Reflections on WORSHIP and DISCIPLESHIP
by Margo Geesing
March 2024

“Covenants”
        Now that we have entered the time of Lent, I’m going back just two weeks to cover the entire Lenten saga. This Lent, pay particular attention to the first lessons. We will be going through the covenants that God has made with his people. God always initiates these covenants, man responds, then man breaks his part of the agreement, God retries in a different way, and it goes on. During this Lent we will be looking at these various covenants and their connection to the Gospel.

        The first Sunday of Lent the first lesson is from the end of the flood story. In this story God saves a small portion of people and agrees to be their God if they will follow him. God allows it to rain for 40 days and nights. At the end he places his bow in the sky as a promise to never destroy the earth again in water. This is the first of many covenants God will make with man. That theme of 40 days and nights is reflected in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus is sent into the desert for that same amount of time. 40 as a time period reoccurs often in the Bible. It usually signifies a time period of cleansing as it did in both these stories. And so also is Lent 40 days and is our time of cleansing.

        The second Sunday of Lent’s first lesson is the story of Abraham’s encounter with God and God’s promise that he would have children even in his old age. This was a life changing encounter for Abraham and Sarah. In the Gospel lesson Jesus tells his followers that he was going to have to go to Jerusalem to die. This was a life changing moment for his followers also. Take a moment in your own life and look at your own encounters with God. How have they changed your life?

        The third Sunday of Lent begins with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. This is the third major covenant that God has given man and the first to the whole of the Jewish people. It is so important that we still follow it. It was a sign of God’s power and promise. It is the basic of how to treat God and one another in the simplest form. Jesus came and also gave us the Beatitudes which is the how to put the Law into action. In the Gospel we have Jesus consumed with zeal and causing a ruckus in the Temple! Jesus was fighting against the “laws” put on the people. “They” had turned the worship of God into a money making, follow the rules, marketed, manipulative farce. Jesus was trying to get back to the basics! Jesus knows that HE is the way to the Father, not following all the rules and regulations. Rules and regulations are supposed to be there to guide people not keep them from knowing God’s love and mercy. In what ways do we still create barriers to God in our own lives and for others? What presently enables you to follow Jesus: the laws, his signs, his words? Why? How? What makes it difficult for you to follow Jesus: the laws, his signs, his words? Why? How?

        Fourth Sunday of Lent we have direct references in the Gospel lesson to the first lesson (see, it’s not just me making this stuff up!). We start with God healing the Israelites. It is again one of those moment that we hear about, especially in the Old Testament, where the people of God (and that includes us, also BTW) started grumbling and complaining. They “forgot” about the fact that God had brought them out of slavery and was feeding them on their long journey (made longer by their own actions). It was a case of “yes, but what have you done for me lately” so they turned away from Moses and God. God gets a little ticked off and punishes them (what any good parent would do!). The Israelites change their ways and repent. God accepts them back and gives Moses a way to heal them. Moses is told to make a snake and raise it up on a staff and all who looks on it will be healed. So, it is also with Jesus. Those who look believe in the Christ on the cross will also be healed, but more than that, they will have eternal life. God does not take away the snakes that were biting the Israelites, nor did he take away the cross that Jesus was to die on, nor does he take away our own trials and pain. Instead, God gave them a way to live with these issues as he does for us also. What are some of the issues you are dealing with in your own life that needs God’s healing? How do you see, or can you see, Jesus walking with you during these times? Is this the time to deepen your prayer life or is it a time that prayer is hard?

        On the fifth Sunday of Lent, we hear from the prophet Jeremiah and the promise of a new covenant from God. The people of Israel are in exile, again, because they turned away from God, again. God is promising to take his people back and to write the covenant on their hearts. A promise to forgive. A promise to forget. God has made the covenant simpler. I will be your God; you will be my people. This covenant is fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus gives us the requirements for eternal life: hate your life, follow him, serve him, and glorify the Father’s name. He also says we need to be like grains of wheat. We must die to ourselves to produce much fruit. We use wheat in our communion bread. This is actual grain that has died and is used to produce much fruit when we receive it. Jesus in communion comes to strengthen us and through that communion, we are to go and produce much fruit. Is the covenant of God written in your heart? If so, how is this directing your life? Is God your God or is something else taking His place? Are you producing much fruit from your communion with Jesus or is he lying dormant in you? How are you doing with those requirements for eternal life (some of it seems quite hard to me!)? Is now the time you need to take to redirect parts of your life?

        Then we have the pageantry of Palm/Passion Sunday. We get two Gospel stories today. We begin with the Gospel of Mark or John and that triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Crowds cheering and waving palm branches. Jesus comes and is cheered as King. In the first and second lessons we hear of Jesus as the Servant. He empties himself of his power and protection. Jesus trusts in the Father and His plan. He doesn’t fight back. He isn’t looking for status or glory. He is here to do the Father’s will. And the Passion follows from the Gospel of Mark. In this Gospel account we see Jesus as a helpless Victim. In this telling of his death Jesus only speaks four times from the time they came to get him in the garden until his death. He is done in. So, which is the true Jesus? Is he a King, a Servant, or a Victim? Or is he all three? How do you see Jesus during these moments? How do you see yourself in relation to Jesus? How do you present Jesus to others in the way you live your life?

        The last Sunday of March is Easter Sunday! This is THE day of our faith life. Everybody is born, everybody dies, NOBODY else has risen from the dead by their own power, only Jesus! Terror and amazement, these are the two words that come to the forefront in this Gospel from Mark. This Gospel passage ends with: “…they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” [Mark 16:8]. For how many of us, is this our own response to Jesus? How often do we, after everything we know and have experienced with Jesus, are too afraid to say anything? We do, as good Christians and, by definition, followers of Christ, need to speak out about our faith. In word. In song. In actions. In care. In love. In story. The same things that Jesus did!

        We have the Passion of Jesus from Mark on Palm Sunday (and John on Good Friday – you can find the Scripture reference in the list of Lessons for the month); the institution of the Eucharist (2nd Lesson) and the washing of the disciples’ feet (from John) for Maundy Thursday. Take time to see the path that Jesus and we went on to get to Easter Sunday.


April 2024

“We are an Easter People”

        We have made it through Lent and we are now in the time of Easter! We are an Easter People. Our faith tells us that Jesus, risen from the dead by his own power, is the reason for our faith. We celebrated the Lord’s birth at Christmas, we celebrated the Lord’s presentation to the world at the Epiphany, we celebrated the Lord’s baptism by John and the beginning of his ministry with the calling of the disciples, we celebrated the Lord’s temptation in the desert, we celebrated the Lord’s transfiguration, we celebrated the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, we celebrated the Lord’s death on Good Friday. All of these, although special times, are not why we have faith in Jesus Christ. We are all born, we all celebrate milestones in our lives, we all are tempted, and, one day, we too, will die. So did Jesus. The thing that Jesus did that made him different was that he rose from the dead by his own power. None of us can do that. No one in history has done that; except Jesus. Easter. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus is what is the absolute core of our faith. When we were baptized, we were baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, it’s time to celebrate! It’s time to sing “Alleluia!”

