Month: August 2020

Aug 30 Sermon

Let us Pray

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Imagine if you will walking alone in the desert tending sheep when you see a flaming bush that is not being consumed. Might you be a bit curious and maybe a tiny bit nervous?    But you are drawn to this miraculous event taking place. What thoughts must have ran through Moses’ mind. What do you think you might have done or thought? Add to that the voice of GOD letting you know you were going to be sent to the highest office in the current leadership chain and demand he let your people go from their slavery. The most well developed labor market of the time and you are going to demand, not suggest or negotiate, but demand the laborers be released and given their freedom. Piece of cake right? And the only assurance this will happen is the promise of GOD that HE will be with you through this task. So how do you begin the easy task?  You go to the folks at home and repeat what you have been given to do and the one concrete concept to hold all this together is the affirmation God gives Moses and I quote “God said to Moses, “I AM

WHO I AM. This is my name forever, and this my  title for all generations I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” A very powerful and holy covenant.

And our guidance on how to accept and honor this most wonderful gift is simple. Live in love. Be not anxious or forlorn, our God is with us and remains with us always. Scripture says it beautifully “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers”. We are also directed to bless those who persecute us, this one really takes some hardcore faith because we are human our nature is not always in concert with this direction but we are told to bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Sometimes our nature is less than these expectations but God always offers forgiveness and redemption to those who truly ask. Revenge is many times our first thought but it is not what God has directed us to do. Our Lord expects of us this response to being hurt. “Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

And the Gospel affirms these points in the message Jesus gives to his most trusted companions. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?  And the acknowledgement of who and what will follow for this world is provided for those that have ears. “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

So what we hear today is a continuing assurance of God’s presence on our lives and HIS words of encouragement and love to take us through the most troubling of times with peace, grace, hope and love. Pandemic, social injustice, and prejudice are all causing us great concern and pain today and only by following the words and actions outline by our God can we truly experience what is and will be the solution to these challenges.

May the blessings of God Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us and remain with us this day and forever.

Amen
Rev John

Proper 23

Collect

GRANT, O MERCIFUL GOD, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with your and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Exodus 1: 8-2:10
The old testament reading focuses on the Exodus story, with the beginning of Moses’ rescue from the river and continuing to the entry into the promise land. Remembering these events forms the core of Israel’s liturgical and worship life.  The events unfold with the need for an individual to speak for God to the Hebrew people, during the famine in Canaan, Jacob and seventy in his family had migrated to Egypt under the protection of his son Joseph, who had become very powerful in the Pharaoh’s court. The Hebrews grew in numbers.

However a new King in Egypt “did not know Joseph” and felt threatened by having so many Hebrews in the land; even though the Hebrews had been forced into slavery. The king decided to reduce this population and commanded the midwives to kill all male children born to the Hebrews. The midwives feared God, they refused the kings orders. The Pharaoh then commanded that  all these male children be drowned in the Nile River. Moses was put into a basket and the Pharaoh’s daughter took pity on him and adopted him as her own. Later in time Moses who was lost in Egypt, drawn from the river, saved so, that he could save his people.

Psalm 124
This psalm recounts Gods extraordinary acts to aid the escape of the people of Israel. This passage is meant to give us comfort in times of trouble. “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” We just need  to remember in times of trouble that,  “Our help is in the name of the Lord” this is the thanksgiving for Israel’s deliverance and ours.

Romans 12:1-8
Paul appeals to his brothers and sisters to offer themselves to God as a living sacrifice. Paul’s appeal ask them to no longer follow the ways  of the world but to be transformed so that they may discern the will of God. They may discern the will of God, We have all been given different gifts through God’s grace, which is to be used for the welfare of the entire community. No one’s gifts are more important then the gifts of others. 

Matthew 16: 13-20
This passage is a climax for Jesus’ teaching, healing, and feeding in Matthew. The Pharisees and Sadducees want yet another sign. This passage also emphasizes Peter’s prominence  among the disciples and Peters coming to the ultimate truth of Jesus’ Messiahship – which could be revealed only through the Father. Jesus begins by asking two questions, the first “Who do the people say I am? Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. The second question “but who do you say that I am?” At this point, Peter declares that Jesus is the “Messiah, Son of the living God.” This fisherman turned religious pilgrim uttered the words “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God: That statement changed everything, Peter became the “rock” on which the church would be built.

