Author: MASadmin

Sermon: A Bigger Table is How We Own Our Life

7 When [Jesus] noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host, 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 14:1,7-14

My sermon from the 12th Sunday after Pentecost (August 31, 2025) on Luke 14:1,7-14.

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Tyler Yan is a stay-at-home dad and tiktoker who regularly posts videos of what he makes for his daughter’s lunch. Each video begins with a focused shot on an empty metal bento box sitting on a white kitchen counter waiting to be filled. As a person who has been making school lunches for years, I’m always looking for ways to spice up what my kids bring to school. But what Tyler puts in his kid’s lunch box puts my lunch making skills to shame. I’d like to share with you a short list of some of the recent lunches he’s posted on Tiktok. A few days ago, he packed for his daughter some herb baked salmon over sesame rice with sliced cucumbers, edamame, yellow dragon fruit, and half an avocado on the side. Prior to that, she feasted on a wagyu burger with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and swiss cheese on a gluten-free bun. Last week, the bento box was packed with an arugula salad under some filet mignon and included jasmine rice, shitake mushrooms, and a little gourmet chocolate for dessert. But my personal favorite was the fish tacos made out of fresh fried snapper with mango coleslaw, cilantro lime rice, and a side of freshly cut dragonfruit for dessert. Each lunch looks like a literal piece of art and you can almost taste it off the screen. Yet what I also really enjoy the most about these videos are all the comments people leave. Unlike the rest of the internet, the vast majority of those words are extremely positive, celebrating the food he made. And one thing I think is very cool is how many simply post a question wondering if they could become one of his daughters too. The beauty, grace, and joy at his table make all kinds of people want to be a part of it. And that makes sense because the meals we share are about more than simply giving our body the nutrients it needs to survive. Meals are events where care is offered, love is shared, and where people who don’t always see eye-to-eye with one another have to sit down together and chew. We want to be at the table where good meals are found. And in today’s reading from the gospel according to Luke, Jesus invites us to remember how being at God’s table changes every other table we have. 

Now the meal Jesus was invited to probably resembled the kind of dinner parties popular in the Greco-Roman world at the time. The first order of business when guests arrived was for the lowest person on the social totem poll to wash their feet. That person might have been a servant, a slave, or one of the host’s younger children. And once the dirt, dust, and grime was wiped away, everyone would be invited to take their seat. Those seats, though, wouldn’t be chairs since the ancient Mediterranean world was all about stretching out on something resembling a chaise lounge. These couches were arranged at the center of the room within easy access to individual tables, trays, or a long plank where food would be placed. One thing that made these couches different, though, was they weren’t designed to seat only one. Each couch had space for three or four people to recline. Folks would lean on their left elbow and contort their body so their right hand could grab food while their feet pointed away from one another. During the meal, the enslaved or servants or maybe some of the hosts’ youngest daughters would be busy picking up plates, filling glasses, and making sure none of the food ran out. And that’s because this meal wasn’t designed to go fast. It was a long, slow event where everyone could be seen. 

Now it wasn’t enough to simply be at the party; everyone needed to see that you were there. Whenever Jesus or anyone else drew near, it was even expected for the neighbors to look out their window to see who was on the guestlist. These guests, though, weren’t only there to be noticed; they also had a lot people watching to do on their own. Paying attention to who was talking to whom, where people were sitting, who was in that room with and who wasn’t helped people recognize how other people saw them. And when they took their seats, where they sat in relation to the host of the party reflected their social status and prestige. Those nearest the host would, most likely, be the rich, the successful, those with power, those who we’d like to be, and those who the host wanted to impress. Getting on their good side was important because they were the ones who might give them a job, join in on some financial endeavor, or offer some kind of gift that would make other people feel jealous since the so-called “right kind of people” knew their name. Who we’re with often determines how much admiration, care, and attention other people give. And in a world where how others saw you determined your worth, being seen reclining on the right couch really mattered. Who you lounged with influenced what your tomorrow might be. And if you claimed a spot others felt you didn’t deserve, the harm to your reputation would last for a long time. We might think that, today, we’re beyond this kind of behavior. But all we need to do is turn on our tv and open up our social media feeds to see how much we care about being seen. For some, it’s more important to be seen as strong rather than having the character, integrity, and values that make us strong in the first place. Others care so much about being liked by the right kind of people and disliked by those they despise that they let their perspective determine their truths rather than letting the truth shape who they choose to be. When we assume we can look at someone and without hearing their story decide they’re unworthy to be at our table, we make our world incredibly small. And when we act as if every one of our moments are picture perfect; that we are always at the top of our game; and that the only thing we do in life is win – the reality we actually move through is completely pretend. When we let our worth, value, and sense of self be defined primarily by what others see, then our life doesn’t belong to us. Now Jesus, at that dinner party 2000 years ago, could have told the host, the guests, and everyone in that room that their worth was primarily defined by the love God already had for them. But instead of telling them who they are, he invited them to change their lives by living as if everyone truly mattered to God. We don’t have to live as if being seen is what makes our life worth living. We can, instead, just be and notice how expansive God’s love always is. When we intentionally expand our guest list and choose to not think too highly of ourselves; when we let others sit in the places where we want to be and focus on the care we can give; it’s at those moments when this life becomes our own. Integrity, honesty, humility, and grace are a big part of how life should be lived. And when embrace them, the meal God has already set for us comes clearer into view. It’s through baptism, the gift of faith, and those times when Jesus became real to you – when we notice the place at the table God has made for us. And this place isn’t in the back or off to the side or even below those folks we know are way more faithful than we could ever be. The seat God has given to you is at the table where the Son of God sits. The desire to be seen will always be very hard for us to shake but trust that you are worth way more than the amazing – and not so amazing – lunches you get to serve. God’s table is big enough to include folks like you. And so we, in response, can make our own meals and our own tables bigger so that they better reflect who our God chooses to be. 

Amen.

Sermon: Sabbaths are Always More than A Break

10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it to water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.

Luke 13:10-17

My sermon from the 11th Sunday after Pentecost (August 24, 2025) on Luke 13:10-17.

