Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I'll be preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Worship tomorrow. The gospel is Matthew 14:22-33 .  One of the best things I learned in seminary is that looking at scripture, the first thing to do is to ask, “What is God doing in this passage? If Paul is teaching something to the Christians in one of his churches, you would ask, “What is God teaching the people?” because God is working through Paul. What is God doing in today’s gospel? Jesus, who is God, is walking on the water. That’s a nice trick, but why is he doing this? He is revealing himself to his disciples, so that’s what God is really up to. The story is a kind of epiphany, an appearance of Christ similar to his resurrection appearances. On a dark night of fear and helplessness, Christ comes to his disciples (Fred B. Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year A ). This small story is inserted between the description of the disciples as fearful (vv. 26-27) and as confe...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. What are yours? This was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33 22 [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward J...

This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Worship. The gospel text is Matthew 14:13-21 . These last months have been ones of anxiety and fear for many. Friends have said they have suddenly burst into tears. Others have strange dreams. Reactions to the Coronavirus and its fallout have been many and varied. Addiction, suicide, and domestic violence have skyrocketed. People are finding it difficult to cope. Our emotions have been all over the place. Jesus experienced emotions too. This gospel reading is a story of compassion in three movements. The first movement sets the scene for us. Jesus had heard about the death of John the Baptist. John baptized him and was perhaps a kind of mentor to Jesus. Additionally, John was Jesus’ cousin. That brings it a bit closer to home. A friend, family member, and prophetic forerunner of Jesus' ministry had been killed violently for speaking truth to power. Jesus went off to be alone and pray as he ha...