Charles Hoffacker
The Rev. Charles Hoffacker lives in Greenbelt, Maryland, with his wife, Helena Mirtova. He is the author of A Matter of Life and Death: Preaching at Funerals from Cowley Publications. Many of his sermons appear on sermonwriter.com.
Sermons and Bible Studies
Wait. Pray., Ascension Day – 2018
Today’s first reading and gospel form an unusual pair. They both come from the two-volume work attributed to Luke the Evangelist. One is from the end of the first volume, the book […]
Corpses in the Corridor, Proper 19 (A) 2017
As you heard today’s gospel, did it make you uncomfortable, so that you shifted your weight from one foot to another, or perhaps gazed awkwardly into space?That parable Jesus tells […]
Give Alms! Ash Wednesday – 2017
On this day, may we consider together just what sort of gift we ask for when we pray in the Collect for “new and contrite hearts.” Just what sort of […]
Passionate Spirituality, Proper 11 (C) – 2016
It’s a brief story, and Jesus delivers the punch line: “Martha, Martha,” he tells his hostess. “You are worried and distracted about many things; there is need of only one […]
Becoming a Place of Resurrection, Ash Wednesday – 2016
Jesus warns us to practice our piety in secret. We are not to give alms, to pray, or to fast in a way that plays to an audience of other people. Instead, […]
Hearts of Flesh, Proper 22 (B) – 2015
Today’s gospel leaves many of us uncomfortable for one reason or another. It doesn’t come across as good news. First, we have what sounds for all the world like Jesus’ […]
Welcome His Folly into Our Lives, Palm Sunday (B) – 2015
The story just proclaimed presents Jesus as mocked three times, by three different groups: first, the religious authorities; then the secular authorities; and finally, the ordinary people, the crowd. These […]
Zigs and Zags, Christmas 2 – 2015
The start of this new year invites us to take out the map of our life and look at it carefully. This is a time to recognize where we have […]
The Perfect Christmas and the Real Christmas, Christmas Day (II) – 2014
Crossing the minds of almost everyone around this time of year is the fantasy of the perfect Christmas. This fantasy appears in many versions, but a standard one goes something […]
Trust, Not Fear, Proper 28 (A) – 2014
Today we should remember something that all of us sometimes forget – that what God requires of us is not success, but faithfulness. The gospel we just heard is known […]
Can You Keep A Secret?, Proper 16 (A) – 2014
Ask a group of people to keep a secret, and you’re looking for trouble. More than likely, somebody will let it out. Especially if the secret is astonishing. Simon Peter […]
The Big Surprise, Lent 3 (A) – 2014
The story we just heard about Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman at the well outside Sychar is a story full of surprises. The first surprise is that the conversation […]
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