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One of the interesting things about having the same cell phone number I signed up for my freshman year of college is that most people don’t know what to do when a random 607 number shows up on their phone. The people who don’t have me saved in their contacts usually respond in two ways. First, I’ll be immediately sent to voicemail where I leave a message I hope doesn’t sound as awkward to them as it does to me. The second way folks respond, which happens way less, is they actually pick up and begin with a “hello” that feels like a question and an accusation all at the same time. They assume the number labeled “Binghamton, New York” interrupting their day must be some kind of scam. And with that one word, we sum up our collective angst, frustration, and unhappy acceptance that being negatively interrupted is simply a part of life. Every time we sit down, take a breath, or pick up a book, there’s always a dog that needs to be walked, a cat who wants to be fed, a child asking us what their favorite youtube video is to call, and a series of notifications from countless apps telling us to get up, sit down, buy something, or to watch this video designed to make our blood boil. Our attention and focus are a currency that’s always in circulation and there’s someone or thing promising their interruption will be the one that finally makes us whole and complete. Some days, all we want is a few moments for our soul to be completely undivided and directed towards what we’re supposed to do. But then a presence, a vibe, or a person interrupts us and we suddenly discover we are made for so much more. 

I like to imagine today’s reading from the gospel according to Luke to be a kind of interruption within an interruption. Jesus’ climatic journey from Galilee to Jerusalem brought him into towns and villages where his mere presence interrupted their daily life. All of the sudden, their curiosity, their questions, their conflicts, and their needs came pouring out. When the kingdom of God shows up, life happens. And it was during weekly sabbath worship in a synagogue when an unnamed woman walked in while Jesus was speaking. Now it was a tradition for communities in Jesus’ day to invite religious leaders and traveling rabbis to read a piece of scripture and offer their own teaching and interpretation during worship. Unlike other stories in Luke, we’re not told which piece of scripture Jesus read out loud or what, exactly, he was teaching. What we hear instead is how a woman’s presence interrupted him. She is, from our perspective, a bit of a mystery. We don’t know her name, her age, if she had a family or if she spent her days begging for food in the marketplace. We don’t even know what caused her to be bent though some biblical commentators speculate the bones in her spine fused together, leading to long years spent stiff, exhausted, and in chronic pain. The life she lived could have been incredibly isolating as she managed her condition as well as dealing with those who acted as if she had brought all of this onto herself. The more bent her body became, the smaller her world grew and I wish we heard what was going through her mind when she went to worship that day. Did she know Jesus would be there? Was she frustrated by how late she knew she would be since her body moved so slow? Did she almost give up going to synagogue at all? Or was it a community that felt like home since the text doesn’t act as if people were surprised, angry, or upset that she was there? We have no idea if she came to worship that day expecting her life to be interrupted. But when Jesus saw her – her presence interrupted whatever he was about to say. And he could do nothing less than notice her, pay attention, discern her entire story, and interrupt her life with compassion, hope, and love. 

Yet it’s at that moment when the grumbling started. It appeared a religious leader and probably others within the community weren’t thrilled with what they just saw. Now the healing wasn’t the issue. Rather, what bothered them was when the healing happened. I’ll admit that sounds a little weird but I also think we should give the grumblers a little slack. They had, faithfully and spiritually, come up with a rhythm for the sabbath that interrupted their ordinary day. Instead of being in the field, the marketplace, or out in a boat catching some fish, they were spending time away from what they usually do to listen to God and to one another. The sabbath, then, was a moment when the regular interruptions of our lives were pushed aside so our undivided attention could be directed towards the One who made us, loves us, and who is always with us. What the grumblers imagined the Sabbath did was interrupt our interruptions so we could just be. The Sabbath was a break from our  so-called “normal” but it wouldn’t, necessarily, interrupt things as they already were. Jesus, however, saw the Sabbath as something more. It isn’t merely a rest or a pause to help us manage everything that comes next. The sabbath is an interruption meant to break through everything that doesn’t give us life. When God paused during the story of creation, God wasn’t merely taking a breath before getting back to doing what God always does. Instead, God was inserting into the world a promise that you are always more than what you do. You are not only what happens to do you. And your illness, your schedule, your situation, your condition, and all the interruptions that take you out of your life is not the limit of who you are. You are a beloved child of God, created to be known, seen, and loved. And the sabbath is for you in ways the rest of the week is not. Now experiencing the Sabbath might require us to purposefully stop what we’re doing instead of seeing this day as an opportunity to do some yardwork or start one more load of laundry. But this could also be a moment when we choose to not let our interruptions interrupt the gifts God has given us. We can let the Sabbath be a picture for what life can be and wonder what kind of interruptions we – and those around us – need to break the pain, suffering, anger, and loneliness that does its best to consume us. The Sabbath is meant to be a moment of compassion and care that does more than simply prepare us for the week that comes. It, instead, transforms it because God’s love for you changes everything into something new. We don’t always know when a phone call or a notification or an event or an experience or when a million other things will suddenly interrupt our day. But we can embrace the interruption God gives us in the Sabbath because wholeness is God’s wish for you and for the world. Life isn’t meant to exhaust us nor are we called to exhaust and use up the lives of those around us. Instead, God’s mercy and hope interrupts all our lives so that we can discover just how life-giving we can be. 

Amen.

Sermon: Jesus is the Storm

49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:
father against son
    and son against father,
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Jesus 12:49-56

My sermon from the 10th Sunday after Pentecost (August 17, 2025) on Luke 12:32-40.

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I haven’t been able to visit the shore very often this summer but I recently stood on the Ocean City boardwalk when a thunderstorm rolled in. It was early in the evening so most people had already left the beach and returned to find dinner or visit the amusement park. The increasing cloud cover as well as the setting of the sun made the air feel eerie when the street lights unexpectedly turned on. I couldn’t really tell which way the clouds were moving and so my youngest and I joined everyone who were waiting to be entertained for thirty seconds at a time by a variety of mechanical rides. It was long, though, before a light drizzle signaled what was already on its way. After a few rights, I convinced her to take the festivities to an indoor arcade since I suspected that the nearby lighting strikes might force the amusement park to close for the night. I assumed it was going to pour at any moment but, luckily, most of the storm stayed to the north. When it was finally time to head back to where we were staying, the northern sky was lit up with all kinds of flashes of light as a giant cloud moved out over the ocean. Storms have a way of disrupting our plans and our expectations. And yet they’re also kind of necessary to make sure all plants, animals, and even human beings have the water they need to survive. The presence of storms along the horizon often shape the lives we get to live. And I wonder if Jesus’ words today from the gospel according to Luke were meant to show us how Jesus’ presence is its own kind of storm that transforms who we get to be in the world. 