        First Sunday in April we hear the story of Doubting Thomas from the Gospel of John. I can identify with Thomas. He thinks: I know that Jesus died, how can you have seen him? This is a hoax, and one in very poor taste. So, yes, I would want to see it myself. I would want to touch him. We have an advantage over his followers of the time, we have their witness to the resurrection. What does that mean to us today? If we believe in the resurrection, if we embrace faith in the Risen Lord, if we call Him Lord and Savior, if we call His Father, “Father”, if we have the Gifts of the Holy Spirit within us, if we have the gift of faith, if we have the Breath of Life within us, if we allow Him to have a claim on us then there needs to be a response from us. The one thing we cannot say; we should not say is, “Yes, I believe” and then walk through our lives as if we did not. The other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” The difficulty of trying to go it alone in faith is that we only see ourselves – our own thoughts, reflection, wants, and needs. For Church to happen, we need a community. There are times in our own lives where we do not see the Lord working and we need the community to say, “We have seen the Lord.” And sometimes we need to be the one to say it to others.

        The second Sunday in April we have a similar story from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus appears to the disciples and they are all in turmoil. He bids them peace and goes on to prove he is not a ghost by eating. He calls them to touch him. Touching Jesus. How can we dare? Even when He says we should. We need to. We need to so we can come to an understanding, flawed as it may be, of the Risen Lord. We need to be Word and Sacrament to one another in the world. YOU may be the only way someone else has of touching Jesus. Jesus bids us all peace in our lives. Not necessarily the peace of the world, but the peace that comes from being loved absolutely. The peace that can only come from Jesus.

        Shepherd vs Hired Hand. The third Sunday of April we are again are in the Gospel of John. Jesus is doing a discourse on what a good shepherd would do. These are a people who understand what a shepherd is and does. Jesus goes as far as to tell them that a good shepherd is willing to die for his sheep. Other than my children and grandchildren; and my husband [maybe] am I really conscience of being willing to die for anyone. Not really what one tends to think about. But, having someone who is willing to do that; that’s is an amazing sign of love. And Jesus did not just say he would but actually died for each and every one of us, individually. So, the question then is: who do we look to be our shepherd? What do we look for? We need a shepherd who is just; protective; understanding; brave; looking out for the weak, poor, outcast, and lost; the one willing to lay down his life for the smallest sheep. There are a lot of people in leadership positions that give minimal effort, pursue their own agenda, ignore the common good, to whom the poor, weak, infirmed are invisible, get out when the getting is good for them – these are hired hands. We are looking for and need a good shepherd! We have found one in Jesus. Now is the time for us to go and introduce others to THE Good Shepherd!

        The last Sunday of April we are still hearing from John. This is Jesus’ story of the vine and the branches. Jesus again tells us the requirement for discipleship: remain in him and allow him to remain in us. He directs us to ask for what we need, and it will be done. This is done repeatedly in the Gospels. Jesus wants us to depend on him. To pray. To trust that that the Father will give us what is good for us. I have a grape vine in my yard. Actually, it’s my husband’s. I do nothing with it except water it occasionally when it’s been a while between rains and he forgets to. It goes crazy occasionally when it hasn’t been pruned. When it doesn’t get watered enough, the leaves fall off, the fruit is small and bitter. If it gets too much sun, the branches get brittle and break if you look at them funny. But the stock, that vine, just keeps going year after year in spite of neglect, not enough attention, and just plain old forgetfulness. Jesus is that vine. We are the branches and need a lot of attention and most of all, we need to stay close to the vine. And what of the fruit we bear? Are we sweet or bitter? Are we tiny and shriveled or plump and juicy? Are we straggly little stick branches or are we strong and robust and able to weather storms and winds? Are we connected closely with the vine or are we just hanging on at the edges?



May 2024

“The Turning of the Seasons”


        We are coming to the end of the Sundays of Easter and beginning the long Pentecost season in May.  All the Gospel lessons are from the Gospel of John, except for Ascension Thursday, all occur the night of the Last Supper and before his arrest, except Trinity Sunday. It seems odd that the Church would pick Gospel lessons for the end of Easter Time from the beginning of The Three Days. Perhaps it is to emphasize the need to go through the one to get to the other.

May 5, 2024 – Sixth Sunday of Easter John 15:9-17
        In the Gospel lesson we have new definitions for words we use commonly that give us new directions. The word COMMANDMENT now means LOVE. Don’t blame me – talk to Jesus! Jesus states that if you love him, you will show this love by following his commandment. What was Jesus’ commandment? Love one another. This is also the core of the Ten Commandments, the eight Beatitudes, and the Greatest Commandment. It is what it means to be Christian.

May 9, 2024 – Ascension of Our Lord Luke 24:44-53 [We will be celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord on May 12th]
        On Ascension Thursday Jesus leaves his followers with a commission, a blessing, and a promise. He commissioned them to preach the Gospel – that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached to all nations. This is continuing today through the works of the church and each of us. He blesses them as he does us at baptism and when we join in the Holy Sacrifice of the Liturgy and Communion. And he made the promise to send the power from on high [the Holy Spirit] which we were blessed to receive at baptism. The commission, blessing, and promise has continued throughout the ages because of the power of Jesus to fulfill them.

May 12, 2024 – Seventh Sunday of Easter John 17:6-19
        The second Sunday of May is Mother’s Day! Happy Mother’s Day to all. We again hear Jesus praying, not for himself before his death, but for his people. He reminds the Father that these were entrusted to him and he has kept them faithfully. Jesus believed in the truth and love of the Father for both himself and his followers. He prayed not for the absence of problems or harm but rather for protection of their faith in him, in his teachings, and in the promise of eternal life; and by extension in the Father. He prays that they will remain obedient and faithful especially through challenges to their faith, evil times, and suffering. We too are blessed by this prayer. God gives us strength and love and faith to depend on during good times and bad.

May 19, 2024 – Day of Pentecost John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
        The third Sunday of May is Pentecost Sunday. Happy Birthday to the Church! Jesus promises to send THE Advocate [the Holy Spirit]. Advocate: one who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor. When the Spirit speaks, he speaks with the direction of the Father and the Son. There are 32 names of the Spirit in Scripture. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, knowledge, right judgment, understanding, courage, piety, and fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Spirit is a powerful guide in our faith life.

May 26, 2024 – The Holy Trinity John 3:1-17
        The fourth Sunday of May is Trinity Sunday. This is one of those great and simple mysteries of faith, like the Eucharist, that cannot be explained or proved, it just has to be believed. There is one God. There are Three Persons in God. Each Individually God. All together God. But not three gods. According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about God. The shamrock has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity, that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But it doesn’t EXPLAIN God. You really can’t prove or explain God. It is simply an act of faith to believe in God. This Sunday reminds us that there IS a Trinity and our belief in the Trinity that is God, makes us children of God through our baptism.

