Sermons from October 2016

24 Pentecost, Proper 26 – October 30, 2016 Luke 19:1-10 Crowds follow Jesus these days nearly everywhere he goes. They parade behind him and in front of him, crushing in close or watching from a safe distance. They are curious and want to hear, touch, or maybe just see what happens when others interact with this man people say has come from God. What essence does he emanate? What do they sense in him, want from him? Might he not…

23 Pentecost, Proper 25 – October 23, 2016 Luke 18:9-14 Jesus tells another parable about prayer, this one intended for those “who trust in themselves”. With this in mind, the Pharisee’s actions and words make him the obvious fall guy. We picture him as loud, arrogant and too sure of himself. We hear his self–satisfied prayer: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a…

21 Pentecost, Proper 23 – October 9, 2016 Luke 17:11-19 Our gospel lesson begins with Jesus walking through an unidentified region between Samaria and Galilee. This is actually an important detail, because that region would have been potentially hostile territory, an unsafe area that is neither inside, nor outside Jewish territory. It is in between space. In that in between space, ten lepers approached Jesus. Now remember that at that time, a diagnosis of leprosy was pretty much treated like…

20 Pentecost, Proper 22 – October 2, 2016 Luke 17:5-10 Last week’s gospel lesson showed us the bondage of being separated from one another, of not seeing, not reaching out or caring for one another. It creates a chasm between us.  Each time we walk past the needs of our neighbor or ignore the cries of our own diminished humanity, we move away from communion and go deeper into that chasm. The apostles, in our gospel lesson today, it seems,…