Now I’ll admit that Jesus’ words today aren’t the ones we paint on a piece of reclaimed wood and hang in our family room. It’s pretty hard to faithfully connect the Jesus we call Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, King of Kings, and the Prince of Peace with the One who also promises division and pain. The church has for a long time struggled with this passage and even Ambrose, the Bishop of Milian 1600 years ago, wrote “are we to believe that [Jesus] has commanded discord within families? …How does [this Jesus] say, ‘My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you,’ if he has come to separate [children] from [parents] and [parents] from [children]…” We have, over the centuries, either ignored passages like this or used them to attack those we disagree with. And there are plenty of folks in our own country today who relish these words since they think they’re the ones who won’t get burnt. When it comes to our own practices of faith, we prefer a Jesus who is a little more graceful, comfortable, and caring. We need a Jesus who overcomes the divisions of our world and who gives us a sense of calm when our lives come tumbling down. When things are truly difficult and hard, the Jesus we pray to pats us on the back, holds us, blesses us, and knows we’ve truly tried our best. The One we turn to in our private and public devotions isn’t the One who splits families apart. And so what can we do with the Jesus who acts as if he’s a storm breaking into our lives and our world? 

It’s possible, though, that this metaphor of a storm actually helps reveal a little bit of what Jesus was trying to say. Over these last few weeks, we’ve heard him share a variety of stories, parables, and teachings during his climactic journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Some of his words were shared with those who begged him to intervene on their behalf while others were mostly curious and simply wanted to know how to pray. Jesus regularly talked about our need to be generous, inviting us to see God moving in our world, and inviting us to let compassion guide what we say and do. But making the time to follow Jesus isn’t easy since our possessions, our greed, our desire for comfort, our lust for power, and our lack of imagination often gets in the Way. Yet the God who is willing to show up in our lives and in our world is always going to be a disruptive act. Every healing and all the ways Jesus let those around him know they are seen and loved interrupts the limits we place on our lives and on our world. Jesus, then, really is his own kind of storm – a storm of grace, mercy, and hope that changes our expectations and assumptions. His presence will always upend the ways we let faith, culture, and tradition decide who matters and who doesn’t. As much as we’d like Jesus to bring about a kind of peace triumphing over all the division in our world, we – I think – are the ones who chose to remain divided since the status quo gives us a sense of purpose, status, and control. Being divided lets us assume that God’s promises are really only for the very few. And so we hoard what we have; marginalize those we don’t understand; and act as if other people are the sinners while we are saints who just occasionally make a few mistakes. Jesus’s words, then, are a kind of proclamation of holy frustration with the lives we choose to live. But it’s also a kind of promise that knows this isn’t the limit of what life can be about. Since we are loved; since we are part of God’s holy family; and because we are worthy of a God willing to live, love, die, and rise again – we get to push through our divisions and towards a more eternal unity where mercy and forgiveness is at the center of who we are. 

The fire Jesus described was less hellfire and more a refining fire – the kind blacksmiths use to turn rock into a strong and precious metal. It’s the kind of fire Mary, Jesus’ mother, sang out loud with the promise that Jesus’ presence will scatter the proud and fill the hungry with good things. John the Baptist, when he baptized Jesus, noted how his presence will divide us from our self-centeredness and towards each other with a deep love and care. And it’s this same fire that fueled the long list of faithful ancestors sketched out in our reading from Hebrews who served God and their neighbor during times that were uncomfortable, challenging, and required them to imagine life beyond the status quo. They lit fires of love in big and small ways that pushed back the cloud of gloom and hatred which always try to divide us. They are part of the great cloud of witnesses which include those who’ve personally fed our faith and souls. What made each of them stand apart was the way they chose to be like Jesus and show us what a storm full of God’s love will always do. And while it isn’t always easy to figure out exactly what this kind of storm looks like, the holy fires of love will always save the weak, support the orphan, make a difference in the lives of those we declare to be our enemies, and are the sacrifices we make so everyone in need can thrive. This work we do will never be perfect and we won’t always get it right. But Jesus trusts this is something we can do since through Him, in Him, and because of Him, we are a part of that great cloud of witnesses showing everyone what a holy storm of mercy, compassion, and love can do in our own lives and in our world. 

Amen. 

Sermon: How Jesus Makes You More than Just You

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Luke 12:32-40

My sermon from the 9th Sunday after Pentecost (August 10, 2025) on Luke 12:32-40.

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One of the stories I shared with my children this week was what flying was like before every seat included its own TV screen and every hand had a smartphone or tablet. There was a time when our entertainment was primarily whatever book, newspaper, or crossword puzzle we brought with us. If our flight was long or fancy, we could fight for an aisle seat to watch a faded out movie projected onto a small pull-down screen at the far end of the plane. We didn’t get to pick the movie and our over-the-ear headphones didn’t always plug in easily into our armrest. And if the snack cart was in the aisle or there were folks standing in the aisle waiting for the bathroom, we missed seeing whatever happened on the screen. We might also choose on the flight to do a little work using paper or notepads, sleep, or even chat with the person sitting next to us. But I spent most of the time as a passenger on a plane simply bored for hours at a time. This boredom, though, wasn’t awful since we got to be part of a  temporary community who could be bored together. And being together while so many others worked to bring us to our destination was a gift we didn’t always recognize. It took centuries of people investing their time, energy, imagination, success, and failures to allow two hundred people to be bored while hanging out in a thin metal cylinder 37,000 feet above the ground. Countless people we’ve never met or even seen make flying something we do. But we often struggle recognizing how taking a trip isn’t an individual event we do all on our own. Our language around taking vacations, flying, and traveling focuses primarily on what we do since it really does take a lot of work and resources to spend a few days living our life somewhere else. And while at least one of us here at CLC can fly a commercial jet, we all occasionally act as if being on a plane with others is more an inconvenience rather than a communal event. The little screens in our hands or the one in the seat in front of us that lets us pick a movie or show no one else on that plane will watch reinforces the assumption we’re merely individuals going through life on our own. And I wonder if Jesus’ words today from the gospel according to Luke are more than simply encouraging individuals to act as if our place in the kingdom of God depends on what we say and do. Instead, it’s about what we get to do since we’re already part of a community that’s so much bigger than ourselves. 

