Claimed, gathered and sent

  This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church this Sunday. The text is Matthew 10:40-42 .  A tale of two churches. I got acquainted with Church One during my first year of seminary. It was my teaching parish. That’s where I spent most Sundays, engaging in a variety of roles--student, assisting minister, and sometimes preacher and teacher. I will never forget my very first Sunday there. The pastor asked me to visit “incognito.” He told me not to wear a clerical collar to identify me as a seminarian, so I could experience this church as a visitor would. It was a tiny congregation, so anyone different would stand out. No one seemed to notice my presence, however. No one greeted me other than the pastor’s wife. Many of you know that I was not raised Lutheran. My stock answer for why I became a Lutheran is that the Lutherans were friendly, so this experience was puzzling. I was disturbed by the coldness of the congregation. This was unlike any experience I had ever had in a