Claimed, gathered and sent

  This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, Oct. 20 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Mark 10:35-45. James and John approach Jesus like he’s a divine gumball machine. Like children, they say, “...we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Seriously? “Whatever we ask of you.” Like I said, Jesus is the divine gumball machine.  Jesus responds so patiently and with such love. He doesn't tear them apart, but instead responds with, "What is it you want me to do for you?" (v. 36). What a gentle response. It certainly would not have been mine.  Jesus tells James and John that they don’t know what they’re asking. Jesus mentions hardships he will suffer: the cup he drinks, the baptism with which he is baptized.  When Jesus refers to his own baptism, he uses the present tense, suggesting an ongoing and present event.  Jesus literally says, “which I am being baptized right now”; he is in the midst of his baptism as he begins his long road to the cross....

  This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 10/13 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Mark 10:17-31. In the first scene of today’s gospel, we hear of Jesus’ look of love and the response he gets from a very religious, self-sufficient, well-to-do man. All we know at the outset of this gospel is that this man is humble, for he knelt before Jesus and addressed him as “Good Teacher.” He is sincere. Kneeling showed deference and respect to a teacher of the Law. There is no indication that the man was being sarcastic or was testing Jesus.  What was Jesus getting at when he asked why the man called him “good?” Was he trying to help him see that since only God is good and Jesus is good, Jesus must be God? Or was Jesus identifying more with sinful humanity? We don’t know.  What about “inheriting eternal life?” There is nothing anyone can do to make themselves eligible to inherit anything. You’re either a member of the family or you’re not. In order to inherit, someone has ...

  This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 10/6, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Mark 10:2-16 .  Above is one of the many pictures entitled “The Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks. He painted 62 such pictures, each one different from the other. Some only include animals, some animals and humans, while others are all humans (Victoria Emily Jones, artandtheology.org).  God’s plan for humanity was incredible. Throughout scripture, we hear of God’s love and God’s desire for that to be mirrored in human relationships. Everywhere in scripture, including Mark’s gospel, we see Jesus making people whole—healing them, delivering them from demons, feeding them, and teaching them. Every single thing Jesus said and did was that people may be healed and full of life.  Scripture speaks of the kingdom as: one that will never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44), one of righteousness and abundance (Matt. 6:33), that invites outsiders in, that came near in Christ and was embodied b...

  Ray and I were sick for two weeks with COVID. This is the sermon that was written by me and preached  on September 29 by Sarah Goebel, one of my parishioners at St. Timothy . The text is Mark 9:38-50.  Today's gospel continues where last week's left off. The theme is still that of discipleship. Jesus teaches his disciples that ministry involves service and sacrifice and illustrates this by the disciples' wrong attitude. There are a couple of things going on as background to the disciples' desire to control how God works. Earlier, the disciples were unable to cast a demon out of someone. Then along comes this person whom they do not know. What does he do? He successfully casts out a demon. How do Jesus' disciples respond to this? For one thing, they're jealous. Then just like little children, they go running to Jesus to tell him how this man was not following them. Does the disciples' verbiage strike you as odd? Wouldn't you think that their concer...

This is the sermon one of my parishioners, Trish Pecuch,  preached on Sunday, 9/22 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Mark 9:30-37.  I was home with COVID.         After Jesus had taught the disciples, he gives them a demonstration. He takes a small child to illustrate what he is trying to teach them. Our response is, “Oh, how sweet!” Our ideas of children and childhood are far different from those of first century Palestine.   Parents loved their children, but in general, small children were considered non-persons. The Greek word used by Mark indicates a young child.There was no reason to interest oneself in serving a small child. There was nothing they could do for you. Children represented “the least.” By embracing a child, Jesus is demonstrating his love of the unlovable.    Now the answers to who is the greatest. The first answer Jesus gives the disciples is “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the ser...