Notes for Last Sunday before Lent; Boy Scout Sunday @ St. Georges UMC

From the Gospel of Our Lord: Mark 9:2-9

^NIV2010 Mark 9: ² After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

From the Gospel of Our Lord: Mark 1:32-39

^NIV2010 Mark 1: ³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” ³⁹ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

May God add God’s Blessing
to the Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

If the second Gospel reading sounds familiar to you, it is because we heard it last week.

In Mark chapter 1 Jesus announced the coming Kingdom (1:15), called his disciples (1:17), and cast out demons (1:25). Each one of these is a powerful act and carries a poignant message.

Then we saw that Jesus healed Peter’s Mother-in-Law, and he did not only heal her; he restored her to her vocation as the manager of Peter’s household.

By healing Peter’s Mother-In-Law, Jesus made a point that our all-powerful Creator God, who sustains the cosmos, is not above strengthening the weak, and restoring those who have lost their way.

Today I want to unpack the second part of that reading. The way the story goes, Jesus needed some alone time, so he went into a secluded place to spend time with God.

How do you think the Disciples felt when they could not find Jesus? Jesus had done all the work healing people and driving out demons, but I bet that the Disciples felt proud and encouraged. “Look, I am with Him…,” they would say. At least some of the admiration and respect directed towards Jesus was bouncing onto them and they loved it, and who would not? The Disciples’ social standing and status was increased just by being associated with Jesus.

That morning Jesus was missing, and the Disciples did not know what to do. In verses 36 and 37 we hear, “Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!'”

What I think they were saying was that they [the Disciples] were looking for Jesus because without Jesus they were just a bunch of dudes out of place, who did not know how to figure out what to do next.

When the Disciples witnessed the healings, as they basked in the warmth of the admiration and respect flowing towards Jesus, more than likely they liked what they felt. I wonder if they imagined starting a new synagogue and having a fruitful ministry in an area where everybody knew them.

That vision of the future would be so easy for the Disciples to imagine and adapt to. But it is not why Jesus came.

There is a saying that no one can cross the ocean until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore. The disciples were not ready to lose sight of everything that they knew and loved. They were not yet ready to give up the things that held them back and to “cross the ocean.”

They wanted to stay close to their friends and families, close to their routine and fishing boats, close to their wives and homes, afraid to lose sight of everything they knew, loved, and were familiar with.

{Illustration: babies do not give up their blankies, binkies and teddy-bears until they are ready
We stay in relationships that are not good for us
We stay in dead-end mind-numbing jobs
We hold on to bad habits like smoking or drinking too much
AND We resist change}

But Jesus had different ideas; Jesus was called to something different. “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come,” he said (Mark 1:38).

In the first Gospel reading, the story of the Transfiguration, the Disciples also wanted to stay on the mountain, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” But Jesus took them “out there,” where people needed them, where they could be of service to others.

When Jesus told the Disciples that he wanted to go out there, that was an invitation to let go of their “shore,” to step out in faith, to expand their understanding, to learn something new, to reach beyond themselves.

We are not very different. Just like any other church, we want to grow. When we want different results, we need to start trying different things. We need to go “out there,” tweak the way we do church, the way we worship, the way we reach out to the communities around us, the way we spread the word that we are an active church.

We are privileged to have our boy scouts with us today, and I want to talk with them for a minute or two.

You are learning a lot in boy scouts. You are learning how to work together, you learn different skills and earn badges. Make sure to thank your leaders for taking their time and energy to mentor you. Make sure to thank your parents for bringing you to the meetings and going to special events with you.

One of the most important skills that you learn in boy scouts, and also in school, is how to learn.

I want to encourage you to never stop learning. Whether you will go into college or into technical trades, stay curious, learn more about your chosen profession, never stop learning about yourselves, and about the world around you.

As a matter of fact, I want to encourage you to always dream and think BIG. I hope that your dreams will always be BIGGER than your abilities and your capabilities, and that you will figure out ways to accomplish them anyway.

Thinking Towards Sunday; Sunday, February 4, 2024

Scriptures for this Sunday are: Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39

You can read these Scriptures here: { CLICK ME }

Notes for the Message About John the Baptist; Mark 1:1-8

When I hear the same thing over and over, I tend to tune it out. The most obvious example this time of year are Christmas commercials. We are all bombarded with information about how at this “most wonderful time of the year” all our shopping needs will be met at the friendly Walmart or Kohl’s, and that we better get there fast because these incredible deals will not last long. And don’t bring your friends with you. There is only a limited quantity available.

After a while we all realize that JCPenney, Kohl’s, and Walmart have one-day-only sales all the time. Not to mention that the things that are on sale are not necessarily things that we need, or even want. We have become saturated with advertising, and it all begins to sound like noise.

