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...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches on Sunday, 6/5. How many of us enjoy going to a parade? Did you go the Memorial Day parade? Doesn't being at a parade make us feel like children again? Today's gospel describes a meeting of two parades —one of life (Jesus, and the crowd of followers) and a parade of death—(the dead man, his mother and the grieving crowd). Just what happens when these two parades meet? The parade of life   was on the move from Capernaum to the small town of Nain. Before they made their way into the town, they could hear the commotion before seeing the parade of grievers. Middle Eastern people do not mourn as we do. Their mourning is loud and passionate and may well be healthier than the way we try to be strong and not let our emotions get the best of us. One would think that in the parade of mourners, which is a funeral procession, the focus would be on the loved one who died. Of cour...

I am among those who too easily judge others, especially if they break the rules. Matthew 12:1-14 is a classic passage pitting humans against God, rules and laws against mercy and needs . Jesus responds to the Pharisees' protest of the disciples plucking grains to eat on the sabbath by countering with examples of David eating the bread of Presence and the temple priests guiltlessly breaking the sabbath. "...something greater than the temple is here." God was among them in Christ and they didn't recognize him. He who is "Lord of the sabbath" was greater than the sabbath, greater than the temple, greater than the rules of men. Verse 7, lying right in the middle of the passage, holds the key to that which should motivate our relationships, that which motivated Christ--mercy! This is further illustrated by Jesus healing on the sabbath. He just never learned did he? He kept ob eying his heavenly father despite the religious hierarchy's opposition. Just ...

You ever read something and you know you've been nailed--those thoughts, actions, feelings that we don't like to admit to, well...we have to own up to them. Please read this article at Gifted for Leadership and you too may be rocked. What do you think? My husband's reaction was that person should not even be considering ministry. I don't know, I think she was just being very honest about those things we'd like to pretend we wouldn't feel or do. Picture from klikr.

Ezekiel 34 hit very close to home for me. A few weeks ago, we heard of a pastor friend, who had married us, and a situation he was involved in. What the repercussions will be, only God knows, but it brought me up short, reminding me of the need for faithfulness in fellowship with Christ so I can be a faithful shepherd to whatever flock I am responsible for now and in future ministry. Good and godly leadership comes from the inside out. Leaders can only lead based on their values and who they are. I do not want to be as the shepherds Ezekiel addresses, indicted by God as faithless, careless shepherds. Blenkinsopp aptly notes, “Pastoral office is a response to needs that call out for selfless dedication and unremitting solicitude,” [1] leadership being a sacred trust. Leaders must be concerned for the “least of these” (Mt 25) . The issue is not orthodoxy or orthopraxy, but compassionate care, as modeled throughout Jesus’ ministry. It is all about God and his people, not about us...

For those of us that worship at liturgical churches that use the lectionary, today is Good Shepherd Sunday. This seems especially apropos since in my undergrad Prophets class, my exegesis was on Ezekiel 34 which addresses shepherds who did not look after the sheep, but only cared for themselves. Today's scripture readings were Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10. God certainly delights in driving a point home to us, doesn't he? The passages from Ps 23 and John 10 went through my mind frequently while studying Ezekiel 34 and reading others' posts. As always, the Lord models the way for us and enables us to follow. Here are some contrasts. Bad Shepherds Good Shepherd Like having no shepherd at all. God the shepherd. Feed selves. Feed sheep with good pasture. Did not strengthen the weak. Strengthens weak. Did not heal the sick. Heals sick. ...

Take a look at Bob Robinson's article, "Inequity between the Rich and the Poor" on http://vanguardchurch.blogspot.com/. It's very thought provoking, calling the church to task regarding the rich and poor. Peace Powered by ScribeFire .