Month: September 2021

Sermon

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 20
Year B
September 19, 2021

First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalm 1
Second Reading: James 3:13-4:3,7-8a
Gospel: Mark: 9:30-37

Collect:

Grant us, O Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Wisdom and Humility:

When writing a sermon, we look for a common thread in each lesson we read, today if, you take it home and read them again, you will find wisdom and humility in each lesson. 

There are multiple sermon possibilities in this gospel reading. The passion death and resurrection, “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 

And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.    

However, I wanted to talk some about our second reading…

James the Apostle. The lesson in James this morning, has so much in it to read and re-read and let his words soak in. He writes in 3-17…But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

James gives the church much good advice, the wisdom of the world with the wisdom that comes from above and he points out that true wisdom is shown by a man’s good and gracious conduct. He also adds that true wisdom flows from a heart that is gentle and a spirit that demonstrates true humility.  

But if a believer tries to hide behind a fake impression, of heavenly wisdom or puts on a pretense of humility, while really being bitter or jealous and selfishness, within their hearts, they are living a lie and being false to the truth.

How different is the wisdom that comes from the Spirit of God? For it is pure and peace-loving, considerate, gentle, and kind. The men and women, that have been filled with the wisdom of God are the ones that are full of mercy and good and sincere.

This my friends leads us into the Gospel lesson today.

The Gospel of Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and the disciples pass through Galilee, they have returned from the north, and Capernaum marks the end of the trip…. Jesus is home. He has traveled incognito, 

as in (7:24), Here the purpose is to devote full time to the teaching of his disciples.

He knows his time here is short… and the disciples still… have trouble understanding his purpose.

The Gospel of Mark has three passions in his gospel and this is the second one.

“The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Jesus then asks the disciples, what they were arguing about on the way?

But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

We all have experienced this in our life, we heard someone talking about us or whispering. 

The disciples have been told before by Jesus, that he is to suffer in human hands and to be killed, but in three days he will rise again.

And again, they don’t understand and get confused, so they focus on themselves and which one of them is most important or the greatest, they were silent and Jesus…responds by calling them all together and saying 

“Whoever what’s to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 

“First” is from the Greet root word protos. It means first in influence, honor, and rank; in this case, it would mean the chief of the disciples. “Servant” is from the Greek root word diakonos and simply means one who acts on the desires of another. And this is where we get our word for “deacon”

So, what we have here is human behavior that we all have today…we want to be recognized by our leaders, our bosses, or teachers and even children learn this at a very young age.

We all love to be first, in influence, honor, and rank…but we don’t all want to be a servant…who acts on the desires of another!

Then Jesus took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Children want to compete for attention from their parents and teachers, they often are rewarded for their behavior. 

And that is good, but often we see that exceptional child, that on his or her own…wants to do good for someone. 

Raise money to help those in need and give it all away. 

Organize a group or thousands of people to donate to their cause, maybe they are collecting shoes to send to a foreign county. 

Sometimes children are just sweet and kind and they open a door for an elderly person, help a disabled or elderly person get across the road.

We have seen countless stories on TV of this kindness in our children.

Not only are these children born leaders but they are born with a pure heart and a pure heart is a heart that has warmth and comfort, that will make others feel cared for and safe. This heart does not have a limit on caring or giving.  

We all start out in life like this, we are all born with a pure heart and it is up to us to dive deep within and retrieve that purity that we have been given by God.

Conclusion:

The most significant benefit of purity is that it allows you entrance into God’s holy presence.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

I go back to the reading from the Apostle James…. For it is pure and peace-loving, considerate, gentle and kind. The men and women, that have been filled with the wisdom of God is the ones that are full of mercy and good and sincere.

What will you remember when you leave here today?

To return to the pure heart of a child, the humility that Jesus taught his disciples and the wisdom of God.

Amen
Rev. Lola Culbreath

by The Reverend Kathy

Sermon September 12^th Proper 19

In the silence of our hearts or in spoken words
Let us give thanks for the gift of this day
And pray for the life of the world…

Proverbs 1:20-33

Today’s lessons all have one thing in common and that is the reference to “Lead a life that is faithful to God. Wisdom is personified as a prophet; Wisdom speaks out in the street in the heart of the city, where legal decisions were often made. This resembles the similarities of the prophet’s role. Those not listening to wisdom and hearing her are portrayed in the verse “to life or death, security or disaster. 

The book of Proverbs is a gathering of short sayings over long periods coming from practical experience. They are not from theological ideas but from wholesome advice from those who have lived a happy and satisfactory life.  The reading from today is from the first 9 chapters and is instructions given by a father to his son so as to guide the youth in doing what is right and fair.

Psalm 19

The Book of Psalms is significant for understanding the religious life of ancient Israel. The main purpose was for the expressions of the heart to be made in the spirit of worship. The living God is always creating and recreating and bringing forth order out of the original chaos. Let us look at each morning as a renewal of the first words of God. “Let there be light”.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving our souls. God’s statues are wisdom and enlightenment and we receive joy and rewards, even though we may fail again and again, we can look to God to preserve us from pride and self-assertion.

