visionary Jesus followers; we would heal the divisions of our country, and make sense of the absolute madness we seem to have descended into. There are weeks, and it seems there are seasons and perhaps years that I want to preach so, and then I remember I’m only human, that there’s a lot of competition out there and a lot of money marketing for our attention, and I sometimes from there, I fall into despair, and wonder if I even want to preach at all.  Such i...

I have a friend who is in her 90's who told me the story of when she her boyfriend eloped because they were of different Christian denominations and their parents forbade them to be wed. While that is not the only sort of "religion and relationship" I'm thinking of, it does illustrate a poor parental relationship for religious reasons. We often blame our bad decisions on religion even quoting bits of scripture to back up our agenda.  More broadly than the romantic relationship is importance of all our relationships. They are perhaps the most religious thing we can experience. Of course within this realm is our relationship with God. I heard a Bishop speak to a group of clergy and he taught about the greatest commandments: "'Love the God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and ...love your neighbor as yourself.' There are countless ways to love your neighbor, and only one way to love God." He looked at us allowing to worry that he might cal...

One of the beautiful features of our complex brains is that they help us find meaning. We are meaning-making creatures. The meaning making emerges through us in so many ways: in our story telling, through our artwork, and the way we communicate.  We can look at an oak tree and say, “I know a friend who is strong like that oak tree.” No one will wonder if your friend is made of wood, or flesh… At night, I look up at the stars and know them to be angels around God’s heavenly throne. When I mentioned that in my sermon this morning, no one stopped on the way out to ask if I didn’t understand that stars are scattered millions of lightyears apart and are formed of gasses burning so hot the fusion immits radiation and light, and their gravity holds them in the tension of galaxies... Angels. Messengers of God. Stars are singing angels. Last week on my Advent retreat, we walked, or really, stumbled around a hill country ranch littered with rocks and cactus. It was a moonless night with no f...

Gazing across the archeological site that was once Corinth (as in, St. Pauls' letter to the Corinthians... ) and seeing where St. Paul had been bound and on trial for spreading the Good News of God to the Followers of the Way, I gained a new appreciation for the history of what we call today Christianity. I'm not an expert in church history, but I've studied it along my journey. Some lament the divisions amongst our churches, and there is certainly plenty to lament about our history and some of the reasons we are divided. While there are "divisions" I also appreciate the variety of expressions of church made possible by the separation into denominations, even the new denomination creatively called "Nondenominational."  My working understanding of the Holy Spirit is that she speaks through the diversity of people and cultures, and we come closer to understanding God's guidance the more voices we are able to hear. In this age of the Emerging Church (th...

One of my favorite living spiritual writers is fond of the expression, "Happiness is an inside job." Pondering that shines a light on the disquietude so many people express as they focus on, "what is wrong with the world." Richard Rohr points out to his listeners and readers that if we are looking "out there" for the world to make us happy, we will never be satisfied. Instead, happiness is something that comes from within when we choose to allow the love of Christ fill our hearts and respond accordingly.  When we are children, we look to our parents for direction, including the joy of this season. We might accept their love in the form of tangible gifts under the tree and delicious meals. People often feel an edge of disappointment as we come of age and the "magic" of Christmas fades. Sometimes the joy returns when we discover the more fulfilling action of giving gifts to others. That may come from wrapping gifts for  family members, even our own...