There is a place where suffering and joy meet.
This is the place where heaven and earth overlap.
This is the place where the dead live on as they continue to grow in God’s love and service.
This is the place where we experience the presence of God among us, transforming our own suffering with the joys of heaven.
Missional Budget Presentation by parishioner Tina Polf and Sermon by The Rev. David Marshall Year A, Proper 24 Matthew 22:15-22 Word: Sacrifice Quote: The word sacrifice comes from the same root as the word sacred. To sacrifice something is to make it sacred. We bring our offerings to the altar to make them sacred; a sacred, holy offering to God.
The Rev. David Marshall Year A, Proper 22 Matthew 21:33-46 Word: Tenants Quote: The bottom line is that we are the tenants. God has leased all of this to us. Our lives, our loves, and our possessions are all on loan from God, leased to us so that we can work for that vision of…
The Rev. David Marshall Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Matthew 11:25-30 Word: Vision Quote: Francis already had the Gospel of Jesus and a strong heart for the poor and the suffering. What the voice [of Christ] did was to give him a vision for the direction of his life. The voice of Christ gave…
We do not look in someone else’s bowl to see if they got more to eat than we did. We only look in someone else’s bowl to make sure they got enough.
Matthew 18 gives clear instructions for dealing with conflict in the Church. Here we have guidance from Jesus himself. If a member sins against you, go to that person yourself. If he or she will not listen, bring someone else and try again. If that doesn’t work, tell the whole church, and if that doesn’t work, shun and exclude them; they are like a gentile and a tax collector.
We are good at what one commentator this week called, “acute decency.” We see images of families begin rescued from floods in Houston, small children and pets being carried through flood waters, and our hearts overflow. That commentator went on to say that we are good at acute decency, but we are not so good at long-term decency.
We must repent of white privilege to end racism. Racism in America will not end by the efforts of black or brown people alone.
There are interesting parallels between this story of Jesus walking on water and the crucifixion and resurrection stories that come later. This story, and the resurrection stories, illustrate the importance of faith, hope, and the life-giving power of the sacred. The parallels are so strong that I would even argue that the story of Jesus walking on water is a kind of resurrection story.