Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I'll be preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Worship tomorrow. The gospel is Matthew 14:22-33 .  One of the best things I learned in seminary is that looking at scripture, the first thing to do is to ask, “What is God doing in this passage? If Paul is teaching something to the Christians in one of his churches, you would ask, “What is God teaching the people?” because God is working through Paul. What is God doing in today’s gospel? Jesus, who is God, is walking on the water. That’s a nice trick, but why is he doing this? He is revealing himself to his disciples, so that’s what God is really up to. The story is a kind of epiphany, an appearance of Christ similar to his resurrection appearances. On a dark night of fear and helplessness, Christ comes to his disciples (Fred B. Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year A ). This small story is inserted between the description of the disciples as fearful (vv. 26-27) and as confe...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel. What are yours? This was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33 22 [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward J...

This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Worship. The gospel text is Matthew 14:13-21 . These last months have been ones of anxiety and fear for many. Friends have said they have suddenly burst into tears. Others have strange dreams. Reactions to the Coronavirus and its fallout have been many and varied. Addiction, suicide, and domestic violence have skyrocketed. People are finding it difficult to cope. Our emotions have been all over the place. Jesus experienced emotions too. This gospel reading is a story of compassion in three movements. The first movement sets the scene for us. Jesus had heard about the death of John the Baptist. John baptized him and was perhaps a kind of mentor to Jesus. Additionally, John was Jesus’ cousin. That brings it a bit closer to home. A friend, family member, and prophetic forerunner of Jesus' ministry had been killed violently for speaking truth to power. Jesus went off to be alone and pray as he ha...

Here are some thoughts on this Sunday's gospel that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What are your thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21 Why did Jesus go off by himself? Was it because he was mourning the death of John the Baptist? That's likely. After all, John was his cousin and Jesus had a great deal of respect for John in his role as the forerunner to his ministry (check out Matthew 11:11). Was it because Jesus was trying to lay low since he was a marked man? Remember later when Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead? That's in the very next chapter! "At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2  and he said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason, these powers are at work in him.' 3  For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife" (Matthe...

This is the sermon I will be preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Worship. If you're in the area, join us at 3748 Route 430, Bemus Point, NY.  The scripture text is Matthew 13:44-46. Jesus isn't satisfied with only one parable of the kingdom. He tells five stories in today’s gospel lesson. God gives us five ways to imagine the kingdom of heaven (God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven). We have two parables of growth: the mustard seed and the leaven, and two parables of discovery: the hidden treasure and the valuable pearl. Then we have one about sorting the good from the bad, a parable of judgment. We will look at the two parables of discovery. I see two different scenes as I read the parable of the buried treasure. The first is how we see in the movies people who kept money in their mattresses rather than trusting it to the banks. Secondly, I think of looking on a map of buried treasure where “X” marks the spot. Can’t you just hear the “Ar...

This is the reflection sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . What are your thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 31 [Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”   33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”   44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.   45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.   ...

This is the reflection sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church regarding this Sunday's gospel. Any thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 24 [Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, b...