So, we end Easter Time with two great celebrations, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. As we go out of Easter Time, we are again reminded, through the Gospel lessons, of the directives that are repeated from the beginning of every Lent: care for others and practice loving others (almsgiving), preach the Gospel in all you do and say and encourage repentance, and pray in faith, always. They are guidelines to continue as we enter the time after Pentecost.

June 2024

“And Life Goes On”


Welcome to the Time after Pentecost Season. We are coming into the period of the Church year where we just go along. There are no really great celebrations or times of preparation. This is the time of doing. It is the time of everyday living and the Gospels reflect this. Jesus addresses some big concepts but in a simple, understandable manner. The Gospels are reflecting the idea of the everyday continuation of a life in faith.

June 2, 2024 – Second Sunday after Pentecost Mark 2:23—3:6
In this Gospel lesson Jesus addresses the concept of spirit vs letter of the law. The Pharisees, especially, were focused on fulfilling the letter of the law. Saying the right prayers at the right time of the day. Being seen giving their tithe to the Synagogue. Watching what others were doing to make sure the others were doing the “right” thing. Following the rituals in their correct form. They thought that this was pleasing to God. In this case, keeping the Sabbath holy by doing NO work. Their way of thinking was that if they did everything correctly and followed the letter of the law, they were in good with God. Jesus did not quite follow the law to the letter. Jesus focused on the spirit of the law. What God actually wanted. Yes, keep God’s holy day, well, holy. Doing something good for another, even if it was “work”, is keeping the spirit of the law. As an example, Elizabeth, who is almost three, was told by her mom that she was not to stand on the dining room table. Being the climber that she is, mom turns around and Elizabeth is back on the table… Typical parent / child conversation ensues, her answer: I’m kneeling on the table, not standing. This is true. So, now the rule changes: no standing or kneeling on the table. Then she tries sitting on the table. Newest rule: no body parts except hands and arms are allowed on ANY of the tables. Elizabeth was following the letter of the rule. Mom really wanted her to follow the spirit of the rule. God is like Christina, he wants us to follow the spirit of the law over the letter of the law: but still, follow the law.

June 9, 2024 – Third Sunday after Pentecost Mark 3:20-35
Sin and grace. Jesus and Satan. Good and Evil. Light and darkness. Possession by an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit. Life and death. These are all opposites. In the realm of God these things cannot co-exist in the same place. Good, light, grace, live, Holy Spirit, and Jesus always conquers evil, darkness, sin, death, evil spirits, and Satan. It is in humanity where God has given us free will that things get muddy. Through our own choices we have mixed these supernatural opposites. We sin but we also have grace to bring us back to God. We are working towards doing good but sometimes evil creeps in. We are a light to the world but within each of us there are little points of darkness. While we were reborn in baptism with the Holy Spirit we sometimes listen to the evil spirits. We live with the knowledge that at some point our bodies will die. We say we live for Jesus but sometimes we are tempted by Satan and actually give into the evil, worldly, lazy, comfortable, selfish, power hungry, wealth for wealth’s sake, hedonistic temptations. Jesus is aware of these conflicts within the human being and so when he is sitting there with people and calling them his brothers and sisters and mother; we can also participate in that familial life with him, just do the will of the Father; just like him!

June 16, 2024 – Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Mark 4:26-34
This Sunday’s Gospel is about the everyday miracle of life. And it’s so fitting that it is also Father’s Day. Frequently we are all like the seed scatterer, totally unaware of time passing and what happens when we aren’t looking. There are so many songs just about this idea that life just happens: Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink”; Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle”; Trace Adkins’ “You're Gonna Miss This”; Darius Rucker “This”. Jesus is trying to call attention to those everyday miracles that we take for granted. The amazing gifts that God sends to us every day. A beautiful sunrise or sunset. Bird song in the trees. A cool breeze on a hot day. Plants growing. The world turning. It is also a reminder to each of us; and especially to those of us who are so very busy all the time; to stop and take a breath. The world will continue turning, the Service will happen, you do not have to do everything for everybody all the time. This is an invitation by your loving Father to take a rest. To become rooted or re-rooted in the grace and love of the creative God that has: created the beautiful blue sky; the moist brown ground; the strong green plants; the red, yellow, blue, orange, and purple fruits and vegetable to nourish your body; and the calming words of life in his Holy Bible. Take a moment to: STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. to the miracles of life you are surrounded by, and, maybe, take an extra moment and thank God for this gift of life he has given to you.

June 23, 2024 – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Mark 4:35-41
Jesus just can’t catch a break in this Sunday’s Gospel! He has been preaching, teaching, and healing and just wants a few moments to stop and rest. So, he gets his friends together to go out in the boat. This way people, maybe, will let him to get a little alone time. Nope. He finally fell asleep in the boat. His Daddy was looking out for him and sent a little storm to rock him to sleep and keep the other people away. He gets woken up by his friends [personally, I blame Peter] because they are panicking over the storm. I’m never sure if he’s telling the storm “Peace! Be still!” or his friends. I know, the Gospel says he’s talking to the storm but … He does rebuke his followers asking them, “Why are you afraid? Have you so little faith?”. This reminds me about times when I was in a panic about whatever. I can almost picture Jesus sitting there in heaven shaking his head at me saying, “Why are you afraid? Have you so little faith?”. We have all heard that God will never give you a cross that you cannot carry; with his help and grace. I know that sometimes we are challenged just so we will remember to turn to him for his help.

June 30, 2024 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Mark 5:21-43
The final week of June we have a Gospel lesson of faith and healing through touch. This is another case of Jesus going away from the letter of the law. Both of these stories go against the laws of cleanness for the Jewish people. Interaction with bleeding or dead bodies was considered unclean. Jesus did not let these “rules” stop him from healing them. The bleeding woman touched Jesus’s garments and was healed. She had faith and trust. Jesus was not even aware of what she was doing. Jesus touched Jarius’s daughter and she came to life. We get to share in the divine touch of healing. Remember the cooling touch of a parent’s hand on a child’s fevered head; holding hands with a loved one; the steadying hands for a wobbly gait and revel in the miracle of being touched and touching as a way of healing.


July 2024

“The Long Walk of Faith”
        I like these Gospel lessons simply because they are about walking through life with faith. They are about the everyday human stuff. They are about fellowship, kindness, loss, sleep, illness, healing and food. They are about the real and the nitty gritty.