The reason I tell you all this is because it makes me wonder if this is how people who ARE NOT theological nerds like me, start thinking about the spiritual aspects of Christmas. Has our society become saturated with the cliches and spiritual {“} “sappy” talk that we hear every December?

All those words about love and sharing and caring and singing and hugging! A time for family! A time for charity! A time for friends! What about the other times of the year?

And then the second Sunday of Advent rolls around and we meet John the Baptist. John the Baptist was not a mooshy-gooshy type of person, and he did not excrete sanctity.

He was gruff and tough. He ate grasshoppers and wild honey, he smelled of the wilderness.

He would be a prime candidate for the TV show Survivor. He would also be a prime candidate to be voted off the island; he did not mince words.

He said things that were hard to hear and even harder to digest. I wonder what it would be like to be his friend, to hang out with him.

Our lives are built on relationships. When one (or several) of our relationships do not go as well as we hope, when we want to change the dynamic of one of our relationships, then we need to make some changes within ourselves. {}{}{} You need to change because you cannot change the other person.

John’s message was that God was not happy with God’s relationship with his people. That was nothing new. Jeremiah (i.e. chapter 44), Isaiah (i.e. chapter 28), Micah (i.e. chapter 2), Amos (i.e. chapter 3) and other prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures are full of warnings to the Hebrew Nation.

But John’s message was different from that of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah, Amos and the other Hebrew prophets. John’s message was that God was about to change the dynamic of God’s relationship with humans. John proclaimed, “After me comes the one more powerful than I, … I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:7-8).

John the Baptist did not perform any miracles. He did not restore sight or anyone’s ability to walk. John did not raise the dead, nor heal the sick.

What John did do was point his life and his message towards the one who could: towards Jesus.

What John did do was point his life and his message towards the one who came to make us better versions of ourselves: towards Jesus.

That is what Malachi and Isaiah preached about John, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” (Isaiah 40:3, Isaiah 57:14, Malachi 3:1, Malachi 4:5-6)

John the Baptist was preparing the people of Judea for Jesus’ ministry on Earth. And today, John’s message is preparing us for Jesus’ triumphant return sometime in the future.

That is what this holiday season is all about. This holiday season includes Advent, the Day of Christmas, the Season of Christmas that begins on December 25 and ends on January 5 (12 days of Christmas), culminating on the Day of the Epiphany – January 6. Just like we do spring cleaning in our houses, we are in the season of soul-cleaning during Advent.

We are called to prepare the
way for the Lord, to make sure that there is an easy path in the desert of our emotions, anger, frustrations, and disappointments for Jesus, room for Jesus to bring healing, restoration, and regeneration into our lives.

John’s life pointed to Jesus, does yours?

Notes for Sunday Message based on the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats; Matthew 25:31-46

^NIV2010 Matthew 25: ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

May God add God’s Blessing
to the Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

The context of today’s readings is important.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats is the last parable that Jesus taught before the Last Supper.

If you knew that you were going to be betrayed, judged, tortured, and die in the next 48 hours, what would you want to tell to your inner circle of friends and family?

Jesus gave us the Parable of Ten Brides, the Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep and Goats.

No so long ago (last summer to be exact) we unpacked several parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Mustard Seed… The Kingdom of Heaven is like different kinds of soil… The Kingdom of Heaven is like a despised person who helps you when you are in trouble…

And the Kingdom of Heaven is like Ten Young Women who were waiting for God; some were prepared, some were not…

The Kingdom of Heaven is also like three servants. Two of them were willing to step out in faith, to work for their master, but the third one was indecisive and paralyzed by fear.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like the Sheep and Goats. Some are redeemed, and some others are removed from God’s presence.

The last three parables feel and sound different from the rest of the parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knew that in the next 48 hours he would be betrayed, judged, tortured, and would die. Jesus made the choice to prepare his inner circle for the period of time between his imminent departure and his eventual return at the Second Advent. These parables shed the light on what it means to live in the time when we wait for Jesus’ return, for his Second Advent.

So let’s unpack the Parable of the Sheep and Goats.

The typical interpretation seems to be straight forward. For our conservative sisters and brothers, it is tempting to interpret today’s parable by affirming that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). For our liberal and progressive sisters and brothers, today’s parable seems to be a call to social justice: taking care of the poor and disenfranchised. If only it was that simple…

Both those identified as Sheep and those identified as Goats were surprised by Jesus’ words. Their replies, “Lord, when did we…” and “when didn’t we…” express their bewildered astonishment when Jesus praises or harshly judges their behaviors.

Both groups agreed with Jesus’ observations. What shocked them was their failure to recognize the presence of Jesus. What shocked them was the realization of where (and with whom) Jesus liked to hang out, what and where his “Red Robin,” or his “Happy Place,” was.