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: 
Year A
August 16, 2020

First Reading: Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133
Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-28
Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20,21-28

Collect:
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen

Great is your Faith 
Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20,21-28

In the first part of the Gospel, Jesus, once again, is challenged by the Pharisees and Scribes about the laws and the boundaries of staying clean and the differences of clean and unclean.  

Laws that perhaps are made by man, not the laws of God. What defiles a person, makes unclean, and therefore unable to participate in worship in the Temple.

Jesus “says” to the disciples and crowds around him.

“Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”

The Disciples approached him “you know Jesus”; the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you had said!

Jesus, is even more upset with his disciples, “Are you also still without understanding?

“Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart comes evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander…. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.

Jesus is referring to the 10 commandments, the laws of God. 

Boundaries:

Jesus has crossed boundaries with the elders as many times before, He is about to cross over another boundary.

Jesus has now left that place, he and his disciples have just crossed over into the district of Tyre and Sidon, Phoenicia, part of the Roman province of Syria.

Jesus is confronted by a Canaanite woman from that region, “She came out and started shouting. 

“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”   

This territory, boundary, Jesus is in, is a non-Jewish area, “They don’t belong there” and this is a Gentile woman.

Why would they be here? In the Gospel of Matthew 10:5 a few scriptures back, Jesus says

“These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans.  

Never the less, this is where Jesus goes with his disciples crossing boundaries and when he is first confronted by the Gentile women, he keeps walking because his focus in on the what he and who he feels he was sent for. “He answers her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ Table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

It appears Jesus is a little cruel to this woman, when he just kept walking away from her, and tells her he is there only for the people of children of Israel. But she is persistent and she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 

This woman first says, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David. And then she came and knelt before him, Saying, “Lord, help me.”

Even though the woman is not Jewish, she addresses Jesus as the Jewish messiah and because of her “Great Faith” she and her daughter had been healed.

She knelt before him, this is very significant and a sign of a king before her. She is not the only Gentile to kneel before Jesus, the Magi, who are also Gentiles, are the first to offer worship to Jesus in the way.

This Gentile women recognized that Jesus was the messiah before the people of Israel did, those that he was there to save. 

Conclusion:

Boundaries, boundaries and more boundaries, they are all over the place today and then.

We have had boundaries since we could understand our parents. You can’t cross the street! No, you cannot stay up late on a school night. You can’t stay out after dark; you have to be in the house. 

In our life today, we all face challenges everyday with boundaries. Stay home, close your business, follow these laws and mandates, suggestions from leaders, CDC, health officials, National, State and Local leaders.  We all have guidelines on what to do and what not to do.

Still people cross boundaries and refuse to wear a mask in public. They refuse to go down and aisle one way at a store and to stay 6 to 10 feet away from someone. They will attend beach parties, house parties and large group gatherings. 

Good News:

I believe most everyone wants to follow the Boundaries today.

Jesus is not just hope for Israel, but hope for the world. Was this the beginning of why Jesus Christ was sent into the world? To go into regions, he was not accepted in?

He has crossed boundaries, possibly to help us realize today, we can all live together in a world where God loves each and every one of us. We might have to go into areas where we are not accepted to spread the Good News of God’s kingdom and our salvation in all the world, this, regardless of our race.   

In the Gospel lesson we are reminded about what we need to hold in our hearts, that if our hearts are filled with God’s love and filled with hope and joy, what ever comes from our mouth will be coming from our hearts.

Great Faith:

In the world we are living in I can’t think of a more important period of time to have a “Great Faith”. I feel we need to get down on our knees, in front of our Lord, and ask him to help us. We need to pray not only for ourselves, but for our nation, our cities and communities.

Pray for an end to the pandemic and the discovery of an effective cure.

Pray that God will help us hold our church together in these times that we are separated from each other. Ask for his mercy and grace to help us all. To be patient with each other. To continue to love one another. To know that each one of us was created in God’s image and we are uniquely made.

Being isolated and at home for 5 months should have taught us something about faith and patience. 

We are living out our faith and we are being tested through trials and our faith should grow into the a “Great Faith” it invites us to Him; empowering us to seek Him in every situation; and for us to trust Him always.

Amen
Rev. Lola Culbreath 

Let us pray:

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today’s readings unfold human weakness that can affect us all. Jacob’s brothers are jealous of him and plan how to do away with him to put themselves in a position of gaining their fathers affection. Has there
been a time in your lives that made you a bit jealous of someone else’s success? We live in a world that measures a persons worth by their position and possessions unfortunately instead of their heart.

