Thebook was inspiredby thecascade of cardsand letters thanking thecathedralforthesesermons,a sentiment reinforcedbya survey ofnew supporters that singled outtheimportanceofthispreaching.

“Reconciliation,Healing, andHope”beginsandends with sermonsdelivered by Curry fromPentecost Sunday2020 to Pentecost Sunday2021 (Pentecostis thepost-Easter holyday that’s generally regardedas thebirthdayoftheChristian church).

Sohow doeshedoit?

What’s themagicformula for weavingtheright words together to persuadeand inspire heartsandmindsin 20minutesorless?

The 68-year-old prelate, the firstAfrican-American to headtheEpiscopal Church, sayshestartswitha question: Who is theaudience andwhatdotheyneed?

“Whatisthe deep yearningofthehumanheart that brings us togetheratthe time?”he tellsmeinan interview fromPittsburgh, where he was in town fora funeralservice.

Then comesthe challenge to make themessage relevant to the worldoutside the walls ofthe church For that,he turns to thelate theologianKarlBarth,who taughtthatpreachers shouldholdtheBibleinone handand a newspaperinthe other.

Consider this excerpt fromthe firstsermoninthe book. Like otherhousesof worship acrossthe country, the NationalCathedralhad beenshuttered bythepandemicanduncertainty prevailed Then, just days before Curry was due to preach,George Floyd was killedby a Minneapolis policeofficerasthe world watched.

Curry had a perfectly goodsermon already written.Hethrew itout.

“To avoiditis to deny Christmas,”hesaysofthat terriblescene andthefuror itunleashed.“Christmas is aboutGod coming into the world. Not God avoidingit.”

Andsohe turnedhis attention totwo pandemics plaguingthis country.

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Thispast week, we have notonlyhad to endurea pandemic occasioned bya virus—a viral pandemic— but we’ve had to endure and face a spiritual pandemic: the roots ofself-centeredness, where oneperson can look uponanotherperson anddespise and rejectthem, andnot even beholdthem as afellow child of God. We have seen once again theunthinkablebecome thinkable.It’s caused great pain or better said,increased the great pain that was already there There is a part of usthat justwants to throw up our hands,andinthe words of thePsalmist cry: How long? How long, O Lord? How long?And yet, we are not victims of fate We are people of faith. We are not doomed and condemned to continueourpast into our presentandfuture. We need notbe slaves of fate We follow inthe footsteps of Jesus.This Jesus taughtusthatlove will makea way out of no way. Hetaughtusthat sometimes you have to take upthecross and follow in his footsteps andthat if you dare to follow his way of love, you will findGod’s way of life.

MichaelCurry, presidingbishopoftheEpiscopalChurch,presidesoverthe funeralserviceofformer Secretaryof StateColin Powellin November.

—May 31 2020

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Curry isnotafraid to put himselfinthesermon or hiswholebody Hishands, hisarmsandhisfacial expressionsare extensionsof his words,punctuating, cajoling,beseeching.His cadence islyricalattimes, repeatingphrasesand words likea composer’s rhythmic refrain. Hecredits a parishhe served earlyoninhiscareer, where thefaces hestared into each Sundayranged fromdomestic workerswho mayormaynothave known how to read to well-educated professionals.

“They made me learn how to preach andhow to use everything I could genuinely includingmy very self, to communicate thatmessage to a diverse groupof people ofdifferenteducational levels,differentlife experiences, hesays.

It was oneofthose domestic workerswhobecame aSundaymorning compass for gettingitright. “At thedoor ifthesermonspoke to her she would say, ‘OhLord, you preached thismorning, you preached thismorning,’”he remembers. “Andifthesermon didn’tspeak to her, she wouldsay, ‘That’s a nice robe you have on today.’”

Askedwhyheoften makesthemessage personal,hequotesPhillips Brooks, an Episcopalpriest perhapsbestknownforhis Christmas carol“O Little TownofBethlehem,” who describedpreachingasthe communicationoftruth throughpersonality.

“You don’t need too much ofthepersonbecause thesermonisnot about you,”Curry cautions.“But to beauthenticmeansit’s got to bethe communicationoftruththrough you, throughthelived experience.”

Itmaybeassimple as personalizing a scholar you are about to quote Oras intricate asputting a human faceontheGoldenRule.

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Iwas probably 16 or 17.I was getting ready to go off to college.I was inthe car with my daddy, andhe said something to me whathe had said to us growingup. He said,“When you get to college, you treat every girl the way you want somebody else to treat your sister.”I rememberthinking,“Man, you havejust ruined allthe dreams I had for college.”