We are not all that different. When we think of God, we think in terms of power and might, the majesty, the glory, and the fanfare. Jesus does not deny that. The parable of the Sheep and Goats begins by describing his Second Advent as he sits on his throne in glory, attended by angels and other heavenly beings. We simply do not expect to see Jesus in the faces of the disadvantaged, the poor, the imprisoned, the sick, and the last, the lost and the least.

God became one of us so that God could identify with us by being born in the form of a vulnerable baby. That happened in poverty-stricken Bethlehem, to a migrant mother and father, in the stable where Joseph probably had to shovel manure before Mary could lay down and be comfortable. God did not come to conquer the world with military or political might as most people expected. Instead, God came to BE our example, and at the end to experience humiliation and the pain of death on the Cross, so that our fallenness could be REDEEMED.

And today God continues to come where we least expect God to be: in the plight of the homeless, among the poor and the needy, and in the company of the imprisoned and the bedside of the sick.

God became one of us to dispel expectations that if we do everything just right, then we will meet God in some eternal, celestial life.

The Parable of Sheep and Goats drives home the point that we can meet God here and now, in the reality of our lives here on Earth, in the concrete needs of our neighbors, not in power but in vulnerability, not in judgment but in grace, kindness and mercy.

That is the Good News: God is with us, revealed in the fellowship of broken people who are afraid to reveal their real selves for fear of judgment by other broken people that may need to channel their frustration at someone else. That is what the church is. God is with us in the small acts of mercy we offer to others, and that others offer to us, every day. God is with us, not where we expect God to show up. God is with us where we need God to be.

And that is what makes Jesus our King, our champion, our leader, someone whose vision for our life we can trust.

 

Message based on the Parables of Talents and Ten Brides; Matthew 25:1-30

^NIV2010
Matthew 25: ¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

^NIV2010 Matthew 25:¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

May God add God’s Blessing
to the Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

The context of today’s readings is important.

After the Parables of Two Sons and the Wedding Feast, Jesus offered few more teachings found in Chapter 22. Then in chapter 23, he taught about hypocrisy, and offered a warning that hypocrisy ultimately hurts those who practice it. Chapter 24 takes decidedly eschatological turn; that is where Jesus was teaching about the destruction of the Temple and end times. All those readings are in the lectionary, and we will unpack them when they come up on schedule.

That brings us to today’s readings. Most people will not argue with me that today’s readings are borderline depressing.

We have been waiting for Jesus to return for two thousand years. The parables we heard today give us some idea of what it means to live in that time of waiting, how we live our lives as we wait for Jesus’ return, for his Second Advent.

The typical interpretation of the parable of ten young women (or virgins) waiting for their bridegroom is that it is a stern warning to be prepared or else. We have all heard multiple sermons on this parable, warning us not to be caught by surprise, to do everything possible to NOT miss Jesus’ return, to make sure that all of us have enough proverbial oil for our lamps. And, of course, woe to us if we are not prepared when Jesus returns. That is a typical interpretation.

The typical interpretation of the parable of the talents is also familiar: take what you’ve been given by God and do something with it…Bloom where you are planted. And if you don’t, you will end up being harshly judged.

As I thought about the Parable of the Ten Brides, I cannot help but wonder if the actual act of foolishness was when those who didn’t bring extra oil listened to the others and ran out to look for more. I cannot help but wonder whether it would be better to greet the groom without oil than to miss him altogether while looking for oil? Obviously, bringing enough oil would be better all around for all concerned. That being understood, we are living 2000 years after Jesus first taught this parable and let us be honest, most of us fall into the “foolish bridesmaid” category. Most of us are kind of ready, but not all that gung-ho to live in a state of readiness. Personally, I find great comfort that all of us, myself included, are justified by Grace, not by being prepared.

So, let’s talk about the Parable of Talents. The character of the master is intriguing to say the least. We have no description of him as good or bad prior to the third servant’s report. The first two servants are not afraid to be in his presence. They take the money they were entrusted with, and they go out and apply themselves to making the money work for their master. They joyfully present their accomplishments to their master, and in return he rewards them with even greater responsibility, and also invites them to share in his joy (kindda like a profit sharing plan).

While the first two servants take their master’s trust as a sign of confidence and affirmation of their abilities, the third servant is paralyzed by fear. He describes his master as, “…a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.”  In most traditional interpretations, that is a description that is considered to be accurate and truthful, but it does not fit with all the other clues.

That makes me think that the Parable of the Talents is not about the nature of God, but it is a cautionary parable about our relationships with God and others, how we create self-fulfilling prophecies. We limit ourselves by premature decisions and judgments about God and the world around us.

In the context of us living 2000 years after the First Easter, it has multiple applications.
The MOST IMPORTANT implication for us can be summarized with the words, “What You See Is What You Get.”

