The 16th Sunday After Pentecost
August 31, 2008

Romans 12:9-21

15th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday August 24th

Romans 12:1-8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

This week I'm diverting from my normal practice of blogging about the Gospel. I have been intentional in blogging regularly about the Gospel text because there are some that are just so difficult, it'd be easier to find a happier text (like last Sunday's for example). So, in some ways, it's an accountability piece for myself to not just pick the easier piece of scripture.

This week, I am changing, for a few reasons. First, because this Romans reading is one of my favorite. Secondly, The Gospel this week would not be too much of a challenge - Jesus asks "who do you say that I am?" and Peter responds, "You are the messiah, the Son of the living God" and Jesus calls Peter the rock. Full text here. Also, I have been thinking that at some point I should switch and intentionally blog about the 2nd reading. That has yet to be determined.

In this selection, as Paul writes, "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds..." I think about the practices that I have (such as not letting myself off the hook when it comes to difficult scripture), that keep me accountable to God and not the world. I fail many times in these practices, and often pay much more attention to the world, however, with grace, I seek to be transformed over and over again.

One of these practices is regular conversation about given scripture passages; another is to meet with a spiritual director to look at what God is doing with and in my life; another is attempting to be quiet in prayer. I'm not actually doing the transformation - God is. But, I am putting myself in the place to be transformed. It's not easy all the time - there are many many times when I do not see this transformation at all. But I trust that God is present, at work, bringing about renewal and transformation.

Do you have practices that you do to be renewed and transformed by God?
What do you think? Continue with Gospel texts? Move on to Epistles (generally the 2nd reading)?
**Trivia this week - who can name what the title of this post is in reference to? Hint: it's from the early 90s.

Gospel for the 14th Sunday After Pentecost, Year A

August 17, 2008

Matthew 15:10-28
Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: ¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Who is this Jesus who says that what comes out of the heart and mouth is what defiles, but then in the next moment insinuates that a woman who is not and Israelite is a dog? Is this the same Jesus who in a while will tell his disciples that "whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto me"?

The actions that defile (vs 19) are certainly horrendous. But the next verse basically says that a person isn't unclean because they don't follow the same religious ritual. And, following that, Jesus is given the opportunity to put his words into action.

There are so many ways to explain away or explore this episode. It is a bit troubling after all - I personally would rather Jesus be open and welcoming immediately without having to have the woman groveling for the health of her child.

I choose not to explain it away. But rather to ask, what does this tell us about God's kingdom? What does this tell us about Jesus? What does this leave open for confusion and questioning? And is that confusion/questioning and only partial understanding of Jesus a bad thing?

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Trusting God can be difficult. Sometimes we want to test God's call to us, God's comfort of us. Jesus is trying to tell the disciples not to be afraid, but Peter's reaction is to ask Jesus to do something miraculous with him. In some ways, Peter asks Jesus to "prove it" by allowing Peter to walk on water.

Jesus seems to not make a big deal about it. Some recognition, perhaps, that sometimes people do need some evidence, something to hold onto. And, Peter did walk on water. Peter did an amazing thing, as long as he was focused on Jesus.

It's when he's distracted and stops trusting that he begins to sink.

I get distracted. Easily. I get distracted by tasks and by my own diversions. It's sometimes easy to look away from the purpose or base of something (Sharing Christ's love) because of all of the details or because outside things seems so big.

Personally, I know that I regularly need that hand of Jesus reaching out, catching me from sinking into the details of what seems to be a deep sea.

What distracts you?
How do you test God?
When have you been "caught" or helped to have things be put in focus, by God?

The Gospel for the 12th Sunday After Pentecost
August 3, 2008

Matthew 14:13-21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ ¹⁶Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ ¹⁷They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."

Like many other episodes in the Gospels, I see myself in the disciples in this reading. You might say that is a good thing - to see oneself as a disciple. To be someone who attempts to follow Jesus. Isn't that what we're all doing, really?

Once again, however, imagining myself as a disciple means recognizing the limits of my imagination and belief. It means recognizing that God asks us to sometimes do what seems impossible. And, then that impossibility isn't wholly up to us to accomplish. We gather the fish and the loaves and let God work. But, first we need to gather the fish and the loaves.

What amazing things has God done, that you've been part of?
What feels impossible right now? How might God use you to start to accomplish the impossible?

The Gospel for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2008

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Note: As he will be preaching on Sunday, Jim Bjugstad is the guest blogger this week.

I find it a bit out of character, and somewhat suspect, that when Jesus asks the disciples if they understand his "anything but clear" (to me) parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, they simply answer "yes". I wish I could so confidently affirm my understanding.

The "Kingdom of Heaven" is an incredibly important concept in Christianity, and volumes have been written about it. In Lutheran theology, the Kingdom is often described as "already/not yet here", a rather Zen concept to me! In keeping with that ambiguity, we're also taught that bringing about the Kingdom is God's work - and ours.

