Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the reflection I shared on this Sunday's gospel in St. Timothy's weekly e-ministry. Gospel: Mark 6:1-13 1 [ Jesus ] came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.    Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gav...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, June 24 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Mark 4:35-41 .  Being on the water can be so much fun, can’t it? However, being in a boat, in a terrible storm, where the boat is taking on water is quite another matter. The boat Jesus and his companions rode in was not very big. It was a fishing boat.  When I lived in Bethlehem, that kind of boat was discovered because of a drought which made the depth of the Galilee very low. The boat was dubbed the “Jesus Boat.”  It was the largest boat type in use on the lake in antiquity. The boat could have been sailed or rowed. It would have had basic crew of 4-5 rowers with a helmsman/captain. I keep referring to the Galilee as a lake because that’s exactly what it is. It is located in a depression about 700 feet below sea level and is surrounded by hills. Although larger than Chautauqua, on a clear day you are able to see across the lake. And just like Mark writes, v...

This is the reflection on this Sunday's gospel reading that was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.    Gospel: Mark 4:35-41 35 When evening had come,  [ Jesus said to the disciples, ] “ Let us go across to the other side. ”  36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him,  “ Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? ”  39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,  “ Peace! Be still! ”  Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  40 He said to them,  “ Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? ”  41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another,  “ Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea o...

This is the message I shared with the people of God at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . It was not based on any particular scripture reading, but these were some thought -provoking words from our bishop, John Macholz. He shared these on June 5, the last day of our Upstate NY Synod Assembly. I wonder, if we took seriously the growing trend of fewer candidates for the Office of Word and Sacrament and gave pause to consider a greater use of well-trained, lay persons to create now models for ministry how that would work for us?  I wonder, would that model be made more workable by building accountability into our present system and requiring annual attendance at gatherings where the focus would be on preaching and leading worship for those we presently call Deacons in this synod?  I wonder what would take place if we were able to let go of buildings that are weighing us down with maintenance costs that seem to grow year by year, I wonder what would happen if we creat...

This is the reflection that was sent out to the people of God at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. This is the text I'll be preaching on Sunday.  First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24                                                  22 Thus says the Lord God:  I myself will take a sprig   from the lofty top of a cedar;   I will set it out.  I will break off a tender one   from the topmost of its young twigs;  I myself will plant it   on a high and lofty mountain.   23 On the mountain height of Israel   I will plant it,  in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,   and become a noble cedar.  Under it every kind of bird will live;   in the shade of its branches will nest   winged creatures of every kind.   24 All the trees of the field shall know   that I am the Lord.  I bring low the high tree,   I make high the low tree;  I dry up the green tre...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 6/10/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . It is sprinkled throughout with family pictures. The text was Mark 3:20-35. It is nearly officially summer and we look forward to all those activities in which we participate at this time of year. For you it may be boating, bicycling or traveling. Among the various summer ventures, you may find yourself at a family reunion. And often at such events, we find quite a variety of lovely and loving family members that we may know well or perhaps never met. Then there’s always a character or two who you may try to escape throughout the reunion. l to r: Nick and Sarah Van Staalduinen, Hugh & Kathy Van Staalduinen Grace Alessi (in middle) Prior to today’s gospel reading from Mark, Jesus had been quite busy teaching, healing and setting people free by exorcising demons. His popularity was on the rise. Jesus had to be exhausted, so he went home. One would expect a nice family reunion. We would exp...

This is the reflection on this Sunday's gospel that was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Mark 3:20-35 [Jesus went home;]  20 and the crowd came together again, so that [Jesus and the disciples]could not even eat.  21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”  22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”  23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?  24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.  27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed th...