When we imagine God primarily as an enforcer of rules, we get hung up by the legalism of religion.

When we see God as stern and prone to punishment, we come to believe that everything bad in our lives is punishment from God.

When we experience God as loving, we find it easier to love ourselves and others.

When we see God as gracious, we live more grace-filled lives.

When we recognize God as forgiving, we live in the joy of receiving and giving forgiveness.

In other words, what you see is what you get.

• Who is your Jesus?
  
• How do you experience God?
  
• How does the Holy Spirit communicate with you?
  

I sincerely believe that as we wait for Jesus’ Second Coming, God expects us to continue going about his business –making disciples for Jesus for the transformation of the world, taking risks, stepping out in faith, learning and growing. After all, the two servants that were faithful and were rewarded also increased their master’s wealth and expanded his estate, his sphere of influence.

So what does faithfulness look like in our time and place? In Matthew’s Gospel faithfulness is living out the example of Jesus. Jesus has announced the arrival of God’s kingdom by feeding the hungry, curing the sick, blessing the meek, and serving the last, the lost, and the least. In Matthew 11:4-6 and Luke 7:22-23, when John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Are you THE one?,” Jesus replied saying, “⁵ The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

In verses Matthew 25:37-40, Jesus himself gave us the blueprint of what it means to live productive lives while waiting for Jesus’ return:

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

We continue the work by visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, and offering the living waters of faith to the thirsty (25:31-46) (HOPP, Port of Wilmington, Blankets, Thanksgiving meals, VBS, Samaritan Boxes, etc).

Ephesians 2: ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works so that no one can boast

{Transition to the Anointing}

Notes for Message based on Matthew 23:1-12

^NIV2010 1 Thessalonians 2: ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

¹³ And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

^NIV2010 Matthew 23: ¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries
wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

May God Add God’s Blessing
to the Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

{ Explain the Context of today’s reading }

In today’s Gospel we heard Jesus say, “2 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. [seat of moral authority/ they hold the teaching office] ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” In effect, Jesus points out that the Pharisees see themselves differently than people around them view them, and they are not humble enough to recognize that rift, to recognize their own fallenness, their own humanity.

Matthew makes it clear that the Pharisees respected Jesus; THEY DID NOT LIKE HIM, but they RESPECTED him. In Matthew 22:15-16 we hear the Pharisees say to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.”

The Pharisees saw that Jesus treated everyone the same. Jesus kept his eyes on God, not on people with earthly position and power. In return Jesus acknowledged the Pharisees’ education and position within Jewish society; they “sit in Moses’ seat,” the seat of moral authority, because they are trained and entrusted with the Teaching Office to God’s people. Then Jesus continued, “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.”

Say What!?!?! Jesus told his followers to learn from the Pharisees??!!! It took me lots of prayer to unpack this line.

Jesus acknowledged that the Pharisees had roots among the common people, AND that they were well educated. Over time their position in society and their interests changed, and they became more focused on their position in society and their economic interests, and less focused on what they were called to be and to do – Serve God. The Pharisees believed that they had the best interests of the people in their heart, but in reality they looked down on the people they served. Jesus pointed out,
“Everything they do is done for people to see…”

Lest we judge the Pharisees….

We are behind closed doors and we should be able to be honest and open with each other. We live in a divided society. We are citizens of a divided country. We are members of the United Methodist Church which is divided and splitting.

The main reason we are splitting is because the majority of people think that the Congregational form of governance for our churches reflects current society better than the catholic form of governance established by Wesley and Asbury. I know it’s a convoluted and cerebral sentence, we will unpack it at a later date.

A secondary disagreement, one that everyone can understand, is LGBTQ men and women: marriage, ordination, and rights.

Everyone in this church wants this church to grow. Pretty much everyone has told me that.

Can we bring our enemies to Christ? [the answer is no, because people who perceive us as enemies will not trust us].

We can only bring to Jesus people who believe that we have their best interests at heart, that we care about their souls, that we care about their future, that we care about them and love them.

John 13: ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We talk of love, mercy, and grace, but here is a huge group of people (LBGQT) that many of us believe will burn in hell for all eternity. We are doing the same thing that Jesus chastised the Pharisees for.

Church, don’t you care?

If you have the urge to start heating tar and plucking feathers, allow me to clarify.

My job is NOT to make you angry. My job is to make you think and urge you to
pray, so you can discern where God is leading and the best course for being a church filled with love, grace, charity, and kindness. We can be a church filled with love, grace, charity, and kindness and still make a decision which side of the LGBTQ issue we want to land. Those are not MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.

