Preached on Sunday, January 25, 2026, the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Little Rock (via Zoom).

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

During our Annual Parish Meeting, we’re going to hear some wonderful things about how many newcomers we welcomed to Trinity last year––more on that a bit later today. And every time I sit down for a meeting with a newcomer to Trinity, I am sure to remind them that, at the end of the day, the Christian life requires something of us. When we start attending worship services or classes at Trinity, when we leave the campus with our hearts and souls nice and full, it’s easy to convince ourselves that the Christian life is all about what we receive––and no doubt, the Christian life includes that, too. But I remind these newcomers that, at the end of the day, the Christian life is going to ask us to give something. Christianity costs us something. Following Christ comes with its own set of demands.

In that meeting, I always hit the highlights, and in fact, we have a pretty brochure to help make the points: we worship together every week; we pray each day; we learn throughout our whole lives; we serve both in the Church and in the world; and we give of our money to support God’s mission. A life with God in the Church asks this of all of us.

But at some point in that conversation with a newcomer, I set the pretty brochure down and say something like this: eventually, the Christian life is going to require of you something significant, not something we can count out on our fingers, not something that we can summarize on a brochure, not even something that we can imagine. Such is the life of disciples of our crucified Lord: a life under the cross will ask us to sacrifice––and when that happens, I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult.

Now, that may sound crazy to you. Why, oh, why, Thomas, would you tell newcomers that following Christ is tough stuff, that being a member of Trinity won’t always be easy? Won’t that scare them off? Don’t we want them to stay?

I think that’s part of what the apostle Paul is getting at in that verse from his first letter to the Corinthians. Those who are perishing––that’s Paul’s rather brash way of saying “those not a part of the Church”––think that this whole thing is foolishness. A life under the cross, a life of following the Lord, is just crazy. And why is that? Because the cross is the way of death. It’s the way of hardship and sacrifice. And what newcomer wants to hear any of that when they’re first setting off on their Christian journey?

As a priest, I spend a lot of time thinking about congregational development, the art of building up these Christian communities we call congregations. (Our Dean and Rector-elect, Andrea, who begins next Sunday, brings a great deal of congregational development experience to her ministry among us here.) But one of the things we know about congregational development, about how churches grow, is that when we raise the standards, when we raise the expectations, when we’re honest up front about what discipleship will really demand of us, newcomers are more likely to want to be a part of it. Believe it or not, what helps a church grow is raising the bar, not lowering it. We shouldn’t put up a gate. We shouldn’t prevent people. But the data tells us that, though it may sound like foolishness, people who know what the Christian life will really demand of them are more likely to come and follow.

And why is that? The data tells us that it’s because newcomers are looking for something genuine, a community that is sure of itself, giving a sense of purpose to its members, assuring them––assuring all of us!––that this is a life worth living. Here’s how Paul puts it: “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

So, here we are on this Annual Meeting Sunday, a chance for us to look back at 2025 and to look ahead to the arrival of our twenty-second Dean and Rector and to the years of ministry we will share with her. Standing at this turning point, let us remind ourselves of this fact so central to the Christian life: following Christ will cost us something. The bar is set––and it’s high! And now, Christ is calling us to follow.

After all, this is a time when the bar is quite high. This is a time when the challenge is before us. Just look out on the world right now. People are hungry and cold right here in Little Rock and from here all the way up to New England. Geopolitical boundaries don’t seem to matter too much to those with the responsibility of honoring them. Political regimes are in violent turmoil, both at home and abroad. Renée Good was shot point-blank in the face by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. ChongLy Thao, a U. S. citizen, was taken from his home in his underwear in freezing temperatures by people on government payroll while a four-year-old grandchild watched. Liam Ramos, a five-year-old child, was used as bait by federal agents to detain both him and his father. They’re now both detained in Texas. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA, took part in the demonstrations in his city yesterday, and while trying to protect someone who had been pushed over, he was wrestled to the ground, pepper sprayed, shot ten times, and killed—again, by people paid by our tax dollars. And all the while, many are saying that we shouldn’t believe the videos and photos that we’re seeing. (If you haven’t watched the videos, I encourage you to do so.)

Surely, Christ is calling for a response from His Church. Surely, Christ is calling us right now to follow Him. And if so, this very well may be that moment that we couldn’t have imagined. This very well may be the demand that’s being placed upon us. This very well may be the costly place to which Christ is calling His Christians to show up so that we might point the world towards another direction. The message about the cross very well may be foolishness to those on the outside, but for those of us here––those of us gathered on this Zoom call to say our prayers and to be summoned yet again by our Lord––for us, it is nothing less than the power of God. Amen.