How do you picture the Kingdom of Heaven? What is the Kingdom "like" to you?

What can we do to bring about the Kingdom?

What do you make of that last verse about the new and old "treasure"?

The Gospel for the 10th Sunday After Pentecost
July 20, 2008

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43


²⁴He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

So often we want to fix everything right away - as soon as we recognize a problem. Ok, ok. Maybe I shouldn't say "we," but "I." This is a characteristic of mine - the desire to right what is wrong - asap. But, I would not be at all surprised if a number of you who read this blog share that characteristic.

Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive toward neat fields - or rather, that we shouldn't try to keep weeds from being planted (and yes, even uproot them - just not at the expense of all else that is being sown). It's a little bit similar to the cliché of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

What is remarkable is that the weeds do not triumph. The good seed continues to grow in the midst of the weeds. God (or, as Jesus says here, the Son of Man) will rid the world of sin - in the Kingdom of God, the children of the kingdom will be released from the causes of sin to shine like the sun.

For the here and now - we know that this kingdom is coming - we pray for it. And, we don't necessarily sit back and allow sin to invade, but we also recognize that it is God who removes the sin that has already been planted.

What thoughts do you have?
Where does this metaphor work? Where does it break down?

The Gospel for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost

July 13, 2008

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Note: Jim Bjugstad is the guest blogger this week, while Pastor Becker is pursuing some continuing education.

In this passage, Jesus tells a parable showing that not all who hear the word will respond in the same way, or have the same results.

Where is the "rocky ground" that prevents healthy roots from forming in your faith?
What "thorns" are choking out the word for you?

Jesus says that even in good soil, the yields might be different, thirtyfold, or sixty, or a hundred. What does that mean for you?

The Gospel for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost
July 6, 2008

Matthew 11:16-19 (20-24) 25-30
¹⁶“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ¹⁷‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; ¹⁹the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

⁽²⁰Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.” )

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Those verses 20-24 won't be read on Sunday, but in some ways they enlighten the rest of the Scripture selection. Just prior to this selection, John the Baptist (Jesus cousin who is in jail at this point) sends some of his disciples to check out to see if Jesus is the real thing. The Messiah he had been working to get people ready for.

When John's disciples leave, Jesus uses the opportunity to teach those around him - and lifts up John's role in his ministry. But, then Jesus complains about all those who do not accept the Good News that has come into the world. All those who have seen miracles and not responded - all those near whom the Kingdom of God has come...who do nothing, and certainly do not repent. He likens these people to children in the marketplace who don't play along with games of weddings and funerals (flute and dancing - like Jesus who eats and drinks/ and wailing and mourning - like John the Baptist who abstains from eating and drinking). The cities he's named have not responded, even though Jesus has been performing miracles in their midst.

Then he goes into this lovely Jewish prayer - and ends with an image of taking on his yoke. Carrying it with him. A yoke that will make you follow along with Jesus, but whose heaviness isn't too difficult to handle.

So, ComeUnity bloggers - how are we (as individuals/as a city or other group) like those who rejected Jesus and John the Baptist? When do we not see God's kingdom at work?

What does it mean to you to take up Jesus' yoke? Is it an image that connects for you?

The 1st Reading for the Commemoration of Peter and Paul
June 29, 2008

Acts 12:1-11

About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.

The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’

This Sunday we Commemorate Peter and Paul. From Acts we hear of a time when Herod started to try to rid the area of Jesus followers. An angel of the Lord rescues Peter from jail. After these verses we hear that once Peter escaped he went to a house where many followers were. The woman who started to answer the door was so excited to hear his voice that she ran to tell the others - without letting Peter in. (You can read those verses here.) I recommend reading it - mostly because it's kind of funny.

Peter, the rock on which the church was built, but also one who made many mistakes as he attempted to follow Jesus, also doesn't fully know what is going on as he is rescued from jail. He thinks he's experiencing a vision - not actually walking out of jail accompanied by an angel of the Lord.

There are times when God's amazing works do seem somewhat surreal. I get this feeling sometimes at the Soup Kitchen or at times in worship. I sometimes get this feeling as I run by the lake front or when I'm just falling asleep or waking up. These times, when God's greatness is evident, do have a bit of a surreal quality, in which I feel I need to pinch myself or can't fully grasp everything that is going on.

But, these are the in-the-moment realizations, when so often recognizing God's amazing works happens in retrospect. Maybe not for everyone, but for me that is how it most frequently occurs.

The thing is, we do wake up. We wake up and realize...and then where do we go? What do we do when we realize that God has just done something great?

Peter went to be with other followers of Christ (even if they didn't let him in right away) to show what God had done. How do we share these experiences of God's amazing works with one another?

What is a time that you recognize God's greatness?

Peter's chains fell off his wrists - he was literally freed. When have you been figuratively freed?