July 7, 2024 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Mark 6:1-13
        Crazy people! Crazy people are told about in today’s Gospel. I just came back from a trip to Yosemite National Park. It has been a year in planning [because to get campsites, you have to book a year and a day in advance]. Actually, it’s been two years in the planning since we had some of it planned for last year, before it was canceled because of the flooding there. We packed [and some of us re-packed], we planned meals, we planned what to take with us, we planned some of the activities we wanted to do, we even planned where to stop on the way there to eat and get gas. Even when there are emergencies, we usually get a least a little warning. California has its share of emergencies, especially earthquakes and wildfires, but we have time to prepare for these things. Jesus sent out his disciples with NOTHING. They had the clothes on their backs and a staff. They had to depend upon others for a place to sleep and to eat. And what of the householder who decided to take them in? They are footing the bill for these iterant preachers for an undetermined amount of time. “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” is a quote from the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Unlike the disciples that Jesus sent out to “depend on the kindness of strangers”, Blanche DuBois has been reliant on the kindness of strangers, and this is largely due to her inability to accept reality. The disciples went prepared with Jesus’s teachings and authority. These disciples fully inhabited reality. They, and I assume the householders, had complete faith and trust in Jesus and the message that the disciples were sharing. Who of us would be willing to do something like this? Many of us don’t walk out the front door with keys, wallet, water bottle, cell phone, credit card, money, etc. The idea of walking out on family, job, friends, and other commitments to go somewhere, don’t know where or for how long, with NO planning to share the Gospel of Jesus is, to me, pretty impossible to comprehend. But today I am grateful to those disciples who did go out and those disciples who continue to go out and share the Gospel of Jesus. Without them, the story of redemption would have never been told.

July 14, 2024 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Mark 6:14-29
        Today’s Gospel of the beheading of John the Baptist is quite a reflection of Jesus’ own death. In both the man in power, Herod and Pontius Pilate, did not want to be responsible for the death of the man they were called to kill. In both the man in power chose to do it anyway because of external pressures. After both deaths the followers of the dead men took the body to bury it. After both men died, their followers continued in community. They continued the leader’s mission. And today we are blessed because they did. We have received a faith that has stood the test of time. This is a faith not exclusively for the strong and powerful but for the poor, weak, tired, lost, unsure, and sinful. We are blessed by a God who has walked with us in faith. Who understands loss, pain, fear, loneliness, and abandonment. Our faith continues and grows stronger because of this.

July 21, 2024 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
        This Sunday’s Gospel is about rest, healing, compassion, and pure faith. The range of emotions that are displayed in this short passage is manyfold. We begin with the excitement of the disciples reporting back to Jesus about what they had done and what they had taught. I’m sure they were amazed by what they had done in his name. It’s like a child coming home after and exciting time away from their parent and the child tries to tell them EVERYTHING. I even remember telling my most sharing child, “What you are telling me is important but Mommy’s ears are tired.” Jesus was the same. He wanted them to eat and maybe sleep a little but there were so many people around. Then we have Jesus’ meeting with the crowd and having compassion for them, to a point where, rather than resting, he continued to teach them. Then we have the part where people had such pure faith in Jesus that they believed they would be healed just by touching his cloak. I am exhausted just thinking about being pulled in so many directions at once. Families do get this to an extent. Children wanting or needing attention, work, relationships, chores, shopping, dishes, food, and the list goes on. But Jesus was not just being responsible for himself, or a small family, or even a large extended family; he was trying to care for an entire nation, and by extension, the world. So, tonight, in prayer don’t ask for anything more; just take a moment and just thank him for giving so much of himself for the world. Maybe tonight, he can get something to eat and a little rest.

July 28, 2024 – Tenth Sunday after Pentecost John 6:1-21
        You know what I really don’t like when dealing with the miracle of the loaves and fishes of Jesus? I don’t like it when people say, that it didn’t happen. It was just that once people saw that the little boy shared his food, they all pulled out food to share. No. Jesus had a plan. It says it right there: “5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.” [John 6:5-6]. Then Jesus sent out his disciples to collect the leftovers; they collected twelve baskets. It was a plan! It had to be. 1) Jesus prayed over the food before having it passed out. In the Gospels, Jesus specifically prays for people to see for a reason. Jesus prays so that those with him will know that the Father sent him. 2) Bread and a connection to the Hebrew Scriptures. The Father fed the Israelites in the desert with mana. Jesus fed the people with bread. Jesus feeds us with his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. 3) Collecting exactly twelve baskets. Jesus knew that he was sending his disciples 

out to collect the Twelve Tribes of Israel back together. Jesus did not do things for no reason. There was always a plan. When people discount Jesus’s miracles they are discounting his Godhood. They are making him just this guy who said nice things and encouraged people to care for each other. But Jesus did not actually give us this option. One cannot be a good man and a liar. Jesus said he was the Son of the Father; the Father and He were One; thus, Jesus is God. He did true miracles. I shall leave you with this last thought …
“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative. This man we are talking about either was (and is) just what He said or else a lunatic, or something worse. Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.” C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity


August 2024

“The Bread of Life”
        
        Starting the last Sunday of July and continuing through the end of August we hear pretty much the entirety of (a few verses are skipped here and there) chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. This is the discourse on Jesus being the bread of life. The Gospel of John focuses on the Divinity of Jesus, Salvation through Him, and this comes to the front especially in this chapter. An interesting note as you read through the August Gospel lessons – each one begins with the ending verse(s) of the previous Gospel lesson. This discourse is broken up into small steps by Jesus in the hope that the people will come to believe. Step one: feed the people. Step two: Set the request for belief and begin the idea of being the Bread of Life, come down from Heaven; sent by the Father; one with the Father. Step three: Restate being sent by the Father; being one with the Father; and the way to eternal life is through him. Step four: State the fact that they need to eat of him for eternal life. Step five: Accept the reality that not everyone who has followed are willing to fully believe leading to a confession of faith by Peter, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
So, a quick recap of the final Gospel lesson from July – Jesus feeds the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves. Well, that was exciting and hey, everybody loves free food!

        Now we come to the first Sunday of August where the people who had been fed are still following him. Jesus sees that the people following him just want more. They ask for more food, for more signs, more works. The fact that he just fed them was not enough. They have been fed and now want to know what to do! Jesus puts it to them directly: BELIEVE. Believe in God. Believe in Jesus who was sent by God. He gently reminds them that Moses didn’t feed the Israelites in the desert but the Father. He ends with the statement that he IS the Bread of Life!  

        Which leads to the next Sunday where he starts with the statement that he is the bread of life. This is the moment where the doubting begins! Who is this guy? What does he mean? Don’t we already know who he is? Don’t we already know all about him? Jesus reminds them of the prophets and the promises made to them: that they shall be taught by God. He ends going a step forward: not only is he the bread of life but that his own flesh is that bread.
The third week begins with this statement and continues with more questions from his followers. That step further has them all questioning his sanity. For them, it makes no sense. Jesus is THE connection to eternal life. We have the advantage that we know the whole story so we can understand that connection.

