Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts about Sunday's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Any thoughts? First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10 5 Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.   6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.   7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.   8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.   9 The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it?   10 I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/10/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.  Today we are continuing the venture of learning to share our faith by looking at a writing of the Apostle Paul, perhaps the most prolific New Testament author who founded many of the churches of the first century. What Paul is about to say is at the center of Christian faith and life—not at the margins. And it was from Paul that the Corinthians heard the message in the first place. Further in the reading, we find the content of the good news. Here is the earliest existing description of Christ’s resurrection. It sounds like part of an early creed formulated long before the Apostles’ Creed. Paul’s version dates from 54 AD and the Apostles’ Creed from around 390 AD.  “Of first importance” stresses the centrality of the doctrines Paul mentions to the gospel message. In a nutshell, they are Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. His burial shows th...

These are some thoughts for this coming Sunday that were sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,  2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.    3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,  4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  8 Last of all, ...

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30 21 Then [Jesus] began to say to [all in the synagogue in Nazareth,] “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ”  24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.  25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;  26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.  27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naam...

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, 12/27/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel was Luke 4:14-21 . In the time after Epiphany, we see more revelations of Jesus in the gospel. Today’s is Jesus’ controversial proclamations in his home town. We see the centrality of the life of the Spirit in Jesus’ life of ministry. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus after his baptism (3:22), then fills Jesus before he was sent out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and in this passage of Luke the Spirit fills Jesus with power. The role of the Holy Spirit is central in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus’ first public words were “The Spirit of the Lord.” The first three phrases in Jesus’ reading tie his ministry to the work of the Spirit: “The Spirit…is upon me…because [the Spirit] has anointed me…[The Spirit] has sent me.” In Jesus’ repetition of “me,” we hear his claiming of Isaiah’s words for himself. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Anointed is the English word that ...

Due to the weather, we did not worship together at St. Timothy Lutheran Church t his past Sunday, 1/20. However, my sermon was done and if we had met, this would have been what God's people would have heard. The text was John 2:1-11 .  As I said in my e-ministry reflection this week, Middle Eastern people know how to party. Customs today among the Arab population of Palestine are much as they were among the Jewish people in Jesus’ day. Today a feast should last around three days. In first century Palestine, however, wedding feasts lasted around seven days. That meant a lot of food and drink was needed. One can’t very well have a party with nothing to drink! There was certainly no clean water to be drunk. Wine was the common drink at the table for everyone at that time. Right out of the gate, John lets his readers know that something special will be happening. It’s a time for miracles. This wedding happened on the third day. There is only one other time in John’s gospel t...