One last point. In John 8:31-32 we hear, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”“

I will be the first to acknowledge that sometimes truth is hard to hear. Sometimes truth hurts. Sometimes we do not want to hear the truth. Sometimes the truth is more complicated than we imagine. Knowing the truth will present us with options, it will set us free, but first it has a tendency to make us angry, unsettled, and frustrated.

When God fills our sails with God’s Spirit, we are going in the direction that God wants us to, and when we are with God all things are possible. With God’s help we will figure things out, and we will move past these frustrating times to become stronger and more vibrant as St. Georges United Methodist church. We are on the same team and all of us want what is best for our church.

One of the reasons that Jesus established the sacrament of the Holy Communion is to remind us that we are on the same team, that we serve the same God, and that we will get through the “valley of the shadow of death.”

{ Transition to the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Communion }

Thinking Towards Sunday; November 5, 2023

Scriptures for this Sunday: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:1-12

You can read these Scriptures here: ( CLICK ME }

All Saints Sunday; Opening Prayer; Call to Worship; Message for All Saints Day Sunday

Opening Prayer

Loving and Gracious God!

By your Holy Spirit you comfort and bless all creatures. As we remember and honor our Cloud of Witnesses, we recognize that we stand on their shoulders and legacy. Grant that they may rejoice in the new life of justice and peace that you promised your people through the compassionate witness of Jesus.

As we worship, fellowship, encourage, and build each other up, inspire us here by your grace, fill us with your Holy Spirit, and renew our souls by your presence. AMEN.

Call 2 Worship

Loving and Gracious God!
We remember those Saints who have gone before us;
We lament their passing, and honor their legacy.We give thanks for all we have learned from them.

Those who followed the Way of Christ faithfully,
We follow their example.

Those who made mistakes along the way,
We learn from their experience.

Those who made progress for peace,
We continue their work.

Those who lived simply and quietly,
We are enlightened by them.

Those who gained honor and distinction without pride,
We are humbled by them.

Those who were martyred for their faith,
We commend them to your care.

They have finished their work on earth, and it lives on,
Reverberating into our lives now
As the work of Christ lives on.

Remembering and naming our loved ones who joined the Church Triumphant in the last 12 months

May the peace of Christ continue to inspire us
To good works, humility, simplicity,
and peacemaking,

As those foremothers and forefathers
were inspired by him
To live in grace and love. AMEN.

^NIV2010 Hebrews 12:¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

^NIV2010 Revelation 22: ¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

^NIV2010  Matthew 5: ¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them. He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

May God Add God’s Blessing
to the Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

Today we gather to remember the ones who knew and understood us, who knew our world, who knew how to comfort us, who knew how to love us. They celebrated with us, they helped us get through dark times in our lives… “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… .” And now they are with God.

Today we remember the ones we miss.

We miss our relationship with them. We miss the intimacy, comfort, warmth, and encouragement that their presence brought into our lives. When we were with them, no matter what was happening in the world around us, they understood what bothered us, they knew how to comfort us, they understood our dreams and hopes, and they supported and encouraged our efforts. When we were with them, we knew that we were not alone in this world. Their presence made us feel that this world is an awesome place.

No matter what happened we knew that this special person had our back, that they would not break our heart, and that they loved us just the way we are, no matter what. If we are lucky – I mean really-really lucky — we may have had several people like that in our lives: parents, grandparents, spouse, siblings, friends.

We trusted them with our hearts and souls, we shared with them our deepest fears, and most intimate hopes and dreams.

Now that person is gone. They are with God, and we are here on earth. We cannot erase the pain. We cannot placate the loss.

We can carry their memories in our hearts. We can pray and hope that one day we will be reunited. It may be the day when we will cross the threshold of life and death, or it may be the day when the trumpet sounds, and we all face our God and Creator.

Whatever the case may be, we carry their legacies in our hearts. The way David counted pebbles in his shepherd’s pouch, we count these legacies, and we cherish the memories. The way Jesus enumerated the Beatitudes on the Sermon on the Mount, we use the lessons that we learned from them to slay our giants and our dragons. “I will fear no evil, for you are with me… .” They helped us to recognize and to see the presence of God in the world that we live in.

Each of these men and women is a part of the story that we are telling, part of the tapestry of our life that we are weaving. They make us who we are.

As their voices echo inside us, we know that their love is still with us because unlike our mortal bodies, love does not die.

May their memories be a blessing. AMEN.

Sunday’s Message on Matthew 22:15-22; Caesar’s Denarius.

^NIV20101 Matthew 22: ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. ¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. ¹⁷ Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, ²⁰ and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

²¹ “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²² When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

May God add God’s Blessing
to Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

{Explain: Context of today’s reading: Jesus’ Triumphant entry on Sunday, overturned tables on Monday, taught parable of two sons, and then parable of the wedding banquet trying to explain to the ruling class that they are missing God’s presence }

Every time I read Scriptures new details jump out at me. When I read today’s Gospel reading, a quote by Alexander Graham Bell popped into my mind, “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

Allow me to unpack that.