        The fourth Sunday of August comes the big question from Jesus. This lesson begins with the promise that He IS the Bread of Life and by partaking of this, we get eternal life. He recognizes that what he is saying is difficult and he is compassionate and sorrowful with his followers. He tries to walk them slowly through the logic of his statements. He does a little foreshadowing but realizes that not all of them will continue with him. He finally goes to his stalwart twelve and asked if they would continue with him. Our favorite passionate disciple, Peter, gives him the perfect answer: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” [John 6:68-69]

        As Christians, we believe in the True Presence of Christ in Holy Communion. Exactly how, why, and the naming of the process for the True Presence of Christ, body and blood, present in Holy Communion may differ but the core statement of Jesus: I am the Bread of Life; and the directive: 54Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” [John 6:54-56] is being given in our Church each time we have Holy Communion. And it is in this promise of Jesus that is at the core of our faith.
The Lutherans have given expression to the reality of the Eucharistic presence by speaking of presence of Christ's Body and Blood in, with and under bread and wine. Here they see real analogy to the Lord's incarnation: as God and man become one in Jesus Christ, Christ's body and blood, on the one hand, and the bread and wine, on the other, give rise to a sacramental unity.

        The statement I could find for the Episcopal Church is: “The elements are not mere signs; Christ's body and blood become really present and are really given. But they are really present and given in order that, receiving them, believers may be united in communion with Christ the Lord.” “The Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith.” (BCP, p. 859).

        And, I’m going to throw in the Roman Catholic understanding [because that’s what I am] to mitigate any errors I may have made! “By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation. (CCC, 1376)

        This month take a look at your own reactions to these passages. When have you doubted? What brought you back or answered your questions? Or, do you still have doubts? Do you believe or are you still questioning like those in the first weeks of Gospel lesson? Who is Jesus for you? Do you believe that Jesus is the Bread of Life? What do you believe about Holy Communion? What does the Church teach about the Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion? Do you have doubts about the Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion? What can you do to answer them?



September 2024

“Challenges”
        During the month of August, we got through the whole of John chapter 6 with the discourse on the Bread of Life. We got that, right? Jesus is the Bread of Life. You need to receive him to have [eternal] life within you. We, as people of faith, receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

        We are back in the Gospel of Mark for September! Mark is the “GO” Gospel. Jesus is on the go; his followers are on the go. Most of the Gospel lessons begin with where he is going or where he came from. And he gives out challenges constantly. Challenges we are encouraged to fulfill, also.

        First Sunday of September Jesus has landed the boat in Gennesaret and is met by the Pharisees who had come from Jerusalem, basically to confront him. His followers were not following all the prescribed “rules” for the faith: this time it was regarding ritual cleaning, but it could have been anything. Jesus reminds them that there is a difference between doing the “right” things without a connection to the why it’s done and doing something with regard for the heart of the matter. Jesus is more concerned with the reasoning behind actions rather than the perfectness of the action. Just following the rules is not living your faith. Living faith, what Jesus calls us all to do, involves not just your outward actions but your inward heart. Spirit versus Letter of the Law.  This could make us reflect on how we judge the faith of others by what we see them do in relation to how we think faith “should be” lived rather than accepting that faith comes in many forms and expressions.

        The second Sunday in September Jesus has an encounter with a woman who was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. Especially in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus interacts with women they tend to challenge him. He allows them to make him think differently. In a culture that did not give women much power, Jesus allows them to have power to change his thinking. In this case, he goes from addressing only the Israelites to beginning to include some of the Gentiles in his mission. Something similar happens when he encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. How do you deal with encounters with people who think differently than you do? Do you dismiss them or do you listen to them and evaluate your way of thinking? You may not need to change your way of thinking but perhaps at some points, you might. This Gospel lesson also has a second part. Jesus does a, “Shhh, don’t say anything.” Which is gleefully ignored. This happens to Jesus on numerous occasions, including when with his own disciples. You would think he would learn that the fastest way to get something spread around is to tell the person to say nothing.  Think about your own encounters with Jesus. Do you keep them to yourself or do you share them?

        The third Sunday of September we get a story about Peter. You all know I have a special fondness for Peter [and Paul]- They both allow their humanness to show through the passion and the stupid moments. Peter goes all in, all the time. Peter states that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”. Can’t get faith much stronger than that! But the next moment, Peter is rebuking Jesus. Sadly, for us, Jesus brings things back around saying the hard things again and challenging us. Jesus reminds us that we are called to do more and to be more. Then Jesus sets a blueprint of what we need to do: a) deny ourselves, b) to pick up our cross and c) follow him. None of these are easy things to do. We like our comforts. We would like things easy. Following Jesus is hard. Our belief and love in someone greater than ourselves give us the strength needed to deny ourselves. It gives us the perseverance to pick up our cross and carry on. It gives us the power to follow. Jesus never said it would be easy; in fact, he frequently warns us just the opposite! Jesus looks to the heart and faith of his people and he looks with the eyes of love, compassion, and mercy.  Have you ever felt challenged beyond what you thought you were capable of? What did you do? How did it turn out?

        The fourth Sunday we have Jesus traveling to Capernaum. As frequently happens when a group of people travel together for a while, little irritations start to show up. A bit of bickering. A challenge of who’s better than who. The disciples were no different. Jesus calls them out about it. Jesus does a bit of foreshadowing. He states that that the person who wants to be greatest needs to be a servant to the others. Jesus does this at the Passover meal when he washes the feet of his disciples. Then, Jesus puts a child in front of them and tells them they must welcome this child. We look at this and think, who wouldn’t help a child? Or protect a child? Or welcome a child? But children were not important in society. Even today, children aren’t thought of as “important” members of society. Jesus was making a point. We cannot be good followers if we are focused on being important in society. We need to be better than that. We need to be a servant. We need to be aware of those in need; and moreover, do something. Too often we as human beings look around and see someone in need and respond with, “That’s SEP [Someone Else’s Problem]”. Or we look and see the insurmountable issues and throw up our hands and say, “I can’t do anything about this; it’s too big”.  You see? Jesus challenges us – with small steps, small choices, and even small helping hands. Really, we can do the small. And that’s where we, as individuals, must begin.

        Is it just me, or does Jesus get a little more morbid the closer he gets to Jerusalem? This last Sunday in September he is talking about cutting off body parts to keep from losing eternal life. He talks about being salted with fire. I think he is trying to prepare them for what will follow. They need, as we all do, to hear the hard truths. Ministry is hard. It involves service and sacrifice. Those first followers did not live long, happy, healthy lives. Our Saints and Martyrs are Saints and Martyrs because of the long rough road they walked to follow in Jesus’s footsteps. We are lucky that most of us will not have our faith challenged to the point of death. Yet, for others in our current world this is still not quite as true, even today. In some ways, I think the day-to-day relatively “Easy Life” (which most of us enjoy) makes it very challenging to live in faith and ministry. Sounds odd, but bear with me: If someone came into church one Sunday and said, “If you don’t renounce your faith and leave the building, I will kill you. Right now. Right here.” I would hope, and in my mind, I would stay. It’s a quick and powerful decision.  The day-to-day living of faith authentically and fully is very hard. It’s every day, every hour, every minute, making decisions to act out of love, to see Jesus in the people you encounter, to answer the call of God, and to give water in the name of Jesus. Jesus challenges each of us in our vocation in life. He challenges us to live as Christians. To give water to the little, the lowly, the unseen, the forgotten, the dismissed, the untouchable.


