Hatred – Fr. Mike Seiler

Terrified in Jerusalem

Mar 29, 2026Fr. MikeHomilies, SermonsFear, Hatred, Holy Week, Judgment, Palm Sunday, Passion

This morning, we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is the story we heard at the beginning of the service, in which Jesus rides into the city on a donkey, while people lay down palms before him, and shout “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

And now, we are about to read the passion of Jesus, broken into parts for a more dramatic reading. You yourselves have the parts, at times, of the soldiers, the crowds, or the bystanders. There are actually two readings that we can choose for the passion reading – and one of them is a little over twice the size of what we will be reading. We are reading just a portion of the larger reading.

If God Gives You Something Good

Mar 8, 2026Fr. MikeSermonsEvangelism, Faith in Action, Fear, Gospel, Gospel of John, Hatred, Love, Loving God, Loving Neighbor, Self-Acceptance, Sin, Worship

But, before we can continue with this storyline, we need to talk about the disciples, who come back at the most awkward moment. They’d been buying food, you see, and now when they show up, they have the shock of their lives. Just like the woman was shocked that Jesus would speak to her, the disciples are equally shocked. What on earth is Jesus doing, talking to this woman?

The Lost Sheep

Sep 14, 2025Fr. MikeSermonsAnger, Blame, Divisions, Forgiveness, Forgiving, Hatred, Self-Examination, Self-Importance, Self-Justification, Strife

Just this week, the country experienced the murder of a young man, a public figure, on a university campus. He was shot by another young man. People were shocked. And people are angry. In June, a man dressed as a police officer killed a politician and her husband, and attempted to kill another politician and…

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sep 8, 2024Fr. MikeSermonsAdoption, Anger, Faith in Action, Fear, Hatred, Jesus, Judging, Judgment, Racism, Self-Examination, Self-Importance, Sin

The Gospel goes out of the way to make sure that we know that the person who came to talk to Jesus is a woman, a Gentile, and not only any Gentile, but a Syrophoenician. This is a woman of standing, in what Jesus and his disciples could call “enemy territory.”

Over the years, we have all probably used some slurs when speaking of others. But also, over the years, we have matured, and we have come to understand others better, and more importantly, we understand ourselves and our own insecurities and fears better, so that we no longer use these slurs.

Which makes Jesus using this term “dog” to describe not only the Syrophoenician woman, but all her countryfolk sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to us when we hear it. And it demands that we figure out an answer to what is happening.

Duct Tape and Dwelling Spaces

May 22, 2022Fr. MikeSermonsFaith, Faith in Action, Fear, God, Hate, Hatred, Love, Self-Acceptance, Self-Examination, Self-Importance, Sin, Transformation

There can never be a beloved community – a community that includes all God’s children regardless of any self-imposed differences to keep ourselves apart – there can be no peace, no living together in harmony, unless there is forgiveness and understanding.