Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts on the gospel for the second Sunday of Creation, Animal Sunday, that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What is your take on this passage? I'm inviting you into conversation with me about this. Feel free to comment. Luke 12:22-31 22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the gra...

This is the sermon I preached for Ocean Sunday, the first Sunday in the Season of Creation C at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 5:1-11 . I love the Sea of Galilee, which is just a small lake, not an awful lot bigger than Chautauqua. I have fond memories of vacations there as a family when the kids were small. The area was so much greener and lusher than the desert of Bethlehem, where we lived. We could relax on various beaches with little to no other people and just play in the clean, beautiful water. I enjoy the stories of Jesus, like today’s, that take place on or near that lovely lake. The first three verses of our gospel set the stage for all that follows. Jesus’ growing reputation has resulted in a crowd. There were so many “pressing in on him” that Jesus needed a boat as a place from which to teach, the water providing a natural amphitheater for sound. And so we find the elements of Earth become Jesus’ teaching partner. When Jesus calls Simon Peter to ...

This is the reflection sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Take a look and see what stands out to you. Then let me know your thoughts via Facebook or my blog. Luke 5:1-11 5Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to com...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, July 28 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke 11:1-13. Initially, I was planning on preaching from the parable or from the end of the lesson on asking, seeking and knocking. However, the more I thought about it, the more I suspected that none of us are such master level prayers, that we couldn’t use some instruction from our Lord Jesus on the subject. The text begins “Jesus was praying” (v. 1). Even Jesus needed to pray and take time with God. One of the great things about Jesus as a teacher and leader is that he exemplifies what he wants his disciples to be and do. Then afterward, one of the disciples approaches Jesus and tells him to teach them to pray. These men were devout Jews who would have learned prayers. Perhaps there was something different they saw in the way Jesus prayed. There was an intimacy in his praying. Jesus was praying to God as his Father. He had a deep communion with his Father. In Luke’s gospel, we ...

Here are some thoughts about this Sunday's gospel. I would like to have a conversation about this passage. I'll start off and would like your input as well. Thanks so much! These thoughts were shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Gospel: Luke 11:1-13 1 [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.    3 Give us each day our daily bread.    4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”   5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door h...

This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 7/21/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Luke 10:38-42. We are presented today with a radical story. Jesus upends the cultural norms of the day, which is what usually happens when Jesus is on the scene. The first person Jesus encounters is Martha who welcomed Jesus into her house. This in itself is radical.   First of all, it was unusual that a woman owned the home. She’s in charge and the responsibilities of the household fell on her. If this is the Mary and Martha John wrote of in his gospel, where is their brother Lazarus? We may assume he had died if the house was Martha’s. Martha is distracted. Wouldn’t you be? For one thing, it wasn’t just Jesus who arrived, but his disciples as well. Now, was it just the 12 or did this include the 70? That makes a lot of difference. Her complaint to Jesus about Mary not helping is certainly reasonable. After all, how many of the disciples or even Jesus ever had to prepare a meal ...

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...