So over these last few weeks, we’ve spent time traveling with Jesus as he took the scenic route from Galilee to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus’ journey brought him into urban settings where people were excited – or nervous – to see him. He made time during his journey to teach, often using metaphors, images, and stories to upend our expectations of how the world should be. And while some of these thoughts could be really long and involved, Jesus would also use shorter phrases one-after-the-other to push us into something new. In the passage we just read, we heard God and Jesus described in multiple ways that change who we get to be in the world. It began with Jesus describing his friends as a flock. Now being a flock implies a couple of things. First, we can’t be a flock on our own. A flock requires us to be part of a group whether we realize that or not. This flock, though, isn’t merely a community bouncing around as it wanders from place to place: it is a flock with a shepherd. The Bible often uses the image of the shepherd for God or as a metaphor for how leaders should act in the world. But in Jesus’ day, shepherds were viewed with suspicion since they worked a job out in the fields that no one in so-called “right” society would ever do themselves. The shepherd for this community, though, was someone who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty while dealing with the messiness of life. This work, however, was an act of generosity since God brings us into the kingdom of God. At first glance, Jesus’ words might imply this gift comes to us after we sell our possessions and do whatever we assume a faithful person should do. Jesus’ words, however, don’t include any “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kind of transaction. Instead, Jesus simply says we’re in the flock and so the selling of possessions, the giving of alms, and making sacrifices so others can thrive isn’t about gaining our place with God. It is, instead, trusting that God keeps God’s promise. This doesn’t mean, however, there won’t be times when we fear, worry, anxiety, or frustrations will make us feel as if we are unloved by God. What Jesus’ promises is that those feelings and days won’t be the limit of what it means to be with our God. The God who is willing to embrace the fullness of our lives is the same God who is already holding us in an eternal community who get to make God’s love real in our world. 

Now seeing ourselves as more than simply individuals finding our way in the world, continued in the two short parables Jesus added. In the first story, Jesus described an enslaver returning home from a party to find those he enslaved ready to serve. Even though slavery was considered normal in Jesus’ day, acting as if Jesus is the slave master in this parable isn’t easy to hold since slavery allows some to inflict violence on the bodies of so many others. Jesus’ words, though, point to the ways how Jesus’ presence can change the ways we live together. When the enslaver arrived home, he chose to do what we wouldn’t do by giving up his power to serve those at the bottom of the social ladder. They were ready not because they said the right things, prayed the right prayers, and never did anything wrong. What they did was embrace Jesus’ call to trust that they really were part of the kingdom of God. Living as if Jesus’ words are true is more than simply holding onto a series of beliefs swirling around in our heads. Being ready is about living as if there is always room in our lives and in our world for more hope, care, support, and love. And this is expressed through the connections that bind us to God and to one another. That doesn’t mean life is meant to be easy or that a faithful person is one who pretends as if fear, anxiety, and worry don’t make it feel as if joy has been stolen from us. But the One who has broken into our lives to show exactly how abundant, generous, and full life can be is the One who has already promised to never let us go. In your baptism, through faith, and in the grace God gives you everyday – you are more than just you. You are a beloved child of God and part of a holy community that stretches from here to beyond the stars. And while so much of our culture and what we teach our children implies how everything depends on the individual choices we make, we are part of a flock of love that is still with us even during those moments when we’re overwhelmed or completely bored. We, as individuals, are not the only things that determine what our future gets to be. Jesus reminds us that whose we are shapes who we are and that we do nothing on our own. Instead, we are wrapped up in the arms of Jesus who is taking us through the journey of life and into a more precious destination where love, grace, and hope becomes a home for us and for all.    

Amen.

Sermon: Wealth and how Silence Can Show the Power of Jesus’ Words

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13-21

My sermon from the 8th Sunday after Pentecost (August 3, 2025) on Luke 12:13-21.

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There are a bunch of different tricks we can use to dig deeper into the stories – the parables – Jesus shared. We can, for example, imagine the entire scene in our head, creating a visual map that lets us know who – or what – is at the center of it all. If, however, we struggle using our imagination in this way, we can choose to figure out the parts of these similar-to-the-real-world stories that feel a bit odd. Figuring that out can be difficult since what was strange to people living in ancient Israel and Palestine 2000 years ago might fly right by us. What we might do instead is pause and focus on the actual words Jesus used. We can circle all the verbs since faith, like love, is meant to be alive and so the activity within Jesus’ words can reveal how God is already moving in our world. Or we might pay attention to the pronouns – all the I’s and you’s, the he’s and she’s, the mine and theirs that serve as a window into what Jesus chose to say. These are just some of the different methods we use to enter into the stories Jesus told. And the fact we get to do this shows why Jesus used stories in the first place. The parables Jesus shared with those during his public ministry provide an opportunity for us to dwell over an extended period of time with holy words spoken by the Son of God himself. And yet I wonder if – maybe – there are times when what Jesus chose not to say also gives his words their power. 

When Jesus introduced the rich man, he invited us to let our imaginations run wild. This isn’t, I think, very hard since someone always owns way more vacation homes than we do. We’re surrounded by those who we imagine have a fancier car, a bigger house, and whose financial difficulties look nothing like our own. The rich might have their issues but the anxieties and fears that keep us awake at night are not what a truly rich person has. And that, I think, is a pretty good description for the rich man in Jesus’ story. They began with a lot – and, over time, turned that amount into so much more. His wealth, like a lot of the wealth in the ancient world, was rooted in the land itself. We’re told he had a piece of property – and the property produced abundantly. We shouldn’t assume, of course, that he worked the land himself. He already had a gaggle of merchants, employees, hired hands, and slaves doing the management and physical work for him. Those who heard this story for the first time assumed all those people were within Jesus’ words but he was completely silent about them. We don’t hear about tenants, servants, overseers, and the enslaved doing the planting, weeding, shepherding, harvesting, and selling. All we hear is about this man – whose ownership, status, and investment – gave him permission to act like he was the one who did it all. The dirt on other people’s hands and the sweat they poured into the ground was merely an extension of himself. There exists a hierarchy of worth that places those with wealth above everyone else. And that’s because we let those who make investments define what belongs to who. And so, without saying a word, every person, hardship, struggle, moment of suffering, and when someone in that field did something amazing – everyone vanished from the story because everything belonged – and was defined – by him. That’s why, I think, his inner monologue was so full of the pronouns “I” and “mine.” All he saw was the abundance of his stuff since those who generated the abundance were silent in the first place. The work of other people’s hands became his own and his only response was to wonder where he could put all he claimed to create. In his mind, the only thing there was – was him. And he lived that out by claiming a future he created, maintained, and built all on his own. 

