Claimed, gathered and sent

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...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What are your thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21 Why did Jesus go off by himself? Was it because he was mourning the death of John the Baptist? That's likely. After all, John was his cousin and Jesus had a great deal of respect for John in his role as the forerunner to his ministry (check out Matthew 11:11). Was it because Jesus was trying to lay low since he was a marked man? Remember later when Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead? That's in the very next chapter! "At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2  and he said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason, these powers are at work in him.' 3  For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife" (Matthe...