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The Difference Is Self Awareness
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 23 Pentecost, Proper 25 – October 27, 2013 Luke 18:9-14 In this week’s Gospel lesson, we are confronted with two very stark images of sinners. The first, a Pharisee, bases his definition of sin on whether or not he keeps the law. For him, righteousness is keeping the law, sin is breaking the law. He prides himself on knowing and observing the law, so he does not consider himself to be a sinner. By his…
The Judge and the Widow
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 22 Pentecost, Proper 24 – October 20, 2013 Luke 18:1-8 Today’s parable of the widow’s persistence is introduced as a parable about prayer and not losing heart, then moves into a story about justice, and ends with a question about faith. It begins with the introduction of the judge who neither fears God nor respects people. The un-respected people are represented here by a widow whose relentlessness is so bothersome to the judge that she…
It’s Not Easy Being Green
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 21 Pentecost, Proper 23 – October 13, 2013 Luke 17:11-19 Kermit the Frog said, “It isn’t easy being green.” Others say, “It isn’t easy being poor … or being a person of color … or being uneducated … or being a person with a disability … or …” Well, you get the idea. It isn’t easy being on the outside. Most of us have experienced that truth at some point in our lives. We haven’t…
Increase Our Faith!
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 20 Pentecost, Proper 22 – October 6, 2013 Luke 17:5-10 Last week I talked about God logic. That God’s logic isn’t our logic. God doesn’t play by our rules. God said through Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts and my ways higher than your ways.” Our Gospel lesson opens with a plea from…
Dip Your Finger in the Water and Cool My Tongue
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 19 Pentecost, Proper 21 – September 29, 2013 Luke 16:19-31 Parables are meant to give us a glimpse – often surprising, even jarring glimpses- into the kingdom of God. They present various slivers of the “kingdom logic” of the God who regularly surprises us with His compassion and concern. So maybe this parable isn’t interested in explaining to us how people get to heaven but rather invites us to look at the people around us…
All That We Have Belongs To God
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 18 Pentecost, Proper 20 – September 22, 2013 Luke 16:1-13 This is a difficult gospel passage today. Any commentator will tell you it is a difficult text. A dishonest manager is about to lose his job because he has misspent his employer’s assets. Because he doesn’t want to do manual labor or receive charity, he goes around to all the people who owe his employer money and reduces their debts. He does this so that…
How Much Is That Ring Worth?
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 17 Pentecost, Proper 19 – September 15, 2013 Luke 15:1-10 Our gospel passage today begins with a contrast between “tax collectors and sinners” and “Pharisees and scribes.” Apparently, sinners are drawn to Jesus, but religious leaders complain that he accepts and even eats with sinners. What is it about Jesus and what he does that elicits such different responses? And if we had been there, on which side would we have found ourselves? Before you…
You Can Only Sit In One Chair
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 16 Pentecost – September 8, 2013 Luke 14:25-33 Luciano Pavarotti, the immensely talented operatic tenor who crossed the boundary into popular music, once commented on a lesson he learned from his father. “When I was a boy, my father, who was a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song. He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. A professional tenor in my home town took me on as a student. I…
Counting Is Everything
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 15 Pentecost, Proper 17 – September 1, 2013 Luke 14:1,7-14 Jesus loved the gatherings around meals; at least, that’s what we are led to believe in the Gospel of Luke. In our story this morning, Jesus is at a banquet and tells “parable” about the meal setting, which is followed up by another story about another banquet. He can’t seem to get enough of what happens at meals. You see, in today’s gospel reading Jesus…
Stand Up Straight!
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 14 Pentecost, Proper 16 – August 25, 2013 Luke13:10-17 She didn’t have a name. She was simply known as “the cripple, the bent woman”. For eighteen long years, she had been getting worse and worse, so disabled by her bad back that she couldn’t stand up straight and could hardly walk. She had become her disability. When she shuffled by, people would whisper, “Look! There goes the bent woman!” She was labeled. She no longer…
The Motto Was “Pax”
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 13 Pentecost, Proper 15 – August 18, 2013 Luke 12:49-56 “You think I have come to bring peace to the world” Jesus says. “I have not come to bring peace, but division. Because of me, households will be divided. Son’s will argue with their fathers. Daughters will disagree with their mothers. Good friends will be at odds with one another. And all because of me.” That message bothers many of us. It bothers me! It…
Do Not Be Afraid, Little Flock
By The Rev. Sherry Deets 12 Pentecost, Proper 14 – August 11, 2013 Luke 12:32-40 Last Sunday we talked about what it means to be ‘rich toward God’ and I ended my homily with the beginning of today’s gospel lesson: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Did you catch that? God doesn’t just want to give us some things. God doesn’t just hope we do alright. God isn’t…