James 3:1-12

James also talks about living life acceptable to God, and the difficulties of keeping our tongues in check. The tongue is the power of the spoken word and is a symbol of all that needs to be controlled in our everyday lives. There is a reference to the horses’ bit, and a ship’s rudder and how something relatively small controls something much larger. The tongue can control the entire person; even wild animals can be tamed, but not our tongues; which utter both blessings and curses. By learning to control our tongues it is the way it should be if our faith is to be lived out, through our words and deeds.

Mark 8:27-38

The issue of how to live faithfully is also a question in the passage from Mark. Jesus puts two questions to the disciples. “Who do people say that I am?” and he asks “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus openly tells the disciples and they don’t really grasp the meaning of what is being said. They misunderstand the title of Messiah, and they will need to be led into a new understanding before they can tell others. When Jesus went on to tell them of the great suffering and refection by the religious authorities before his death. The disciples did not understand.  Peter immediately took Jesus aside to deny such notion, Jesus in response told Mark “Get behind me” Satan” Peter’s statement was not setting his mind on divine things, but on human things. 

God invites us to set our minds on heavenly things, which does not mean just thinking nice thoughts or striving to enlist God to our side. It means trusting that God often works through vulnerability and weakness rather than through strength and certainty. Remember that God always leaves us the freedom to choose to lead a life believing in heaven, The Holy Trinity, The divinity of Christ, and the Resurrection. It is when we accept these beliefs on faith and surrender ourselves to God’s will. Remember that God transforms weakness and despair into glory and hope.

O God of unrestricted love and limitless grace, by the gift of your Holy Spirit may we daily be willing to set aside unforgiveness of any sort may we aspire to that Kingdom love the empowered our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive his executioners even as he was perishing on the Cross, and this we ask in the power of your Name.

Amen
The Reverend Kathy

by The Reverend Lola

September 12, 2021
16 Sunday after Pentecost
Year B

First Reading: Proverbs 1:20-33
Canticle: A Song in Praise of Wisdom
(Wisdom 7:26-8:1)
Second Reading: James 3:1-12
Gospel: Mark 8:27-38

Collect

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Surrender it All

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

What does this mean to us? Surrendering to God means letting go of our plans, and letting God have his way in every aspect of our lives. Allowing Him to guide our steps and direct our decisions. As Christians this means we surrender our will for His perfect will and follow God. I have worn a cross around my neck for as long as I can remember. I have crosses in almost every room of the house and when we had our motor home, we had a cross hanging in the bedroom. 

I personally find comfort in the cross, I like looking at it, I like praying with it around me because I feel the presence of Christ with me. The cross is a symbol of my Christian faith and recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus the Christ on the cross, for not just my sins, but for all our sins. It resembles salvation through Christ’s sacrifice; redemption; atonement; suffering; faith. 

Matthew 16:24-26. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

We see crosses everywhere, around people’s necks, hanging from the mirror in their car, tattoo’s on people, everywhere, people showing that they are committed to the Christian faith and they are not ashamed to let anyone know.

Take up your cross and follow me.

Some have lifted this verse out of an important part of the Gospel, it does not mean, what we often hear.  You have just had a tragedy in your life and you say, 

“I guess this is my cross to bear.” 

Jesus says to his disciples and Peter…No it can’t be!

Jesus has just told his disciples that he is on this road that leads him straight to suffering, betrayal, rejection, and death on the cross.  “But after three days rise again.”

Peter speaks up and says, after telling Jesus he is the Messiah! Peter takes him aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus turns it on Peter, Get behind me Satan! “For you are setting your mind “not” on divine things but on human things.”  

Poor Peter…he was the first to follow Jesus and this must have hurt…he loves Jesus so much…he just couldn’t bear it. He wants Jesus to be this great leader they have all been waiting for. 

Peter missed the part that…he will rise again in three days! The Resurrection! And he will be with everyone, who picks up their cross and follows him…forever and years to come.

In the verse Mark 8:35 “Whoever loses his life for My sake…will save it.”

You ask, how can I surrender my life? It is to surrender in the same way that salvation comes to the sinner. There are needs to be, that is the confession of sin and a complete yielding of every area of our lives, our personalities, and our wills to Jesus Christ. Giving it all the God.

A full surrender is to always be continued, it is not enough for us to be confirmed or to make a decision for Christ at an altar. We cannot walk successfully and grow without returning and renewing our vows and commitments with the Lord. We continue to go back and go back again renewing our faith and surrendering it all.

In the verse Mark 8:36 “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

The bible does not condemn money or having material possessions. Because money and possessions can be a great thing for many if used in the right way. God’s argument is not with the material things, but with material gods and idolizing them. Just like we wouldn’t want to idolize the cross, but wear it as a reminder. 

Getting back to the money, the problem, the Bible has is not with the money itself, but with our love of money: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”.

1 Timothy 6:10 Don’t let money, or anything else, take God’s rightful place in your life.

When we give a cross to someone, a child, a family member, a friend… it is to mark that “you are a divine thing, this place in the house, it is a divine place, a Holy place and sacred place. You are saying God will be present with you, here with you and you have been marked as his own. When you come up for communion and you take the Holy Sacraments, you are in the presence of the divine.

Amen
Rev. Lola Culbreath