Easter 6C

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Oremos…Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciónes de nuestros corazónes sean gratas a tu vista, Señor, fortaleza nuestra y redentor. Amén.

A lo largo de los domingos de Pascua, hemos escuchado las historias de los Hechos de los Apóstoles que nos cuentan cómo Pedro, Pablo y los demás discípulos viajaron desde Jerusalén hacia otros lugares y hacia otras personas que nunca habían escuchado el Evangelio, nunca habían escuchado las Buenas Nuevas de Jesucristo. Fortalecidos por el Espíritu Santo, fueron testigos del abundante amor de Dios que transforma nuestras vidas.

En la lectura de hoy de los Hechos, Pablo tenía un plan. Y entonces el Espíritu le dijo: “No.” Y tras recibir una visión de Dios, cambió su plan para seguir el de Dios.

En lugar de dirigirse al este, a Asia, navegó hacia el oeste, a Macedonia, el norte de Grecia actual. Filipos no era un pueblo remoto.

Era una ciudad eminente, una colonia romana, un lugar donde la gente vivía bajo la lealtad al emperador romano y sus costumbres.

Cuando Pablo y sus compañeros llegaron allí, no se hicieron el centro de atención, colocando pancartas en la plaza pública ni repartiendo folletos. En este lugar extranjero, donde no esperaban estar y sin saber qué esperar, esperaron “varios días” hasta que llego el sábado, y entonces, expectantes, se dirigieron a un lugar donde creían tener la oportunidad de encontrar a la gente más piadosa y devota. Bajaron al río, donde la gente estaba reunida para orar.

Y allí conocieron a Lidia, una mujer, comerciante, una jefa de familia y una extranjera. [i] Lidia no era de allí; había llegado a Filipos desde el este, como Pablo y Silas, desde Tiatira en Asia. Pero había hecho de Filippo su hogar, y al abrir su corazón y su hogar, se abrió a la obra más profunda del Espíritu de Dios. .[ii]

Las orillas de los ríos pueden ser lugares fangosos y turbios donde los remolinos giran y las empinadas orillas caen traicioneramente, pero también pueden ser lugares donde nos encontramos bañados por refrescantes arroyos, calmados por el ritmo de la rápida corriente que rebota en el terreno irregular de roca y tierra. En los Hechos, “el anhelo y la gracia se encontraron allí en la orilla del río”. [iii] Este era el lugar al que acudían las personas, impulsadas por el Espíritu en busca de algo más, y allí se encontraban con Dios.

Cuando vivía en Shelby, dos pastores que conocí me contaron sus propias experiencias de haber sido llamados a lugares inesperados y apersonas desconocidas. Se llaman Carroll Page y Harry Gregory. Pensando en Paul y Lydia, les pedí permiso para compartir sus historias.

Durante años, Harry y Carroll han viajado a Camerún e India como misioneros, y al escuchar sus historias, les pregunté cómo comenzaron?. ¿Qué los llevó a esos lugares?

Ahora, sé dónde está India, pero confieso que no tenía ni idea de dónde estaba Camerún, excepto que era un país africano. Incluso cuando Harry dijo que estaba junto a Nigeria, esto no me dijo mucho a mi. Conozco Madagascar y Sudáfrica, Marruecos y Egipto, Libia y Sudán, pero no Camerún. Resulta, por cierto, que Camerún está en ese rincón occidental de África.

Me impresionó lo similares que eran sus historias y cómo la de Pablo se reflejaba en las suyas. Harry conoció a un hombre de Camerún que le habló de la gente de allí. Lo invitó a ir y a verlo por si mismo. Y ahora viaja allí seis semanas cada verano. No va a organizar avivamientos. Lleva Biblias traducidas y enseña a los líderes y pastores locales a liderar, capacitándolos para trabajar y compartir el Evangelio en sus propios pueblos y comunidades.

¿Y Carroll? Bueno, una primavera, Carroll conoció a unos misioneros cuando hablaban en Gardner-Webb sobre viajar a la India con un equipo médico misionero.

Y ese verano, se encontró en la India, la única persona no médica en un equipo de una docena de personas cuyo itinerario los llevó a recorrer siete aldeas del Himalaya. El primer día, seis personas quedaron afectadas por el mal de altura, pero al recuperarse, completaron la primera etapa del viaje y volvieron a la rutina. Un día caminaban alrededor de diez millas hasta una aldea y al día siguiente tenían su clínica médica. Se quedaban un día más y luego emprendían su siguiente caminata. Los habitantes de estas aldeas jamás había recibido atención médica básica, jamás había visto a un occidental, a una persona blanca. El único Evangelio escrito que llevaban los misioneros era un Evangelio de Juan traducido al dialecto local, pero el Evangelio que experimentaron fue el que trajeron los misioneros que dedicaron su tiempo, su compasión y a sí mismos al servicio.