Jesus was opening “new” ways for men and women to be in a relationship with God. Jesus was ushering a new way of life and a new era into the history of God’s interactions with humans. And at least some of the priests and pharisees were so focused on the old door that was now closing, that they did not even see the doors that were newly opened to them.

It had to be scary for the religious leaders to see their way of life being challenged, because they knew that their way of life was tied into their identity. Their way of life defined who they were and how they interacted with each other and with God’s Creation.

And now they found themselves in front of Jesus. Jesus who was from Galilee and spoke with a funny accent, had never gone to a seminary, who hung out with fishermen, working men and women (as well as tax collectors, prostitutes, drunkards, gluttons, and gamblers), and with Jews who supported Rome.

Not only that, but Jesus’ message resonated with people. Jesus brought hope, grace, and joy of a relationship with God, where the Pharisees only saw rules and regulations.

The strength of the Pharisees’ position with people was that they were experts in rules and regulations.

The Pharisees and Herodians that are mentioned in today’s reading were well educated, intelligent people. I have very little doubt that they understood what Jesus meant with the Parable of the Two Sons and the Parable of the Wedding Feast. So after hearing Jesus preach these parables and figuring out their meaning, instead of making changes they decided to justify themselves. And that brings us to the proverbial denarius.

The Imperial Tax was a divisive issue in Judea. If Jesus said that it was okay to pay Roman taxes, then most of his followers would turn on him. On the other hand, if Jesus said that Jews should not pay Roman taxes, then he would be accused of treason by the Romans. Talking about being put between a rock and a hard place.

I can feel Jesus asking someone to show them a denarius, maybe looking at it for a minute or two, flipping it couple of times in the air and then asking, “Who’s face is on the coin.”

We know the rest of the story. Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

In other words, Jesus challenged the Pharisees and the Herodians (Matthew 22:16) to see that the world was a complicated place and that simplistic solutions did not work in the world that they were living in. {It is impossible to fit God into 613 rules and regulations.}
Jesus acknowledged their position and their fears and challenged them to see doors that were opening to them.

Jesus does that to us as well. Our world is changing. With each new generation, humanity’s needs change and evolve. Each new generation deals with different {“} “Ceasars” as well as different geo-political and socio-economic realities. God responds to these realities as well.

And that is why as each generation gives to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, it looks different from previous generations.

• Where do you see yourselves in today’s reading?
  
• You are made in the image of God. How are you making yourself available to God?
  

{Transition to the Anointing}

Thinking towards Sunday; October 22, 2023

Scriptures for Sunday, October 22, 2023 are: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10;Matthew 22:15-22

You can read these Scriptures here: { CLICK ME }

Note for Sunday’s Message on the Parable of the Banquet; Matthew 22:1-14

^NIV2010 Philippians 4: ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

^NIV20101 Matthew 22:¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

May God add God’s Blessing
to Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

Today’s parable is a difficult and painful text. It feels like there is something left out of the story, or something so well hidden that we cannot see or hear it. Read literally, it is a violent, brutal, and disturbing story. But it challenges us to think.

An influential man – a local chieftain – hosted a celebration. When the banquet was ready, he let everyone know to come and join him but they refused. So he sent his messengers the second time. “⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them” (Matthew 22).
The bottom line: Not only did no one come, they also killed his servants.

“⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” Enraged by the actions of his own people, the king unleashed an army. Men and women were murdered, and the king’s own city was burned down (verse 7).

To make things even stranger, the dinner is still on (verse 8). After demonstrating his destructive power and temper, the king then invited the survivors of the violence, the common people of the destroyed city (verse 9), to the banquet.

The parable continues by saying that the invited guests are both good and bad. “⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Matthew 22).

The parable could stop here. The wedding banquet is filled with guests and that is what the chieftain wanted. But, there is always a but…

The chieftain spotted a man who was not dressed in clothes that were appropriate to the occasion. Maybe he did not have {“} “NICE” clothes; or maybe he did not feel like getting dressed? We don’t know.

It seems that he was punished rather harshly for not being dressed appropriately. The chieftain seems so ungracious, petulant, unpredictable, and arbitrary. But as we usually see in Jesus’ parables, this story illustrates something else. In the story that Jesus tells, the man without wedding clothes represents those who want to be in the presence of God but refuse to foster any spiritual connections with God or Gods people. He is at the wedding, but he is not wearing wedding clothes. The other guests allowed themselves to accept the hospitality of their host and as a result they are changed; they demonstrate visible and tangible signs of invisible transformation and grace: in this story, represented by the wedding clothes they wore. In church speak, this guy is in the pews, but he refuses a relationship with God and does not allow himself to be transformed by being in the presence of God and God’s people. He wants to be a CONSUMER of the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven, he wants all the benefits, but he refuses to be a CITIZEN in the Kingdom of Heaven. Because of that he does not belong at the banquet; HE IS NOT READY.

