Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. Please let me know what you see in these verses. Thanks! Gospel: Luke 10:38-42 38 Now as [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Just five short verses…but oh does this passage pack a punch. It also raises some questions. On an initial reading, this is what jumps out at me: 1. Is this the same Mary and Martha that were Lazarus’ sisters. If so, where was Laz...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, July 14 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 10:25-37. Are any of Jesus’ parables more familiar than this one we entitle the Good Samaritan? We think we know it so well. It is hard to see it with new eyes, to go beyond our preconceived notions that we bring with us to this text. But that’s just what we are going to try to do. And I’m going to need your help too. First of all, it’s easy for us to miss the shocking nature of this parable if we start to think that this story is only to teach us to imitate the Samaritan. Parables were intended to be shocking. This parable says so much more to us about God, our relationship to God and the lengths to which God will go to reach out to us. Who is this lawyer who approaches Jesus? Is he like those we hear of on tv and radio ads? No, he isn’t that kind of lawyer. He is an expert in the Torah, in the Old Testament law of God. In other words, he really knows his stuff. Luke write...

Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But ...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 6/30 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 9:51-62. We have come to a turning point in Luke’s gospel. Jesus is on his last trip to Jerusalem, where he will be “taken up” (v. 51). This refers not only to his crucifixion, but also to the entire event of being arrested, crucified, risen and ascended. Jesus was determined to follow the way of obedience to his Father. He “set his face,” (v. 51), meaning he kept his eye on the prize and nothing would dissuade him from following that path to Jerusalem and all that would happen because of that. I don’t know how many of you were ever in sales. I have been. But…I have to say, Jesus is anything but a good salesman. He doesn’t wrap his product in slick packaging. He doesn’t minimize costs to attract more customers. He doesn’t hide the hard stuff in fine print. He never rushes his pitch to close a deal. Jesus does the opposite. He takes pains to push potential buyers away. “I’ll follo...

Here are some thoughts on this coming Sunday's gospel that were sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Any thoughts? I'd like to enter into a dialog with anyone interested. Just use the comment section at the bottom of this post. Gospel: Luke 9:51-62 51 When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.  52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;  53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.  54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”  55 But he turned and rebuked them.  56 Then they went on to another village.   57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, June 23 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 8:26-39. In the 1980s, going to live overseas as missionaries with small children, people worried about us, especially those that didn’t understand what it meant to follow God’s call. We were crossing several boundaries, including that of religion. Those Muslim terrorists—aren’t you afraid for your own lives and those of your children? The call to prayer five times a day was something we really had to adjust to since the mosque was close to our apartment. I came to love it. And the boundaries of culture took a while to learn! You do not cross your legs, showing the bottom of a shoe because that means you consider the other person no better than the dust on your shoes. Women’s shoulders are considered sexy, so you can’t wear sleeveless outfits. And if you wore shorts—you were surely a prostitute because only someone of that ilk would dress in such a way. ...

Here are some thoughts regarding this Sunday's gospel that were sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   Gospel: Luke 8:26-39 26 Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.   32 N...