October 2024

“A Step Further”

        The first Sunday of October Jesus is again disrupting the status quo. This time he redefines the importance of marriage and the value of women in a society that looked at women as property. He continued with making children important, too. Jesus never seems to have a problem with expanding the rules to live by. He always looks at how to show the Father’s love for all his creation. He looks to raise those with low status. He looks to heal and support those in the most need. He calls all of us to do the same. This is your chance to look at how you value others.  Who is important to you? Who do you respond to the quickest? Who are you trying to raise up?

        The second Sunday of October Jesus again challenges his followers, even those whom are just coming to him. A rich man asks how he can inherit eternal life and Jesus reiterates the Commandments. Jesus also goes a degree further: He wants the rich man to sell what he has and give to the poor. Jesus continues on to warn those who are rich that it will be hard for them to enter the Kingdom. It sounds odd. If Jesus comes to save all and invites all to the Father, if this is true, then why does he exclude the rich? I think the challenge with being rich, is what to do with it?  How do you treat others? What are your goals with the money? I think that Jesus requires the same from the rich as he does from the poor, it’s just a little harder because we are creatures of comfort, and we like to keep what we have. So, we are challenged to go that step further.

        The third Sunday of October we hear a similar Gospel lesson, with more details, than the one from September 22nd’s Gospel lesson from Mark chapter 9 verses 30-37. Jesus calls out specifically James and John, the sons of Zebedee, for wanting to be placed at Jesus’ right and left sides. Jesus reiterates that to be great in his Kingdom, you must be a servant to all. He also reminds them that he is destined to die and reminds them that if they continue to follow him, they also will be subject to the same. Jesus does not beat around the bush about how this will end. He warns us repeatedly that, if you follow me, you will probably not have a happy, easy life. But, we as faithful Christians, continue to follow because the final reward is worth the costs in this life.

        The fourth Sunday in October we will be celebrating Reformation Sunday. The Gospel lesson for this Sunday is from John. Jesus talks about true freedom. Freedom is a word that has been used a lot in recent times. How we act and what we do with our freedoms depends on a lot of factors from how we were raised, what we have learned, politics, friends, societal influences, and hopefully, our faith. Jesus’ freedom is a bit different. He has freed us from the slavery of sin. That slavery keeps us from God who is all good and all loving. Jesus has given us a place by his side. But, as with all freedoms, we need to accept it and use it wisely. Freedom is both a gift and a duty.  What is your “favorite” sin? How are you working with Jesus to be free of this? How have you enjoyed and used the freedom that Jesus has given you?


November 2024

“Challenges to Face: How Do You Show Love?”

        The first Sunday of November is All Saints’ Day when we hear the story of the Raising of Lazarus. In this narrative, we have Jesus in his human glory. He is perceived to have let down his friend’s family. He weeps for the death of his friend. He prays. But he also teaches. He has purposefully stayed away so that he could give glory to the Father. He teaches about trust and faith. He teaches about prayer.  How do you approach God in prayer? Do you have the confidence that God hears you? How do you accept the answer to those prayers?

        The first Sunday of November is also the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. It is an optional day on the calendar. The Gospel lesson for that day is from the Gospel of Mark. Jesus is asked what is the greatest Commandment. As we have been studying the Ten Commandments in Bible Study, it is appropriate to look at this idea: What is the Greatest Commandment? Jesus says, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There are no other commandments greater than these.” [Mark 12:29-31]. When we look at the Ten Commandments, we see the broad outline of: Worship God, Use God’s Name and Symbols with Respect, Give God Your Time, Respect Authority, Treasure Life, Respect Marriage and Your Sexuality, Respect Other’s Property and Ideas, Speak Only the Truth. Jesus simplified this list to: LOVE. How do you show your love for God in your own life? How do you show your love for yourself? How do you show your love for others?

        On the second Sunday of November, we get to see what is important to Jesus. It is also the Sunday that we are having our Congregational Annual Meeting. Jesus has been engaging with the leaders of the Temple over how they are treating others, which is an ongoing issue in all of society. What is done for show compared to what should be done. In this case, he is watching people going into the Temple and putting money in the treasury. He saw people who had monetary wealth giving large sums. He was not impressed by the amounts they were giving. He also observed a widow giving just two copper coins. This is the person he called his disciples to pay attention to. He was more honored by this widow’s gift because she gave even though she was in need. The wealthy were giving from their excess. The widow from her need. Jesus seems to not like the wealthy very much. There are many instances where Jesus warns those who “have” to share with those who “have not”. Here again is the call to love others as ourselves. To love God. To be aware of our dear neighbor. To reach out. To share.  How are you going to share your time, talents, and treasure with others? How are you going to share your time, talents, and treasure with God; the giver of all good gifts?

        When was the last time you heard that we are in the end times?!? The third Sunday has Jesus warning his followers not to be taken in by people saying the end times are here and not to be afraid if they are. It was predicted so many times. First predictions were in 66-77 AD, then a few more, then in the years between 993-995, then the year 1000. Move ahead many years and predictions later. Then it we were going to end at the turn of the Century (was that 1999, 2000, or 2001 – who knows). Then in 2012 when the Mayan calendar ended. Take a dart and throw it at a calendar and you too can pick a date. We don’t know. We aren’t supposed to know. We have all lived through trials and tribulations and, if we are lucky, we will live through many more. Our job, our goal, is to have faith and trust in God. To stay steady and steadfast in our belief.  How wrapped up in doom and gloom do you get? How much do you let it control your actions and thoughts?

        The last Sunday of November we celebrate the last Sunday in the Church year, Christ the King. The Gospel lesson is from John and does not show Jesus as a King but rather as a prisoner before Pilate. Two different men who act with their power in very different ways. Pilate acts out of fear: fear of the Jews, fear of the crowd, fear of losing face, fear of those in power over him, fear of the unknown. Jesus acts out of love: love for Pilate, love of the Jews, love of the crowd calling for his death, love of truth, love for his Father, love of mankind.  When you are asked about what you believe or when you have to make a stand for something, how do you answer? Do you answer with love and the truth or do you let others sway your stance?



December 2024

“Advent and Beyond”
        Usually, Advent begins the last Sunday of November, but this year the whole of Advent is in December, starting December 1 with the First Sunday of Advent. So, all those Advent Calendars with just 24 days is correct this year! This year all of our Gospel Lessons com from the Gospel of Luke. Come along on the journey, perhaps you will learn something about your relationship with Jesus or perhaps someone will learn something from you through your relationship with Jesus but we always travel in relationship with Jesus!