But I knew whathe meant.He said, “Treat every girl the way you want somebody else to treat your own sisterbecause that girl is your sister Treat every boy the way you want somebody else to treat yourbrother because heis yourbrother. Treat every womanlike she’s yourmother because she is.Treat every manlike he’s your father, because he is.Treat themlike you want your own family to be treated because theyare your family. Show themthe samelove, honor, care dignity and respectthat you would want for your own.Dounto others as you would have themdo unto you.”

Thisisnot rocket science, butitis world changing.He said,“If we didthat, if we didthat,then every child wouldhave access to quality education.If we did that, thenthere wouldbe justice andequality for everybody inthisland andaroundthe world.”

—May 23, 2021

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His attempts to persuade sometimes comewitha spoonful of confession. Whenthemask wars erupted,headmitted itisn’t fun to wearthefacial covering.Buthe wearsitanyway.

“Thepossible miracle couldbethatif I wearit to protect you fromme,and you wearit to protectme from you,ortheviruswithin, we get protectedand we all win.”

It’s a smallsacrifice,he added, “thatactuallymaybe asymbol of what it means to love.”

Sharing your own reluctancecanmake you vulnerable headmits,butitalso makes you genuine

“I’mnottalkingabout pretending to besomething else.I’mtalkingaboutopeningup yourselfboth to God and to Godin frontofother people.”

AChicago native who was raisedinBuffalo, N.Y., Curry hasbeenanEpiscopal priestsince 1978, thesame yearhe got hismaster’s degree from Yale University Divinity School.Heserved churchesin North Carolina, Ohio and Marylandbefore beingelectedbishopofthe Diocese of North Carolinain 2000.

Fifteen yearslater, he was electedpresiding bishop,becomingpresident and chief executive officer of amainlineProtestantdenominationthatoperatesin 17 countriesand counts more than 1.7 millionmembers.TheEpiscopalChurch is a memberofthe worldwide AnglicanCommunion. Curry alreadyhaddistinguishedhimselfas a champion ofcivilrights, women’s ordinationandLGBTQ equality— alongwithsomething you’ve probablyalreadypickedupon:anunwavering convictionthat Godislove.

Thatlove remains his epicenter “I’m telling you,thatisthe key to anykindofpreaching,” Curry declares,withmore than a little excitement. “You can dothatin two minutesor you candoitin 15 minutes. But justdoit.”

Hementionsthebiblical story of Lazarus,who was broughtback to life from his own tombby Jesus. When Jesusnoticedthat Lazarus was still wearinghisburial clothbindings,hecalledout forsomeone to unbindhim andlethim go.

“Unbindpreachers,” Curry says, “andletthem go to bethe vessel,theinstrument,forGod’s love, to pour throughthemand communicate to otherfolk.”

He’s getting warmedup now, leaningcloser to the Zoomcameraashetalks.

“That’s when preaching happens.Andthat’s how preaching comesalive.And itisvulnerable.Itisrisky It isnotacting.”

IfCOVID-19 doesn’t cause anotherpostponement,folks here will geta chance to hear fromCurry upcloseandpersonal later this year, whenhe’llbethe featuredspeakerat a “Good News Festival”hostedbythe Episcopal Diocese ofSan Diego onDec.9-10 atthe TownandCountry Resort

Hotel.(Details: thegoodnewsfestival.com)

You canbethe’llbe bringinguptheloveword.

“Iam convinced,”he tells me, “thatthedecision to live bythe way ofsacrificial love is going to bethedecision thatis going to make or breakus.”

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Let mebringthis toa conclusion. A few yearsago, Iwas listening to public radio on a Sunday afternoon,probablyinthesummer.I suspect I was on vacation.There came a broadcast about a mannamed NormanGershman, who had recently publisheda photographicessay and publisheda documentary ontheMuslims of Albania...

As Nazi armiesadvanced toward the small country of Albania,messages weresentby couriers to the Albanian foreign ministry. “Youare to identifyall JewslivinginAlbania, providetheiraddresses andany contactinformation.”

It so happened thatthe foreign minister of Albania wasa Muslim, a member of thissmall community. And inthespirit of Harriet Tubman,heorganized an underground railroad, if you will.He sentout word to thesmall —I want you all to hearme to the small Muslim community in Albania.

It said, “The Jewish peopleare to be your people. They must live in your homes.They must sleep in yourbeds They must eat at yourtables You are to treat them as members ofyour own family for thatis who theyare.”AndtheMuslim community of Albania saved 2,000 Jews fromthe Holocaust.

—May 23, 2021