Now if Jesus’ silence was only about the rich man’s inability to see how he was part of something so much bigger than himself, we could keep this parable safe and manageable. It was, after all, the rich man’s inner monologue which revealed how imperfect he was. When he discovered he had way more than his daily bread, he didn’t ask anyone else or even God about what he should do. The rich man’s perspective and world was so small, it didn’t have room for gratitude, thankfulness, or trust in anything else. He is, then, a template of what we shouldn’t be and we can easily check that off by including God whenever generosity comes our way. But there’s one other part of this story that Jesus is completely silent about. Nowhere in the text does he imply that the rich man gained his wealth by unjust means. That doesn’t mean his use of enslaved labor and exploitation was somehow good. Rather, the person whose world only included themselves grew their wealth by taking an initial investment and, over time, growing it into something more. As much as we’d love to win the lotto or maybe discover there really is a Nigerian prince who will give us their entire fortune, how the rich man generated their wealth matches the kind of wealth generation we practice today. We, in a multitude of ways, take money, park it in a series of investments where other people do the work, and turn it into more wealth for us. It’s a practice that shapes the investments held by our church, by the Ricci Foundation who supports our Special Gifts fund, and is even what I’m doing while planning for my far off future retirement. Taking a little today so we can create a future that is more merry and bright doesn’t feel as if it should be something God would declare silly and foolish. Yet Jesus, throughout the gospel according to Luke, described any kind of wealth as a – in the words of Rev. Dr. Jennifer Wyant – “barrier and a distraction to following God because it makes us focus on the wrong things.” That’s why Jesus told those with more than their daily bread they already had what all there is for them and that it would be easier for a camel to literally pass through the eye of a needle than for them to enter the kingdom of heaven. It’s why Jesus told a story about guests being invited to a banquet who refused to attend because they had lands and families to support and then told a rich young man to sell all they had and give the money to the poor if they’d wish to inherit eternal life. Like the rich man in this story – and even the brother in the crowd fighting over his inheritance – wealth can trick us into trusting that the silence at the heart of the unknowable future can be broken by what we do today. And while there is value in intentionally having, maintaining, and creating a financial floor for ourselves and others so we all can sleep silently through the night, our future isn’t as controllable as we’d like it to be. When our money, wealth, and stuff become the source of what our tomorrow might be, it doesn’t take much – an illness, a lost job, a broken relationship, an untimely death – to bring everything down. Our possessions and our wealth cannot – and will not – save us. But the God who sees you, the God who loves you, the God who is with you, and the God who – in baptism and through faith – has already built an eternal future of mercy and grace for you – will not give up on you. And while we cannot fully control what tomorrow might bring, we can trust, follow, love, serve, and choose to not let what we – and what other people – possess define us. We can, instead, seek after God’s kingdom and, in the process, show ourselves and others what it truly means to treasure God. 

Amen.

Sermon: Lord’s Prayer as Spiritual Warmup

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, may your name be revered as holy.
    May your kingdom come.
3     Give us each day our daily bread.
4     And forgive us our sins,
        for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? 13 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:1-13

My sermon from the 7th Sunday after Pentecost (July 27, 2025) on Luke 11:1-13.

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8 days ago, my family and I attended a memorial for a friend who passed away last year. Seth was an amazing person who knew practically everyone which is why his remembrance was being held in a theater in Brooklyn. The event began with a heartfelt welcome from his wife who planned to share more words later on. But before we could hear stories and reflections from those who knew him best, we were first invited to please stand up. Now one of the things to know about Seth is that he was a professional clown. He and his wife spent over two decades performing in circuses, at street festivals, and dazzling audiences all over the world with incredible sold out shows. They never wore full clown makeup and preferred using acrobatics, props, whimsy, and humor to bring joy to others. In the years immediately after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2002, Seth had organized and created a home-grown circus that traveled from village to village through the war-torn countryside. The work he and others did empowered individuals to claim their humanity in the face of all kinds violence, suffering, and sorrow. It’s a circus that is still active today even after the Taliban returned to power. And many of the acts and routines Seth brought to life are still going strong. So we, at the memorial, began the event by doing – together – the circus’ warm-up routine. I’m going to do my best to replicate it now and – if you’d like – feel free to stand up and do it with me. We begin by taking our right arm and slowly sort of punch the air while counting: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. Make sure to keep the rhythm steady and try really hard to not speed up. We then switch and do the same thing with our left: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. Next, we kick out with our right leg: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. And then we do the same with our left: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. With our limbs feeling loose, we now do our whole body at the same time: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. I think we’ve got a handle on it so let’s do the whole thing two more times – but faster. 

Right arm: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Left arm: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Right leg: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Left leg: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

The body: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Now even faster!

Right arm: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Left arm: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Right leg: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10.

Left leg: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Everything together: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10. 

Congratulations. We’re ready for the circus. 

But before we rush to whatever comes next, let’s pay attention to our body and our spirit. Maybe we feel a bit looser, more relaxed, a tad silly, and even a bit surprised since we didn’t expect to see ourselves, those around us, and me up here in my alb shaking way more than we usually do on a Sunday morning. When our bodies move in an enthusastic, freeing, and unexpected way, we’re doing more than preparing ourselves for whatever might come next. We’re also opening ourselves to the possibility that the joy, laughter, fun, and hope we share with others might be available to us too. Warming ourselves up for what can be while living through everything as it truly is – empowers us to grab onto a love and grace that pushes us into something more. And I wonder if, maybe, the words we heard Jesus share were an invitation for us to do the same. Prayer doesn’t need to only be a list of complaints we make to upper management or a wishlist turning God into some kind of cosmic Santa Claus. Prayer is, instead, an opportunity to discover the God who is with us no matter what comes next. Prayer is a conversation, an experience, and an event where we get to be completely ourselves. And that’s because God has empowered us, through baptism and faith, to be authentically who we truly are. That means we get to ask and wonder, dream and imagine, complain and rage as we wonder why the beauty of life is often overcome with so much pain and sorrow. God wants us to name what breaks our heart before we downplay it by recognizing how others have it worse. God knows our prayers won’t necessarily be answered in the ways we expect and that they won’t always stay the same since life has a habit of changing our prayers while we go through so much joy and grief. Yet the God who was willing to go through Christmas and to discover what it means to be vulnerable, helpless, and to need other people’s love – is a God who wants us to realize just how known we truly are. God knows your hurts. God knows what makes you smile. God knows the anxiety that wakes you before the dawn breaks and the fears that keep you up way too late. And while our God knows all these things, that doesn’t mean God wants us to act as if some are worthy of care while others are not. God, instead, chooses to empower you to trust that you really are part of what God is doing in the world. And that, I think, is what opens us to something that is incredibly powerful and unbelievably humbling all at the same time. You, really are, loved by God  – and we, together, can become who God knows we can be. 