December 1, 2024 – First Sunday of Advent
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 21 verses 25-36
        The First Sunday in Advent Jesus is warning his followers about the end times when he will return again. He outlines signs and portends of the coming tribulations. An interesting thing is that Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.” Yet, we are still here. He has not returned, yet. 0f course, we all think we are in the end times. The Jews believed that Jesus was coming back soon. Nostradamus foretold the end time on numerous occasions. The world was going to end at the change of the century mark, the world was going to end in 2012. The world is going to end in 10 years, 25 years, 40 years… Jesus flat out tells us that we will not know when this is going to happen. The Father is the only one who knows. Our concern is not to know when it is going to happen, but to be prepared when it does happen. Our concern is to continue the mission he started. Our call is to live the Christian life in love for the Lord and one another.  This week of Advent, practice hope in your Savior.

December 8, 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 3 verses 1-6
        The Second Sunday in Advent we hear from John the Baptist, the foreshadower of Jesus and Jesus’s cousin! While John the Baptist did actually prepare the way for Jesus, we also need to prepare the way for Jesus. We need to prepare ourselves. We need to prepare our friends and families. We need to prepare our neighbors and communities. Not only do we prepare for the coming of Christmas this year but also for the Second Coming of Christ. It is not enough for us to wonder were we celebrating Christmas this year or with whomever we are celebrating with. We need to look forward to the future and where we are going to celebrate eternal life and with whom are we going to be with. We are called to bring all to Christ. To share the peace within ourselves that only comes from knowing the Lord. To live in the peace of Christ.  This week of Advent, practice being at peace within yourself and the world around you.

Sunday, December 15, 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 3 verses 7-18
        The Third Sunday in Advent we are still following John the Baptist as he prepares the people for the coming of the Messiah. He calls the people to repentance and not to depend on who their forefathers were to be saved. He calls them to bear good fruit from the gifts they are given. He calls them to live their vocations with honor. He calls them to mercy, justice, and generosity. These are the fruits that we must bear. This message has been continuous in the Gospels; whether from John the Baptist, St. Paul, St. Peter, or Jesus himself. This kind of life has a natural joy that comes from living the life we are called to in harmony with God’s will for us.  This week of Advent, practice living in the joy that comes from knowing Christ.

December 22, 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 1 verses 39-45 [46-55]
        The Fourth Sunday of Advent we hear the story of Mary going to her cousin Elizabeth in the time of Elizabeth’s confinement. Then we hear the beautiful praise of God by Mary in response to Elizabeth’s greeting. The absolute trust and love that these women, and their men, place in God is astounding. These are not rich and powerful people with a life of ease. These are everyday people who so love God that they allow God to guide their lives freely. At no point does God tell them that their life will be easy or soft if they do these things for him. There is no bargaining with God. There is just obedience coming from their love. How often do we respond to God with this same trust and love? How often do we try to bargain with God? How often do we treat God as a vending machine – we put this into the relationship and I get this back from God?  This week of Advent, practice living in love for God and his many gifts he has given to each of us.

December 29, 2024 – First Sunday of Christmas
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 2 verses 41-52
        The final Sunday in December is the First Sunday of Christmas. Jesus has grown into a twelve your old little boy. I was a parent of three children, one a little boy. If my son had answered me the way Jesus answered Mary, there would be words. I always wonder if the story Luke heard was a bit cleaned up. Think about it. They had traveled a day from Jerusalem. The looked through their friends and relatives for maybe a few hours. They returned to Jerusalem, another day of travel. Then they spend another day looking for him. So, their twelve-year-old son has been lost to them for three days. And his answer to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” This is not an answer any parent wants to hear. They want to hear, I’m sorry, or, I won’t do it again. Luke glosses over the aftermath of this with, “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, …” Luke ends with that Jesus increased in wisdom and in years. And, hopefully, a little more care for his earthly parents! A final thought, it is interesting to look at this Gospel lesson from the beginning of Jesus’s live in comparison to the end of Jesus’s life. His parents search for him for three days just as Jesus was in the tomb for three days.

December 24 / 25, 2024 – Nativity of Our Lord Christmas Day
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 2 verses 1-20
        Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Gospel is the announcement of Jesus to the shepherds by the angels. For me, this is the Christmas Gospel. And I hear it in the voice of Linus from the Peanuts. It is a beautiful lesson. I just suggest you sit with this and think about it.  Our God came as a little baby to bring to the world the gifts of hope, joy, love, and peace.

December 25, 2024 – Nativity of Our Lord Christmas Day
The Gospel Lesson is from John chapter 1 verses 1-14
        The other possible lesson is from John 1:1-14. It is the declaration that Jesus is one with the Father. He was at the beginning of creation and he is the light of the world. He has passed that light to us in baptism. YOU are a light to the world.  Go, light the world in hope, joy, love, and peace.

January 2025

“Epiphany and Beyond”

We hear from three of our four Gospel writers this month. John’s Gospel begins with one of the most quoted verses, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”, but he does not address anything about Jesus’s early life. In the Gospel of Matthew, we get some details of Joseph’s role in caring for Mary and Jesus and protecting them. There is just a paragraph in the Gospel of Mark referring to John the Baptist announcing the coming of the Christ and then Mark jumps to Jesus’s baptism. Luke includes a few more details of Jesus’s youth. It is in the combination of these Gospels that we get a small idea of who Jesus, before he began preaching, was. Interestingly, only two of the Synoptic Gospels include Jesus’s genealogy. Matthew does it at the beginning of the Gospel and Luke does it at Jesus’s baptism.

January 5, 2025 – Epiphany of Our Lord [actual: January 6th]
The Gospel Lesson is from Matthew chapter 2 verses 1-12

We hear the story of the Magi coming to worship Jesus in this Gospel. It is the presentation of Jesus to the Gentile world. The Magi bring gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. Traditionally, we look at these gifts as declarations of Jesus’s Divinity, Kingship, and the Suffering Servant / his death. Frankincense was a perfume used in smoke as a gift to God, gold is worldly riches that was given to kings, myrrh was an antiseptic ointment that was often used for burial purposes. But it is not just about the Magi. It is also about Herod. It is about Herod’s fear and need to hold onto power. Herod is afraid of the potential of a new-born baby. He is so afraid that he lies to the Magi about wanting to worship this baby. Herod is so afraid that he commands his soldiers to kill every Jewish boy child from new-born to two years old in Bethlehem. So, while we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the gifts of the Magi, we are also reminded that there is also pain and suffering in the story of who Jesus was when he walked the earth. There is pain and suffering as we follow in Jesus’s footsteps in our own journey of faith.