As Moses reminds us in the days of turmoil and confusion the one sure thing we can count on is God’s presence and His promise that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame. Moses emphasizes that there in no distinction on those who accept Jesus Jew and Greek. Today we need to remember our baptismal covenant to “respect the dignity of every human being” even in times of social unrest and confusion as a reminder of Moses’ teachings.

Today’s Gospel reminds us of how Jesus reaches out to everyone. When He was seen walking on the water to meet the disciples, and they were terrified until He spoke. His love offered to Peter the opportunity to share in this wondrous event and when he became fearful Jesus reached out to him. Again Jesus models how much love He holds for us all even to give us the
opportunity to experience His holiness but we fail to to remain strong and sometimes slip.

In today’s challenges with the pandemic and social unrest it is not hard to see that our faith is in constant flux and the only sure approach to dealing with the worlds challenges is to accept God’s presence and embrace the Holy Spirit as the provider of peace and comfort for us all.

When it seems there are only dark clouds on the horizon if we stop and truly look the presence of our Lord signs through the horizon and brings us comfort, peace and strength to carry on.

May the blessings of alright God be with us this day and remain with us forever. Amen

Fr John

Sermon Proper 13 9^th Sunday after Pentecost

Collect for the Day :

Let Your Continual Mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Genesis 32: 22-31:

Jacob was 97 years old…he could hardly be considered a challenge to an angel in physical terms. The test tells us that Jacob’s opponent could not overcome him. The ease of which he inflicted physical damage on Jacob indicates that any ability must have been in the spiritual area, not the physical one. 

How often do we think about our spiritual life? When was the last time you had to do something that was difficult, you manage to do it, did you think about the Holy Spirit being with you?

The man said, “ Let me go, for it is daybreak.” Three factors – this encounter took place by a river, the stranger could be interpreted as fearing daylight, on the basis of anthropological folklore and Greco-Roman literature, it has been proposed that it was a river demon, or a guardian of the river these beings could not be seen in the light of the day; from Hosea the prophet indicates Jacob struggled with an angel. The name the angel gave Jacob, “Israel”  symbolizes that something new has happened not only to Jacob but also to the nation that will carry his name. Jacob sent his family across the river with all his possession because he had heard Esau was on his way with four hundred men and Jacob feared for his family. Esau had threatened to kill him.

When the reunion of the two brothers took place, Jacob received and understanding of seeing God face to face. Esau no longer harbor resentment against Jacob. Upon seeing each other, the brothers embraced, and Jacob exclaims that “ to see your face is like seeing the face of God….since you have received me with such favor” 

Psalm17:1-7, 16

This Psalm is of vindication, legal difficulties were a common experience for people in the ancient Near East and the defendants would seek divine help against the accusers. At this time in Babylon documents were found describing the theft of miss appropriation of farming equipment. The Psalmist expresses confidence in God’s mercy while he seeks deliverance from false accusations.

Romans 9:1-5

Nothing could separate Paul from Christ, he, like Moses, would sacrifice himself for this people. Jewish people celebrated the gifts that Paul list. Paul list true claims in a way what would appeal to his audience rhetorically, in Greek. Jewish doxologies praised only the one true God. Paul usually reserves the divine title “God “ for the Father and the divine title “Lord” for Jesus, many scholars argue the Paul praises Jesus as God at this point.

Paul confesses his “great sorrow and anguish for his ancestral community that has not embraced, Jesus as Messiah; for to Israel belonged God’s adoption in the call of Abraham, the deliverance from Egypt; the covenants and the gift of the Torah . Theirs was the worship of the temple and synagogue, to which had been given the promises to the disciples of Jesus; that they were heirs through the patriarchs.

Matthew 14:14-21

“they can………buy themselves some food,” Nearby villages , with a few hundred or at the most a few thousand people each, would not have had enough spare bread ready to fee 5,000 or more people. God has often used what people had in order to perform wonders. Jesus asked his disciples to give them some food. The disciples brought to Jesus five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus gave a blessing, in doing the blessing, Jesus performed the traditional role of the head of a Jewish household. 

The disciples distributed the bread, and all ate and were filled. When the disciples collected what was left, they had twelve baskets and had just fed five thousand. The meal was just not a stop gap effort to Tide the people over until they got home. It was an extravagant, bountiful fest of God, in which the people were genuinely nourished. Jesus shows not only the compassion of God, but also the staggering abundance released when we share with others the blessings given to us by God.  

Rev. Kathyleen Funk