All of us have been in the shoes of that wedding guest. We all find ourselves in over our head once in a while. Am I the only one to occasionally find myself in a situation where I do not understand something and do not know what to do?

Nobody likes those times; it is frustrating and scary, it makes us feel helpless and even desperate. We get angry, we don’t know what to do and sometimes we even lose hope.

In my experience, it is in those places of frustration, desperation, and “gnashing of teeth” that Jesus shows up, and says something like “Peace Be With You,” and helps me to figure out whatever it is that I need to learn. It is in that process of figuring things out, that I (and I think all of us) grow and mature in our relationship with God.

The guest who was unprepared was not ready to be at the banquet. He needed to go back and prepare. He needed to struggle with his faith, he needed to “work out his own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).

Today’s parable invites us to explore how it resonates in our lives, how we work out our faith and salvation, how we travel our personal Road to Perfection, what do we do to prepare ourselves for the banquet.

Our lives are a mixture of times of preparation, followed by times of accomplishment. Preparations may not be as easy and pleasant as we would like them to be, but with each accomplishment we grow closer in our relationship with God. We think of the Journey to Perfection as a straight line, but sometimes we take a side-trail and get lost. We may even find ourselves in a place that we are not ready for.

When Jesus chose to redeem us on the Cross, God put God’s-self out there for us, with the possibility that some that are invited might refuse to show up. But in the end, God does not give up on us. God continues to challenge us to grow and mature in our relationship with Him. Trusting God and opening ourselves to God brings us to wholeness, fills us with purpose and energy, and offers meaning to our lives.

Thinking Towards Sunday; Sunday, October 8, 2023

Scriptures for Sunday, October 8 are Philippians 3:4b-11;Matthew 21:33-46

You can read these Scriptures here: { CLICK ME }

Notes for Sunday’s Message based on Matthew 21:23-32; Jesus’ authority is being challenged by chief priests and the elders

^NIV2010 Matthew 21: ²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

May God add God’s Blessing
to Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

Today’s Gospel reading started with Jesus’ authority being challenged. In response, Jesus gave us a parable.

As is with most of the Bible, today’s Gospel reading is thought provoking and can be interpreted on many layers. We do not know what the typical behavior of the sons in the parable was. We do not know what conversations took place between the sons, or between the sons and their father, after the initial response. We do not know why or what may have forced either of the sons to act opposite to what they initially said they would do.

What we do know, however, is that the son who said he would do the work did not do anything, and the son who initially refused to do the work changed his mind and did what had to be done.

It is tempting to read today’s parable as a moralistic story about actions speaking louder than words. But I think that this parable is a story about the ability of these two sons to see and recognize their father’s authority.

The first son pays lip service to his father’s authority. The second son at first rebels but eventually grants the authority to his father.

Similarly, the elders and chief priests refused to grant the Son of God authority when they refused to learn from him or follow him. On the other hand, the tax-collectors and prostitutes recognized Jesus’ authority by seeking him out, learning from him, and following his teachings. (Tax collectors and prostitutes were two groups of people that were considered unclean by the elders and chief priests.)

[The people who made a commitment and a promise to work in God’s vineyard (Jesus identifies them as chief priests in this reading) were choosing to renege on their promise, they were refusing to hear God and learn from God who stood in front of them. On the other hand, men and women who for a variety of reasons made a decision that the discipleship, discipline, and dedication to God was not for them (Jesus identifies them tax collectors and prostitutes) were sponging knowledge from Jesus, hanging on his every word and spreading the Good News to all who cared to hear]

So what’s in it for us?

I want to ask you today: to whom or to what do you give authority?

How many among us may testify to our faith in God, and then give authority through our actions to other things: possessions, personal comfort, our personal ideological commitments, etc. Every day our decisions, actions, and spending declare to whom we give authority by how we spend our time, energy, and money.

The next time you pull out your credit card, or plan your day, or wonder how to spend your free time and efforts, ask yourselves if your actions are in sync with what you profess to be your values.

This church keeps saying that you want to grow, but when was the last time that you invited someone to come to church?

Partially the buck stops here at the pulpit. I have no idea what happened, but I have noticed that clergy no longer teach how to tell others about Jesus. As a result, when we invite people to come to church, we tell them what a wonderful community our church is; we tell them that we are like a family. That is what is important to us. Are those statements correct? Are we a great community? Are we like a tightly knit family? (Hopefully the response is yes, but this is not what people are looking for when they come to church.)