January 12, 2025 – Baptism of Our Lord
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 3 verses 15-17, 21-22

A couple of my own thoughts after reading Luke’s Gospel of Jesus’s baptism. First, John’s account of what the Messiah was coming to do sounds a bit scary. Do we really want our Messiah / Savior to be coming with fire? Ready to cast things into unquenchable fire? I wonder about John’s reaction to Jesus because nothing is said about it. Jesus is his cousin; how can Jesus be coming as the Messiah? Is it in the back of John’s mind all the shenanigan they had gotten up to when they were younger? I also wonder if just Jesus heard the voice of the Father and saw the Dove of the Holy Spirit at his baptism? Because, no one else is noted to have reacted. Did Luke get the story from Jesus? One would think, if all these people who were looking for the Messiah and asking John if he was the Messiah and they heard this voice from heaven declaring Jesus as “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” wouldn’t that have made Jesus’s life a little easier to get people to believe in him?

January 19, 2025 – Second Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from John chapter 2 verses 1-11

The third Sunday of January we get the story of the Wedding at Cana. This is a Mary moment of “momma”. I’m a mom. And a grandma to two little girls and soon, two little boys. I look at my son, whose nickname from his friends is “Bear”, who is around 6’6” and pretty big. Dan [although born and raised in California] was raised in a very southern style. He learned his “yes, ma’am’s” and “no, sir’s”, he was an Eagle Scout. But I recognize that “momma” moment of Mary’s. All she expected was for Jesus to do as he was “volun-told”. She tells Jesus about the problem, (they are out of wine) and his “sassy” response, “Woman, why do you involve me?” Note her answer: nothing to him. She just turns to the servants and tells them, “Do whatever he tells you.” And walks away! Jesus is now stuck. She remembers that 12-year-old boy and is giving him some of his own back. Jesus turns water into wine. This is his first miracle. This is his revelation of himself in wine at a common wedding. This is where, although in his mind it was not his time, he fully demonstrated his perfect obedience to his mother, as a human son. He continues in his perfect obedience to his Father, as His Divine Son even to death.

January 26, 2025 – Third Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 4 verses 14-21

The last Sunday of January Jesus is back in his home town. Here Jesus returns to Nazareth and reads from prophet Isaiah in the synagogue. A common happening in their worship. What is not so common is for the reader to sit down and say, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus proclaims himself as being anointed by God “to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” As we continue on the journey through Jesus’s life in the various Gospels, we find these prophecies are actually fulfilled in his life on earth. Even now, how would we react if someone did this in our own assembly? Especially if it was someone we have known for a long time? Would we believe or would we react like those in Nazareth, and drive them out? Would we be in fear of God’s retribution for allowing someone to say this and get away with it? Remember, the Jewish people are under Roman rule. They have lived through various captivities when God has chastised them before. Try as we might, it is difficult to listen to someone say astounding things and just let it pass; especially if we have known the person for a long time. These people have watched Jesus grow up. They probably remember Jesus wandering off when he was 12 and causing his parents worry. They probably remember Jesus and his cousin John running around town as kids. They surely remember Jesus working in Joseph’s carpenter shop. We don’t expect this kind of behavior from some kid we watched grow up. We know we are special enough to have this happen to us in our lives. But we need to remember we are special enough. God chose to create you just as you are. God loves you unconditionally, just as you are. Jesus died for you so you could hear and believe the Good News.

February 2025


“Being a Prophet”

February 2, 2025 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 4 verses 21-30

This first Sunday of February continues last Sunday’s Gospel lesson. Jesus is still in his home town of Nazareth and is preaching in the synagogue. People are amazed and in awe of his preaching, until they stop and think, this is Joseph’s son; we watched him grow up; how can HE be telling us anything?!? Then they get angry, to the point where they try to throw him from a cliff. Why? Because he reminds them that God is not “owned” by them. God’s love and care cannot be limited to just them. God loves and cares for the “other” in this world. We are called to do the same. We are challenged to love and care for those we don’t understand, who are seen as “less than”. We are called to care for and to share God’s love with the poor, ill, hurting, disregarded, shunned, and the different. We are called to something higher than society’s judgement; we are called to live and care and work and love by God’s judgement which is always layered with love and mercy.

February 9, 2025 – Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 5 verses 1-11


In this Gospel passage we have the calling of Simon, James, and John. This is different from the other Gospel’s telling of the story. This time Jesus begins by preaching and using Simon’s boat to preach from. He then sends them out to fill their nets again. They receive a great catch and Simon in his humility, begs Jesus to leave him since he is a sinful man. Jesus tells Simon to come with him and he will make him a catcher of people. And they lift with Jesus. This is the same thing that occurs at Worship. Jesus calls us to community, so we come to the church. We greet one another in hospitality just as Simon welcomes Jesus into his boat. We take time in humility and sorrow to ask Jesus for forgiveness just as Simon does. We follow Jesus in obedience as we pray and partake in Holy Communion just as Simon did in going out to fish again. Then we are called to risk all we have to follow Jesus just like Simon. We are told each week at the end of the service to, “Go in peace, share the good news.” in some form and this is what we try to do when we live out the Gospel message of love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion and share this message with others.


February 16, 2025 – Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 6 verses 17-26

The third Sunday of February we hear Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. Luke places Jesus on a plain rather than a mount as he is in Matthew’s Gospel. Living in Arizona, I can understand that Jesus could be both on a mount and a plain at the same time. The mesas of the southwest are found as a flat place on the top of a hill or mountain. Luke focuses on four themes within his presentation of the Beatitudes and he pairs them with four “woes” to show counterpoint to the blessings: poor vs rich, hungry vs full, weeping vs laughing/mourning, hated vs being spoken of well. Both the blessings and the warnings end with the idea of how prophets were treated: good prophets got the blessings false prophets got the warnings. Just as Jesus was rejected as a “prophet” in his hometown at the beginning of the month, we need to be aware of when we are being a good prophet and how we are treated. But we also need to be mindful when we are being addressed by a good prophet, even when they are not who we would expect.

Sunday, February 23, 2025 – Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
The Gospel Lesson is from Luke chapter 6 verses 27-38


Jesus can be quite radical in his teachings. Today’s Gospel is just one example. He starts out telling his followers to turn the other cheek, and to give up their shirt. These are actually quite radical for the times. There were limits on how you could punish those under you. You could only hit with the back of an open left hand. By turning your cheek, it prevents a second hit. It was sinful for a person, other than a spouse, or doctor, etc., to see someone unclothed. The sin would be on the one seeing not the one unclothed. Therefore, if someone takes your cloak removing your shirt also, now becomes a problem. Jesus does not want his followers to be doormats. He wants them to be like him. Jesus was strong, forgiving, merciful, understanding, and loving. Jesus was also willing to stand up for what is right in God’s eyes, give his life for others, and address social issues of the time. Jesus calls all of us to that radical love where we love and pray for our enemies, where we do not judge a person, where we are kind, forgiving and merciful. And because we believe in a God of abundance: we will receive more kindness, forgiveness, and mercy from God. So, go, be a prophet of a kind, loving, forgiving, and merciful God.