And so I wonder if the Lord’s prayer could be a kind of holy warmup rather than something we only say at the end of a long day. Jesus’ words invite us to recognize how we truly are rooted in something so much bigger than ourselves. No where in Jesus’ prayer does he invite us to cling to an “I” or a “me” that is entitled to God’s favor at the expense of everyone else. We, instead, are called to remember that God’s kingdom – not ours – will always be what’s holy and true. God’s kingdom is where everyone receives their daily bread and where our spiritual and material debts are forgiven, while we make sure to practice the same. And when we find ourselves living through trials and hardships that break our soul, we can remember how we are being held in an ever loving embrace that will never let us go. Keeping ourselves open to the fact that God’s love really is for us and for the world isn’t always easy which is why a little warmup is sometimes necessary for us to remember who we get to be. And while that warm up might include moving our arms, legs, and our entire body in ways that feel a bit awkward, silly, and even a little funny – we can also warm up our spirit with a prayer we say out loud or hold deeply in our hearts. The Jesus who is Emmanuel – God-with-us – is truly with you. And may he continue to empower us to live out a holy kind of grace and joy that opens us to the incredible life-giving love God offers to all. 

Amen.

Sermon: We Welcome Because We’re Welcomed

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42 but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

My sermon from the 6th Sunday after Pentecost (July 20, 2025) on Luke 10:38-42.

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Two Saturdays ago, Oliver and I headed to the NJ Expo Center in Edison for this year’s Collect-a-con. Collect-a-con is a traveling Pokemon and Anime convention where people meet all kinds of artists, actors, and youtube streamers while buying and selling all kinds of little pieces of shiny cardboard. Since this was my first time attending the convention and there weren’t any special guests we wanted an autograph from, I figured we’d miss any line if we arrived an hour after the doors officially opened. This, though, was a mistake and when we neared the convention hall, the line of cars stretched far and wide. We decided to go the last mile by foot and so I stashed the car in a random parking lot. We weaved through busy streets, around busy warehouses, and through a dirt lot for overflow convention parking that looked like a Tetris game gone horribly wrong. As we drew closer to the expo building, we stumbled onto a line that was slowly moving forward. There was no signage or staff telling us this was how we’d get into the show but since the line was full of kids dressed in Charizard pajamas and adults wearing pirate costumes with wide brim straw hats, I figured this was it. It wasn’t long before the line stretched hundreds of people behind me and every time a new person took their place in the line, they made the “i-can’t-believe-this-is-the-line” face and heavy sigh. There was grumbling; there was complaining; and some folks even got mad at their friends for making them late. I assumed waiting in this line on this summer day would make the whole experience very painful. But then – something strange happened. I could feel – and I could sense all the frustration and annoyance; all the weeping and gnashing of teeth went away as people sort of accepted their fate. People began to laugh, joke, and share their water with complete strangers as the sun beat down. Even when the line became very weird as it zigged-zagged along walls and around semi-trucks parked in the expo center’s loading dock, no one tried to cut the line or acted as if they were entitled to being in front of everyone else. Instead this large group of kids, adults, grandparents, Evees, and Pikachus stayed fully present since they were where they were supposed to be. 

Now the story I read from the gospel according to Luke wasn’t very long but its words, especially if you have sisters or siblings, spoke volumes. Jesus, after sending his disciples out two by two to visit places he planned to go to, arrived in a village where a woman named Martha offered him hospitality. Hospitality is, in the words of Rev. Dr. Niveen Sarras, “allowing the guest to share the sacredness of the family space.” Martha knew this would include providing Jesus food, drink, and a place for him to stay. And while most of us can manage, to some degree, offering hospitality to one person who shows up at our door; the Jesus who showed up to her home came with a crowd. When Jesus shows up, an entire community comes too which can overwhelm the best of our intentions. There are those among us who make being a host appear effortless and we, as a culture, often train women to show hospitality even if that isn’t one of their gifts from God. Yet Martha refused to act as if this work doesn’t require an incredible amount of intentionally, energy, resources, and time. As she managed the flow of food and drink from kitchen to table, the busyness of welcoming others made the whole experience feel a little less peaceful than what we assume Jesus’ presence brings to our lives. And while she did what needed to be done, Martha noticed how her sister Mary wasn’t participating in the work of welcome. Mary was, instead, sitting at Jesus’ feet. That doesn’t mean, however, that Mary was being lazy since sitting at someone’s feet was one of the ways folks in the ancient world described students who were busy learning from their teachers. Mary, according to Luke, had become like all the other disciples and apostles Jesus brought into that space. While she grew in her own identity as a follower of Jesus Christ, Martha noticed something strange. The one who was supposed to be helping her in the work of welcome would need to be welcomed instead. Mary, from Martha’s perspective, had given up on the offering of hospitality which is why Martha embraced the ancient art of trying to use indirect speech to get her way. But Jesus, rather than pushing Mary out of the work she was currently doing, invited Martha to pause and embrace the hospitality the Son of God had already extended to her. 