Most people already have their own family, and they don’t come to church looking for a membership in a country club or a social circle. People come to church when they are looking for God. So instead of telling people what a great community we are, and what a tightly-knit family we are, tell them what God is doing in your midst. Tell them what Jesus has done in your life. (look at the handout in your bulletins; context of that handout is also included below)

Many Christians love to spend time and energy debating over minor details of theology, doctrine, and church polity, such as the exact nature of the Trinity, the role of free will, the interpretation of prophecy, or what constitutes sin.

Instead of spending our time and energy on divisive issues, tell everyone that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to redeem our fallen nature and to offer us eternal life.

TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS!!!!
TELL PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT JESUS DID IN YOUR LIFE!!!!

I have been talking about Christmas Devotionals and asking you to write one. Think of it as an exercise to get you to think deeply about who Jesus is to YOU, and then write down why Jesus is important to YOU.

This will become your testimony, the way you tell others about what Jesus has done in your life.

In today’s reading from Philippians we heard, “[Sisters and brothers,] work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12b-13)

To help us on our journey, to help us to “work our salvation”, Jesus himself established the Sacrament for the Holy Communion.

{Transition to the Sacrament of the Holy Communion}

Thinking Towards Sunday; October 1, 2023

Scriptures for this Sunday: Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32

You can read these Scriptures here: { CLICK ME }

Notes for Sunday’s Message on the Parable of the Vineyard Workers; Matthew 20:1-16

^NIV2010 Matthew 20:¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

^NIV2010 Philippians 1: ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴ but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

²⁷ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

May God add God’s Blessing
to Reading, Hearing,
Understanding and Living
of God’s Word

 

This parable is so rich with meaning that it was difficult for me to choose what to talk about today.

Any corporate executive in any industry will agree that if reimbursement is not commensurate with effectiveness and productivity, it is nearly impossible to motivate employees. And if employees are not motivated, they produce inferior products, customer service goes down the drain, and profits fall off the cliff.

That is exactly the situation that Jesus describes. Workers who put in a full day of work complain, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” I am guessing that most, if not all of us, will agree with that reasoning. That statement describes the Protestant Work Ethic; the work ethic that our culture and society are built on.

Something similar is happening in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Remember, the goofball who wasted all the resources gets a nice ring, a new robe and a huge party, and the son who faithfully worked the fields and tended to the family estate feels cheated and bitter.

Both the landowner in today’s parable and the Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son seem to {“} “enable” / [condone] / [tolerate] bad and unproductive behavior.

Because we are a product of a modern capitalist society, our minds go to the realm of the laborers providing a service to the landowner. Because of the context of the culture in which we were raised, matured, and live [the reality of our existence, what we believe is right, true and beautiful], we tend to think of human interactions as feeding a certain self-interest; we think of the interaction between the landowner and the workers as an economic exchange. And that is why we lose the meaning and the intent of today’s parable.

Today’s parable is not about best practices of running an enterprise or managing a supply chain. The parable of the Prodigal Son is not about rearing children.

The Parable that we heard today is NOT about a landowner looking for help from the laborers. It is a story of a man who wants to help others, who wants to be a blessing to others. The Landowner invites the idle (and the lost) and gives them purpose.

Much loved hymn of our faith tradition:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Do you remember the time when you stood idle at your {“} marketplace wondering what is the meaning of all of this, not finding joy, hoping for someone to help you to find the way?

To clarify, the landowner wants to be a blessing to others, and in this parable he blesses them by giving them purpose and the satisfaction of being productive. Who was a blessing in your life, who helped you to find your way?

Another difficult insight from today’s parable is that we are often surprised and even suspicious of God’s presence, maybe even offended by God’s grace. Remember the workers who complained about the Landowner’s generosity? This observation offers a window into the human soul, into our fallenness, into the blinders that we put on ourselves. (Remember we talked about the blinders that we put on, that cause us to miss what God is doing just outside of our line of vision).

I said earlier that today’s parable comes with many layers of meaning. One of the layers is that greatness comes through service (Matthew 20:25-28). Another point that we can take from this parable is that God’s generosity is not diminished by human jealousy; rain falls for the benefit of the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).

When we are faced with God’s boundless love for God’s Creation, especially when it is lavished upon others, our reaction reveals how we view our own labor. Do we view it as a gift from God or as benefit to God; do our labors represent the joyful fulfillment of God’s vision for our lives or our endurance of the monotony of work and the “scorching heat,” or challenges, of the workplace.

In conclusion I want to share with you a quote from a contemporary Canadian Theologian Carey Nieuwhof, “Churches in decline often think in terms of what they can get from people – money, time, growth, etc. Churches that will make an impact on the future will be passionate about what they want for people – financial balance, generosity, the joy of serving, healthier families, and of course, Christ at the center of everyone’s life.”