Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached Sun. 9/13 at St.Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church . The gospel was Mark 8:27-38. Before marrying my husband, Ray, I had a part time job at a call center in Rochester, conducting opinion polls over the phone. Sometimes they were political, oftentimes they were about various products and services. In the first few verses of this gospel reading, doesn't it seem that Jesus is conducting an opinion poll of his own? His question was simply regarding who people thought he was. This brings us to a turning point in Mark's gospel. Just who is Jesus? Who do people say he is? Jesus wasn't taking a survey to see what people thought of him. The answers others gave were all high evaluations of Jesus, but they did not confess Jesus as the definitive revelation of God, The important question is not the identity of Jesus, but the identity of God: Is God the one who is definitively acting in the Christ event or not? The discussio...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches this past Sunday, 9/6. The Gospel was Mark 7:24-37.             There is nothing easy in today's gospel reading, especially in the first story about Jesus' encounter with the Syrophoenician woman who wanted healing for her daughter. It's a head scratcher and there are some things in this story that disturb us.             Did we really hear Jesus say what he said to the woman? He sounded mean and angry. Maybe if we have a better understanding of the text and the culture his words won't seem as harsh. Wwwwwrrrroong! I tried that, but it didn't work. Jesus' words were anything but kind. As a matter of fact, they were outright rude!              Jesus is exhausted after so much ministry. He is attempting to escape from the demands of the crowds. It ...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, Aug. 30 at St. Timothy  and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The text was Mark 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23 . How many of us have had this experience as we have prepared a meal? You have your vegetables all ready and they look fabulous. You got an especially great deal on them.  Let's say you are ready to chop up a green pepper. You cut the pepper in half. When you see the inside, it's all nasty and moldy. It was so beautiful on the outside and you could just imagine the wonderful flavor it would add. However, the pepper was not what it appeared to be. This example illustrates the gist of what Jesus is talking about in today's gospel reading.   Jesus was in Galilee with his disciples when his frequent opponents the scribes and Pharisees who traveled from Jerusalem, arrive on the scene. We tend to have a very negative impression of the Pharisees. They often seem hung up on such minutiae. But, believe it or not, they ...

Ephesians 6:10-20 10   Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11   Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12   For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14   Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15   As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16   With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17   Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   18  ...