This is different, I think, than Jesus telling us to do less and listen more. There was, after all, a crowd of people still in Martha’s home who needed to be taken care of and included. Making the effort to faithfully prioritize what is life giving to us and others rather than getting consumed by all we feel compelled to do is holy and important work. But how to do that isn’t easy since we – and everyone around us – have different ideas about what should come first. I wonder, though, if Jesus was inviting Martha to reflect on the point of holy hospitality in the first place. The work she was doing wasn’t meant to be – nor should ever have been – something the rest of us asked her to do. Rather, the welcome we give is a reflection of the welcome we’ve received by the One who came to us in the first place. The work of hospitality didn’t begin when Martha noticed Jesus and his entourage were nearing the village. The welcome had already started since God chose to come to her in the life she was already living. We can assume, I think, that Martha’s life didn’t necessarily follow the script everyone assumed it would. Luke, after all, identified her household as belonging to her which was a bit different in a world where property and relationships were defined through someone’s closest male relative. We can imagine Martha as an independent woman with the resources, time, talents, and energy to throw an itinerant preacher and his entire fanbase an amazing dinner party. Martha’s life was – and would continue to be – complicated, rich, and unexpected. Yet it was Jesus who chose to walk through her front door, accept her hospitality, and welcome her sister as the disciple he knew she could be. It wasn’t all the doing that made Jesus and God’s kingdom real in Martha’s world. Instead, Jesus had already chosen her – and her community – to be part of what God was doing in the world. That doesn’t mean the work of welcome is unnecessary or less important than sitting at someone’s feet while everyone else takes care of what needs to be done, Rather, the welcome we live out is something we get to do because, in baptism and faith, God has already welcomed you. You are, even now, with – and where – you’re supposed to be. You are already wrapped up in a love and care that extends beyond the multitude of ways we often choose busyness instead of faithfulness, mercy, care, and peace. That means, I think, that those who do welcome without ever embracing being welcomed are free to pause, reflect, and realize the love God has for them. And for those who’ve been told the work of hospitality is something only other people do, we are now free to do our part to make everyone around us feel as if they truly belong. Trusting we really are where we’re supposed to be is not, necessarily, merely accepting our life as it currently is. Rather, it’s about leaning into the relationship we already have with the One who has claimed us as his own. God’s willingness to welcome us is why we get to welcome, include, serve, and love everyone even when those around us tell us that we shouldn’t. And when life traps us in a line that zigs and zags and feels like it might never end, we can remember that we are – even now – where we’re supposed to be with the God who will never let us go. 

Amen.

Sermon: We Are the Ones Who Care

25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:25-37

My sermon from the 5th Sunday after Pentecost (July 13, 2025) on Luke 10:25-37.

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In 1973, two Princeton University psychologists – John Darley and Daniel Batson – wanted to predict who would – and who wouldn’t – provide help in an unexpected situation. Prior research had shown how the foundation for our ethics – all the stuff modeled by our families, taught in schools, shaped in our faith communities, and lived out in our cultural contexts – can’t easily tell us who might intervene. These two psychologists wondered if there might be some personality traits that could be uncovered to reveal the helpers among us. What they needed, though, was a group of folks they assumed would help which is why they asked the future pastors and ministers attending Princeton Theological Seminary to participate in the experiment.  These seminarians were first asked to fill-out a survey describing their personality and their beliefs. With that done, they were then asked to start mentally preparing for a short speech the psychologists wanted to record. Some of these pastors-in-training would reflect on what a good and faithful leader might look like in the world while others were invited to share a word about the reading from the gospel according to Luke we just heard. There wasn’t, however, room in the building they were currently in to share the speech so they would need to head to another building down a short alleyway. In addition to their need to walk outside, a new variable was inserted into the experiment as well. Some of the seminarians were told they were already late and they would need to rush down the alleyway. Others, however, could take their time since they’d have to wait once they got there. With their orders in hand and after being commanded to rush or slow down, the seminarians took off only to see a disheveled, sick, and coughing person huddled in a nearby doorway. The psychologists came up with a score ranging 1 to 6 to measure the amount of care they assumed every seminarian would provide. But after the experiment was over, they noticed how, “on several occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on their way.” The experiment wasn’t robust enough to clearly show how someone’s piety, beliefs, or upbringing influenced their willingness to help. But the psychologists did notice that when someone was told they needed to hurry, there was only a 10% chance of these so-called ministers of God actually stopping to help. Even though the experiment didn’t reveal any personality traits to predict who might spontaneously help those they find in need, I wonder if this study did hint at what Jesus was getting at in the first place. When all our attention is on “who” might help or “who” is supposed to help or “who” is even worthy of our help, we lose sight not only of who we are but also “whose” we are as well.

Now before we focus on the details of the story Jesus shared, we need to pay attention to why he shared it in the first place. An expert of the law – which, in this context, was simply a person who knew their Bible extremely well – came to Jesus with a question. The question they asked might feel like it’s primarily interested in what comes next. But when we inherit, that inheritance shapes what today is all about. Inheritance, though, is always a bit tricky since so much of it is focused on the “who.” We have entire traditions, legal documents, and professions around who gets what after someone dies. Sometimes the process of inheritance goes perfectly fine with families seeing eye-to-eye respecting their loved ones’ wishes. Other times, though, we devour each other while deciding who is worthy and who isn’t. The expert was, on one level, wondering how a holy and eternal life might shape the living they were already doing. They were also curious, though, who is worthy of any such kind of life at all. Jesus, though, knows that our life with God is always big enough to hold the living we’ve done as well as the living we’re going to do too. That’s why, I think, Jesus invited the expert to remember the words he heard and studied throughout the years of his life. The expert, however, can’t seem to shake the “who.” And so they followed up their initial words to Jesus with a question about “who” they should support and love. It’s this kind of question – and our focus on the who – which can consume so much of our time and resources. We’ll refuse to feed the person waiting for food at the food pantry because they look like someone “who” is able-bodied enough to get a job. We’ll spend way too much time writing concerned posts on social media when the “who” we didn’t expect bought the house down the street from us. And while we debate who should be trusted, who should be included, who should have access to what should only belong to us, the only support we have to give to those in need is simply a memo sharing with them our thoughts and our prayers. When we act as if we’re the ones who get to determine who experiences the kingdom of God, that’s always when Jesus steps in to push us towards something more. 

In Jesus’ days, a story outline that was very popular for many parables and teachings involved a Levite and a Priest. They would end up in a situation, fail to express who God calls them to be, and then require an average Jewish person to show everyone how it’s done. As a person focused on the “who,” the expert assumed that this regular person would appear once the Levite and the Priest walked by. But when Jesus got to that point of the story, the “who” wasn’t the “who” anyone expected. The Jewish community and the Samaritans were, at the time, neighbors in the sense that Samaritans mostly lived in the northern part of Israel and Syria in areas that once were known as the Northern Kingdom. Yet after the destruction of that kingdom by the Assyrians, the religious and cultural split among these followers of God made it easier for them to be enemies than friends. Yet, in Jesus’ story, it was the One who everyone expected to keep walking by who embodied what the kingdom of God is all about. When we put all our attention and focus on “who” is worthy of care and love, we end up acting as if the limits we put on our love are the same as God’s. God, though, is less interested in who we define to be our neighbors and wonders if we’d be a love and live as a neighbor to everyone instead. And while this might feel like something we can’t do since we’re all too busy, too distracted, and too human to earn that consistent score of six out of six whenever we run into a huddled person sitting in an alleyway; the Jesus who is and has always been your neighbor trusts that His body of Christ can do the same. Jesus was, after all, born into a family and community who didn’t always get along with those around them. Jesus was regularly told that those he spoke to, those he visited, and those he ate with weren’t worthy of any kind of care and love. Jesus, whose disciples tried to keep the young, the sick, and strangers from experiencing what happens when the kingdom of God comes near, refused to let us stop what his love would do. And when we placed Jesus on a Cross rather than celebrate his compassion and mercy, God wouldn’t let us limit what God would choose to do. It would, I think, be so much easier if we could find the personality traits, knowledge, training, and life experiences to push us into becoming the kind of helpers we think we’re supposed to be. But since all we have is us – as well as the grace that comes from the One who, in baptism and faith, has already claimed us as His own – the least we can do in our current life is to live, care, love, and serve, while trusting that our eternal life – through Christ – has already begun. 

