Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I preached on Sunday, February 24 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The Gospel was Luke 6:27-38.   There’s nothing easy about today’s gospel lesson. You may feel like, “You’ve got to be kidding, Jesus!” These hard words are not meant for the crowds, but for Jesus’ disciples, for those who are committed to hearing even when they cannot fully understand what Jesus means.  Throughout the centuries, people have tried to water down these words of Jesus. Some would say that enemies can only be loved if people try harder. Others would try to spiritualize this passage, coming up with a more spiritualized interpretation of what it means to love an enemy. However, no matter how we may explain this passage from Luke’s gospel, nothing will reduce its demand.  Right out of the gate, Jesus lays down his expectations of discipleship: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. The love Jesus s...

One of the opportunities we have during our senior year of seminary is to preach in chapel. Today it was my turn. The scripture passage was Luke 6:27-38.             Our campus is alive with expectation. In 24 days, seniors called to the ministry of Word and Sacrament will receive regional assignments. Graduation for all seniors is a mere 101 days away, not that anyone is counting. We cannot help but wonder where we will land. Middlers, in just a few weeks you will be going through the marathon of internship matching, affectionately called “speed dating” with all its excitement and anxiety. And you juniors are looking forward to completing your first year of seminary and embarking upon the world of CPE. How do you feel about that?             Today’s scripture passage is taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain as Luke's gospel calls it. Just as our regional, internship, a...