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The Book of Genesis is one of the best Soap Operas of all time! (13 Proper – Year A)
Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7,15; Romans 9:1-5; Matt 14:13-21 Today’s readings from Genesis and from Matthew have two things in common: in both readings the conflict that brought about today’s passage has been omitted, and I think in both cases important meaning has been lost in the process. Many folks here have suffered through the death…
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Faith – “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed” (12 Proper – Year A)
Gen 28:15-28; Ps 105:1-11,45b; Rom 8:26-39; Matt 13:31-33,44-52 Faith. Not so easy a thing to have these days. The forces of darkness are working overtime these days. Just look at one of the many ways evil manifests itself in our modern world. Human trafficking is the trade of humans being used for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery,…
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God will be where and when and who God will be (11 Proper – Year A)
Gen.28:10-19a; Ps.139:1-12,23-24; Rom.8:12-25; Matt 13:24-30,36-43 Misdirection. I think that’s the reason why we have the reading from Genesis and the reading from the Gospel of Matthew matched up this morning. Misdirection. Let me explain. As you may or may not know, our church uses what we call the “Revised Common Lectionary” to decide what scripture…
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God continues to spread the seeds of love indiscriminately and no matter how prepared we are to receive it (10 Proper – Year A)
Gen. 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Rom. 8:1-11; Matt. 13:1-9,18-23 Along with the parable of the Good Samaritan, the parable of the Sower is one of the most recognizable stories in all the Gospels. Even those of us who aren’t farmers or gardeners can understand the metaphor – why some who hear the Word of God are…
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“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” (09 Proper – Year A)
Gen24:34-38,42-49,58-67;Ps45:11-18;Rom7:15-25a;Matt11:16-19,25-30 There’s an old expression that goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” That saying is about stubbornness; a thirsty horse who won’t drink the water that’s right in front of it’s nose. In the reading from Matthew’s gospel Jesus is chastising the crowd for its stubbornness, for…
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One of the scariest ideas about God I can think of: that God would cause suffering in my life to test my faith. (8 Proper Year A)
Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 There’s an ongoing debate in the Christian world, and it centers around the possibility that God purposely does things in our lives to test our faith. To me this is one of the scariest ideas about God I can think of: that God would cause suffering in…
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Nothing that happens to us in our life is outside the love of God and his Grace. (7 Proper Year A)
Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10,16-17; Rom 6:1b-11; Matt 10:24-39 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” When I was young, 5 or 6, religious instruction left me with a very simplistic view of Sin: Sin was bad. Being a Sinner made you bad. No one liked Sinners.…
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‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;” (06 Proper – Year A)
Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matt 9:9-13,18-26 ‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”’ I’ll never forget the first time I celebrated the Eucharist by myself. I don’t mean I was the…
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“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice.” (5 Proper Year A)
P+02 OT10 – Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matt 9:9-13,18-26 While I can’t do it justice in a sermon this short, today’s readings are primarily about faithfulness and mercy. Mercy on an old nomad who believes God’s word that he will make him the father of a multitude. Mercy on a leader of a…
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“When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” (2 Pentecost – Trinity Year A)
Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17 Today’s scripture readings from Genesis and the Gospel of Matthew are bookends to a kind of cosmic blockbuster journey. In Genesis we hear the story of THE beginning, creation taking place at the hands…