Amen.

Sermon: What the Kingdom of God Looks Like

1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:1-11,16-20

My sermon from the 4th Sunday after Pentecost (July 6, 2025) on Luke 10:1-11,16-20.

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Growing up, I had a very specific idea of what it meant to be truly wealthy. Wealth wasn’t only about the size of your house, the car you drove, or where you went on Spring Break. To me, what made a person rich was if they could visit anywhere on earth and leave everything but their credit card behind. All they needed to bring was themselves because their money would take care of the rest. I’ll admit this wasn’t really the most thought-out opinion because I’d assumed we’d have the time, energy, and ability to shop in stores that carried stuff exactly in our size. Yet there was something about living a life where we could leave all our carry-on and checked bags behind. When we define wealth strictly by a number – a value that is, nowadays, primarily digital rather than rooted in any real material things – it’s easy to treat wealth as something other people have. For the majority of us, there will always be someone who has so much more. But when we remember all wealth lets us do, that value becomes very real. Wealth is knowing where our next meal is coming from and not having to figure out what – and what isn’t – covered by SNAP benefits. Wealth is being able to complain about how expensive our electricity bill is while knowing we’ll sleep comfortably tonight with our room at a crisp 65 degrees. Wealth is opening a closet full of clothes and claim we have nothing to wear. And we know we’re really wealthy when we skip our annual appointment with our doctor since we assume we can always go to the emergency room when something comes up. One of the things wealth does is give us a sense of security we assume we’re entitled to. Wealth is what we trust will get us through the tomorrow that’s already on its way. Our experience of what wealth shapes how we live our life and how we treat others. But it’s also why Jesus’ words to his friends feel so strange because instead of helping them feel more secure, he orders them to leave all their wealth – and their safety – behind. 

Now today’s reading from the gospel according to Luke reminds us that Jesus’ ministry was, on occasion, very big. He wasn’t just one person wandering from village to village with 12 friends in tow. Sometimes Jesus showed up with a crowd of faithful followers. After setting his face towards Jerusalem and the Cross, the route he picked wasn’t a straight line. Jesus chose to meet all kinds of people in all kinds of places between Galilee and the Holy City. And he picked 72 of those who followed him to go out as a kind of advance team for the kingdom of God. These disciples would do more than simply announce Jesus’ coming. They would also be like Jesus – curing the sick, casting out a few demons, and eating some meals at tables other than their own. The power they would manifest in these places would be like their own kind firework show, overwhelming everyone with a deep sense of holy awe and wonder. But before we get to the light show, we notice these messengers were given a very strange set of instructions. Jesus sent them out into places they’ve never been with no money, no bags, and not even with an extra pair of shoes. This was, I think, more than simply asking them to leave any of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual baggage behind. It was, rather, an invitation to be way more vulnerable than they were before. They were called,in the words of Richard Swanson, Professor (Emeritus) of Religion at Augustana University, to “arrive [in these unnamed places] and find themselves radically in need of hospitality.” This might seem somewhat reasonable for those of us who would love to visit a new place bringing only a credit card. Jesus, though, expected there to be someone in every village ready to take care of them. Someone they didn’t know would feed them. Someone who didn’t think they belonged there would provide them shelter. And while that a person might be wealthy, with a few extra rooms and lots of space around their table. There was also a chance the one who opened their door would be like the widow who sheltered the prophet Elijah with barely enough food for herself. These messengers would go out with no resources; eat whatever was set before them; and deal with all the anxiety, fear, worry, and joy that comes with meeting someone new. The followers of Jesus would go to be welcomed and to welcome those who might not be ready for the Jesus who was already on his way. Jesus doesn’t promise that this work will be easy. He doesn’t hint that the word of peace they bring would actually make peace in the lives of those they met. But he does promise that it isn’t the special effects, the displays of power, or even the miracle of healing that proclaims God is truly near. Rather, it’s in the receiving and giving; in the welcoming and the being welcomed; in the time spent at each other’s tables learning one another’s stories and doing what we can to help strangers thrive – that’s when the presence of God is fully experienced and made completely real. 

When the disciples finally returned to Jesus, the first words out of their mouth were focused on one of the firework-type-of-things. The unclean spirits, those forces that do all they can to drive us apart, couldn’t withstand these messengers from Galilee. I suspect all the stuff that came out of their experience inflated their egos just a bit since they had access to some of the cosmic power Jesus did. Yet his words showed how their otherworldly experiences – even as one as potent as Jesus witnessing Satan fall from heaven – is nothing compared to the gift of grace and belonging God had given to them. It wasn’t all the wealth of all that heavenly stuff which would secure them through whatever life might bring. Instead, what would carry them through was the fact their name was already etched and held within the everlasting heart of their God. Our name in God will always be our greatest treasure; a precious gift we did nothing to earn and one we’re not entitled to. Even if our credit cards are maxed out and a life full of carry ons and checked bags is the best we’ll ever do, our true wealth – and our true identity – is secure in the gift of baptism and the gift of faith we’ve already received from God. And because this is what will always hold us, we’re invited to live this kingdom of God out right now. We get to be a people who heal rather than cast others aside. We can choose to welcome and be welcomed by everyone rather than exclude and bully those we don’t want to get to know at all. We get to be a community that takes the risk of extending our table since we’re made richer through the many people God brings our way. God’s kingdom isn’t defined by the biggest display of power we might see in the sky. It is, instead, proclaimed by the love our God – and we choose – to share. And when we share this love freely, abundantly, and in ways that bring goodness into the lives of all, we reveal the true wealth shaping our lives and our world. 

Amen.