Ada Wong Nagata
The Rev. Dr. Ada Wong Nagata is an Episcopal priest, recently retired. She has served in parishes in the Dioceses of Los Angeles and New York. She serves on the General Convention Task Force on Church Planting and Congregational Redevelopment and is also an honorary canon of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Diocese of Los Angeles. Ada earned her Doctor of Ministry from Episcopal Divinity School in 2015. She loves hiking and meditative walk.
Sermons and Bible Studies
Leave Her Alone. She Is Telling the Truth., Monday in Holy Week – 2023
[RCL] Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 In our Episcopal tradition, it was Palm Sunday yesterday. Jesus has entered Jerusalem. We are beginning Holy Week, and Jesus is walking closer and closer toward the cross. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is at Bethany, attending a dinner party hosted by Martha, Mary, and their brother […]
Answering Jesus, Proper 21 (A) – 2020
[RCL] Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” The chief priests and the elders of the people were questioning Jesus. What did Jesus do to warrant the religious leaders’ questioning? Today’s lesson did not tell us what Jesus had […]
By Our Love, Maundy Thursday – 2020
[RCL]: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1, 10-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be restored, And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians […]
What Will Happen to Him?, Proper 10 (C) – 2019
[RCL]: Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Today we hear a very familiar parable, the parable of the Good Samaritan. Many great preachers have preached on this story; one of these great preachers was the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The day before Dr. King was assassinated, he gave his last speech […]
What Should We Do?, Advent 3 (C) – 2018
Today is the Third Sunday of Advent, traditionally called Gaudete – or Rejoice – Sunday. It comes from today’s lesson from the Letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” In the other two lessons, the prophet Zephaniah […]
Be Faithful, Keep Planting, Proper 6 (B) – 2018
The lessons we read today seem to be mainly about planting. Most of us probably do not live on farms, but we might have some knowledge about the growth of plants. We know that planting requires someone to sow the seeds. The seeds need to have soil, and the soil needs to be tilled and […]
Leave Her Alone. She Is Telling the Truth., Monday in Holy Week – 2018
In our Episcopal tradition, it was Palm Sunday yesterday. Jesus has entered Jerusalem. We are beginning Holy Week, and Jesus is walking closer and closer toward the cross. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is at Bethany, attending a dinner party hosted by Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead a […]
The Right Things At the Right Time, Ascension Day – 2017
Crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. All in a little over forty days. From sadness to guilt, to hopelessness, to fear, to doubt, to hopefulness, the feelings of the disciples have been a roller coaster. Jesus has told the disciples that he had to suffer, but would be raised in three days. Did they believe him? No! […]
Can You See and Hear God’s Presence in Your Life?, Advent 3 (A) – 2016
We are well into the third week of the Advent season. Advent is a season of waiting, expectation, and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. But who is this Messiah? Do we have any preconceived idea how we would like this Messiah to be? John the Baptist seems to have certain ideas. In today’s […]
Rich Toward God, Proper 13 (C) – 2016
Right now in the world there is lots of tension on the issues of income and wealth inequality. I am not an economist or social scientist so I will not get into these complicated aspects. However, This Sunday’s scriptures do offer us some reflection from a Christian perspective. Jesus has taught us the two great […]
God Is Much Bigger, Proper 4 (C) – 2016
The Great Fifty Days of Easter have come and gone. We prepared ourselves in Lent for the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. During the Great Fifty Days of Easter we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday where I am sure you learned about the […]
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