In Peter’s denial of Jesus telling them about his coming passion, death and resurrection – an outcome very inconsistent with being a Messiah – it is very clear that Peter had not figured out yet how God works. He was trying to ‘be there’ for Jesus, but by the rules of the world, rather than accepting that God could work by a whole different set of rules.
Jesus defined himself by using many names; bread of life, light of the world, the gate, the good shepherd, the vine, the way, the truth and the life. In the eighth chapter of Matthew (8.20), Jesus took upon himself the name given before him to the prophet Ezekiel, “Son of Man”. Jesus asked his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they answered; John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or maybe one of the prophets.” So to this point they hadn’t figured out who he was. Then Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” It is important to notice that Jesus did not tell his disciples who he was, but he asked them what they had figured out for themselves, based on what they had seen him do and heard him teach. Even of his first followers, just as it is true for you and me, Jesus requires that we freely, on our own, recognize who he is.
Jesus met a non-Jewish woman who pleaded with him to heal her daughter. This is one of the most intriguing stories in the Gospels. The woman changed Jesus’ mind about healing her daughter.
8/13/2017
Pentecost 10A
Proper 14
The account of Jesus’ Transfiguration is part of a larger section of Luke’s Gospel that contains his teaching on the meaning of real discipleship; what it means to be students of Christ. By our exploring the Transfiguration from that perspective, we can understand that Jesus’ Transfiguration demonstrates three key elements of being disciples: Glory, Praise, and Action.
You and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, are invited to live in the Kingdom of God. Since we are invited to be residents of that Kingdom, it is worth our learning what we can about the neighborhood. First, where might we look for it? The Gospel parables suggest that the extraordinary is hidden in plain sight; in the ordinary circumstances of our everyday lives.
7/23/2017
Pentecost 7A
Proper 11
The Gospel story today is usually called the Parable of the Sower; it is really a story about the Four Soils that the seeds were cast upon. In three out of four cases, the seed does not produce a plant that bears fruit. The skill of the sower and the quality of the seed are not the problem. The hazard keeping the seed from bearing fruit is the quality of the soil. For the teachings of Jesus to bear fruit in our lives and to affect other lives, we need to understand what Jesus is saying about the quality of the soils. I suggest that we examine the truth that each of us has a mix of all four kinds of soil at work in us.
Last Sunday I spoke about ways that Bishop Mary modeled God’s grace working in her at the funeral service for her husband, Michael. I described two expressions of God’s Grace: The first was Sanctifying Grace, which brings growth, maturity, and movement forward in the process of becoming Christ-like.
Grace is the topic that every Christian needs to understand, because Grace uniquely distinguishes the Christian faith from every other religion in the world. Our understanding the works of Grace, and our living the life of Grace can transform our Christian life.
We usually simplify Grace to stand for God’s unconditional love. But it is actually much more than that.