Claimed, gathered and sent

This is my reflection that went out electronically in St. Timothy's e-ministry. First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10  1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.    2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;  3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.  4 Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!”  5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.  6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”  7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 5/27/2018 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Romans 8:12-17 .  The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is something we will never fully understand in this life because it is a mystery. So, I’m not going to try to explain it. However, I love how the mystic, Hildegard of Bingen, who lived from 1099-1179, described the Trinity as “sound and life…wondrous splendor…and which is life in all things.” How does that “sound and life” infuse us and infuse the church? It all starts with the work of the Holy Spirit. That is how God’s people become so intimate with God. By the Spirit, the deeds of the body are put to death .  Here “death” points us beyond mere physical death. We will all die someday. However, Paul is talking about the life-destroying power of death that in partnership with sin and the law, keeps life from being what God created it to be (Boring & Craddock). Paul contrasts two ways of life with two different resul...