Katerina Katsarka Whitley
Katerina Whitley, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece is a long-term writer for these pages. She worked as diocesan editor in the Diocese of East Carolina and as the PR & Communication associate for the then Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief during Bishop Edmond Browning’s tenure. She is the author of seven books in circulation and an active public speaker and performer. She lives in Boone, N.C. where she teaches at Appalachian State University.
Sermons and Bible Studies
For the Healing of All Nations, Easter 6 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9 These days, in our nation, in the public square, in many churches, there is a tendency toward Christian nationalism. To many of our fellow Christians, this may seem attractive and persuasive, because it includes the teaching that God favors America above all […]
Remember His Words, The Great Vigil of Easter (C) – 2025
[RCL] Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21; Psalm 114; Romans 6:3-11; Luke 24:1-12 The Great Vigil of Easter starts with death. Those who are keeping the first holy vigil in Christian history have had only one day to prepare for it; they have had no time to get used to the idea that their beloved is dying, as […]
Jesus’ Hour, Epiphany 2 (C) – 2025
[RCL] Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11 In this charming and exhilarating story, Jesus is the protagonist but says very little – only three short sentences – yet the whole story is filled with the light of his Epiphany. The account unfolds before us as images instead of narration. A wedding celebration […]
The Identity of the Slain, Good Friday – 2024
[RCL] Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42 After listening to the achingly beautiful words of Second Isaiah, to the despair of Psalm 22, and the mournful solemnity of St. John’s remembrance of the saddest night in Jesus’ and his disciples’ lives, we wonder: What more can a sermon add? […]
He Has Told You, O Mortal, What Is Good, Epiphany 4 (A) – 2023
[RCL] Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12 “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!” Micah’s lament, placed in the mouth of God by the visionary prophet, echoes through the eons of humanity’s infidelity. The question is asked of every generation because we […]
Keeping a Sacred Vigil, The Great Vigil of Easter (B) – 2021
RCL: Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21; Psalm 114; Romans 6:3-11; Mark 16:1-8 Throughout countless centuries, human beings have kept vigil for those they have lost or for causes that demand their awe and respect. From the deepest and most ancient memories of the human race come traditions related to death and dying and rituals that denote an […]
Building Up the Church, Epiphany 4 (B) – 2021
[RCL] Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28 The gospel, on this fourth Sunday in the season of Epiphany, plunges us into the acts and words of one who speaks with authority. The light of Epiphany shines today on the character of the one sent from God. The evangelist Mark zeroes in on […]
Comfort in the Midst of Suffering, Lent 5 (C) – 2019
On this fifth Sunday in Lent, our thoughts turn to suffering. As they should since we are fast approaching Holy Week and the Walk of Sorrows. This is why the highly poetic words of the psalmist, so filled with joyful images, are jarring on this particular day. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, […]
A Ministry of Reconciliation, Lent 4 (C) – 2019
An image is formed by these lectionary passages, most especially by the epistle and the gospel story, of a God with open arms ready to receive us in a loving embrace. This image is constant and unchanging. Past and future don’t exist in the eternal present of God’s embrace: God is always waiting; God is […]
Resisting the Idolatry of the Age, Lent 3 (B) – 2018
In this age, when Mammon is worshipped gleefully in the public realm of both politics and of what passes for popular religion, it is bracing to read St. John’s depiction of Jesus’ visit to the Temple, to his “Father’s house,” as he called it. It makes us cry aloud, “Oh, for a whip of justice […]
Do Not Despise the Words of Prophets, Advent 3 (B) – 2017
Listen to the words of Isaiah: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. Listen to the words of Mary of Nazareth: He has cast […]
The Mystery Of the Trinity, Trinity Sunday (A) – 2017
Today, on Trinity Sunday, we enter the Divine Dance, a dance that pulls us inside the circle of love that is our Triune God. This beautiful metaphor is being used by Father Richard Rohr to interpret the Holy Trinity not just to Christians, but to all believers. In his new book, The Divine Dance: The Trinity […]
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