Sermons from August 2022

12 Pentecost, Proper 17 – August 28, 2022 Luke 14:1, 7-14          This morning we are ushered into a room where a dinner party is in progress. At the head of the table is the host, a Pharisee, a leader of the local community. The leaders were watching Jesus closely. But, as the guests arrive Jesus notices how they are jockeying for the seats of honor next to the host. If we’re honest with ourselves, this sort of things still…

10 Pentecost, Proper 15 – August 14, 2022 Luke 12:49-56          Oh my!  Our gospel passage for this morning is unsettling to say the least. Jesus coming to bring fire to the earth, division, calling us hypocrites.  Where is the good news for us in this message? This is certainly one of those readings where context is important – in other words, remembering what the world was like when Jesus walked the earth. Back then, following Jesus meant division and…

9 Pentecost, Proper 14 – August 7, 2022 Luke 12:32-40          This week’s gospel reading is full of shifting identities. For example, it seems to describe a thief as both a threat (verse 33) at the beginning of our passage and then as creation’s salvation at the end (verses 39-40). How do we account for metaphors that keep shapeshifting from verse to verse—particularly in relation to the Divine? We might call this week’s reading: Shepherd, Master, Servant, Thief.            Is God’s arrival…