Sermon | The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers | February 22, 2026

1st Sunday of Lent, February 22, 2026

Trinity Episcopal Church on the Green-New Haven

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Canon in Residence, St. Bartholomew’s-New York

Sung Opening Prayer:

I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back, no turning back.

I have decided to love my neighbor.

No turning back, no turning back.

Over the last couple of years, millions of American Christians have become obsessed with a new sin. “The sin of empathy.” Have you heard about it? It is the creation of Joe Rigney, a pastor and teacher among the Religious Right. He warned people that, while empathy might sound deeply Christian, it’s actually quite dangerous.

Empathy, he said, is “an excess of compassion, when our identification with and sharing of the emotions of others overwhelms our minds and sweeps us off our feet.” Apparently, talk about this “sin” got louder just as many conservative evangelicals were starting to feel tenderness, compassion – in other words, empathy – toward refugees and hungry children.

They couldn’t square the circle: How does a God of love support cuts to Medicaid and Food Stamps? Would Jesus really send law-abiding immigrants from Latin America to detention facilities in Uganda? These faithful people saw a crack in the façade. Maybe the government’s actions don’t align with the love – the way – of Jesus.

Enter Pastor Joe and the “sin of empathy.” His point: Jesus doesn’t want you to feel sad for children whose parents have been disappeared by ICE. You don’t need to worry about transgender teens on the verge of suicide. And don’t spare a thought for the poor who will die without adequate food and healthcare.

Rigney’s teaching is cruel and decidedly unchristian. But he can back it up … with scripture. Folks like Rigney love to tell you that Jesus said, “You’ll always have the poor with you.” And so, since you can’t eliminate poverty, why would you run programs that try?

This is an old, old game. Defenders of slavery pointed to the Apostle Paul’s letters encouraging slaves to be humble and obedient, even if they were beaten. Misogynists have long pointed to today’s reading from Genesis. Clearly, they say, Eve was the weak woman who led us all down the path to perdition. Never trust a woman.

My friends, evil forces have been quoting scripture for their own twisted purposes for as long as there’s been a Bible to quote. And I would submit to you, in this morning’s gospel, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, we see the evil one himself in rare, scripture-quoting form. Here, in the 4th chapter of Matthew, Satan slithers up to Jesus. Mind you, our Lord has just completed 40 days of fasting, so he’s at his most famished, parched and weak.

That’s when Satan strikes: “If you’re the son of God, prophecies say you can command miracles. So use your power to turn these stones to bread. You don’t need to trust God.” Next he stands with Jesus at the pinnacle of the temple. “You’re the Son of God. You could throw yourself down from here. Scripture says God’s angels will catch you.” Finally he whisks Jesus to a mountaintop and promises to make him Lord of all he surveys. “Don’t you want that power, Jesus? Don’t you want that glory? It’s already yours. Just take it.”

When I was growing up in Kentucky, I heard the elders say, “Satan is a liar. He can quote scripture with the best of them. You need to know what’s actually the voice of God.”

Maybe the ancestors remembered how slave masters and segregationists quoted scripture. Maybe they knew we would come to a day like the one we now occupy … where huge groups of people who call themselves Christians actually do and say things that fly directly against the love, the truth and yes the empathy of Jesus.

Friends: in this moment, we need to be ready, with a tight hold on the word of God and the truth of the gospel. We need to be ready, the way Jesus was ready in the wilderness. And then – my Episcopal brothers and sisters – we need to speak out and stand on that gospel of love.

Why is this call so urgent right now? First because the people actively wounding and terrorizing our neighbors across this land are flying the flag of Christianity. The name for this heresy is Christo-nationalism (you might’ve heard of Christian nationalism, but I say Christo-nationalism, because I refuse to say there’s anything Christian about this heresy.)

It uses the language and symbols of Christianity, all to advance a racist, sexist, homophobic political and social agenda. Christo-nationalists love to talk about the sin of empathy. They love to tell you the authorities are holy men acting as agents of the wrath of God.

It’s a lot like Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness, appealing to our human need to be special, to be powerful, to be on top, and to control all the marbles for ourselves. God loves our group. Someone else has to fall, so we can rise.

If we know that’s not Christianity, then we Episcopalians have to head out and say so. Speak the gospel of love on the streets. Speak it in opinion pieces in your local newspapers. Speak it in letters to your elected leaders. Speak it in conversation with family members. This is no time to be silent, mild-mannered church folk. This is the time to face down evil and say, “Not today, Satan. Away with thee! We choose Jesus.”

I hope you’ll do it because of all the folk being hurt by Christians today. I also pray you’ll do it for the future of our faith. Why would I say that? Because the majority of Americans under age 40 think the gospel of greed and hard-heartedness is now the core of Christianity. I heard them say it for myself.

This time last year, I was traveling coast to coast, interviewing dozens of young nonreligious Americans. I wanted to know how they’re building spiritual lives apart from organized religion. And I wanted to ask them what they would say to the church if we were willing to listen.

Their message is the heart of my new book, Church Tomorrow?: What the Nones and Dones Teach Us About the Future of Faith. These young ones were vulnerable and wise, and they revealed so much to me. But the thing that pierced my heart most deeply was this: again and again, they told me it looks to them like Christianity has turned its back on empathy, justice, love and truth.

Even if they personally grew up in a more inclusive and thoughtful church, they long ago stopped expecting most Christians to be anything like Jesus. Their challenge to us, what I bring to you this morning, is this: Will the real Christians please stand up?

Most Episcopalians I know are good, kind and faithful. We’re running soup kitchens, practicing inclusion, but we don’t lead with our faith. We get squeamish about saying the name of Jesus.

We don’t point much to the Bible (maybe we’re scared someone will quote it back to us).

Alas, Pastor Joe Rigney’s teaching about the sin of empathy may be an utter misrepresentation of the scriptures, but it’s loud and clear, it’s controlling the narrative about Christianity.

Is anybody willing to say no to the temptations and lies others are peddling in the name of God? If so, please say “Amen!” And please stand up. Trinity on the Green, this is our time. I pray this Lent you will get centered in the love and teachings of Jesus and stand up for his way whenever and wherever you can.

The Lord is full of compassion. We can ask God to fill and transform every heart.

Jesus said the truth will set us free. We can proclaim truth in a nation full of lies.

Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, sight to blind and release to captives. We can accompany immigrant neighbors who are terrified to go to the courthouse or even to get groceries.

Live the way of love. Live it out loud. Show New Haven the Christians are still here. Show your young neighbors what the love of God looks like. And when they ask who do you think you are, tell them Jesus sent you.

Amen!

Heidi ThorsenFebruary 24, 2026Comment