¿Dónde se encuentran, en nuestras vidas y en las de quienes conocemos, los lugares donde el anhelo y la gracia se unen? No tenemos que viajar a Camerún ni a India para encontrar personas que esperan y anhelan escuchar las Buenas Nuevas de que Dios las ama.

Tenemos que salir de nuestros patrones y comportamientos establecidos, de nuestras rutinas habituales y, quizás, incluso de nuestras tradiciones. El Espíritu de Dios nos mueve y nos guía, llamándonos a escuchar y liberándonos para actuar en respuesta. Siguiendo a los apóstoles, recibimos una invitación a contarle al mundo cómo nuestras vidas cambian al ser hijos e hijas de un Dios vivo cuyo amor llega hasta los confines de la tierra y no excluye a nadie.

Oremos.
Dios Santo y Misericordioso, Tu Palabra y Tu Gracia llegan hasta los confines de la tierra. Condúcenos a los lugares donde las personas esperan escuchar que son tus hijos amados. Líbranos del pecado y abre nuestros corazones y vidas para que sean transformados por tu amor y por personas que aún no conocemos. Oramos en el nombre de tu Hijo Resucitado, nuestro Señor y Salvador viviente, Jesucristo. Amén.

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[i] Matthew Skinner. Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel.

[ii] Ronald Cole Turner, Feasting on the Word.

[iii] ibid

Throughout the Sundays of Easter we have heard the stories in the Acts of the Apostles that tell us how Peter, Paul and the other disciples traveled out of Jerusalem to other places and to other people who had never heard the Gospel, never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were witnesses to the abundant love of God that transforms our lives.

In today’s reading from Acts, Paul had a plan. And then the Spirit told him “No.” And having received a vision from God, he changed his plan to follow God’s.

Instead of heading to east to Asia, he sailed west to Macedonia − northern Greece today. Philippi wasn’t some backwater town. It was an eminent city, a Roman colony, a place where people lived under allegiance to the Roman emperor and custom.

When Paul and his companions got there, they didn’t take center stage, setting up banners in the public square and handing out flyers. In this foreign place, where they hadn’t expected to be, and didn’t know what to expect, they waited for “some number of days” until the Sabbath arrived, and then, expectantly,

they went to a place where they thought they had a chance of finding the most pious, the most devout, people. They went down to the river where people were gathered to pray.

And there, they met Lydia, a woman, a merchant, a head of household and an outsider.[i] Lydia wasn’t a local; she’d come to Philippi from the east, like Paul and Silas, from Thyatira in Asia. But she had made her home there in Philippi and as she opened her heart and her home, she opened herself to the deeper workings of God’s Spirit.[ii]

Riverbanks can be muddy and mucky places where eddies swirl and steep banks drop off treacherously, but they can also be places where we find ourselves washed in refreshing streams, calmed by the rhythm of the swift current bouncing off the uneven ground of rock and earth. In Acts, “longing and grace met there on the bank of the river.”[iii] This was the place where people came, stirred by the Spirit for something more, and there they encountered God. 

When I lived in Shelby, two pastors I knew told me about their own experiences of being called into unexpected places and to unknown people. Thinking about Paul and Lydia, I asked them for their permission to share their stories.

Their names are Carroll Page and Harry Gregory;

For years, Harry and Carroll have traveled to Cameroon and India as missionaries, and as I listened to their stories, I asked how did you start? What took you to these places?

Now, I know where India is, but I confess, I didn’t have any idea where Cameroon was, except that it was an African country. Even when Harry said it was next to Nigeria, that didn’t mean anything to me. I know Madagascar and South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt, Libya and Sudan, but not Cameroon. It turns out, by the way, that Cameroon is in that western crook of Africa.

I was struck by how similar their stories were, and how Paul’s story echoed in theirs. Harry met a man from Cameroon who told him about the people there. He invited Harry to come and see. And now Harry now travels there for six weeks each summer. He doesn’t go and hold revivals. He takes translated Bibles and teaches the local leaders and pastors to lead, equipping them to work and share the Gospel in their own villages and communities.

And Carroll? Well, one spring Carroll met missionaries when they spoke at Gardner-Webb about traveling to India with a medical mission team. And that summer, he found himself in India, the only non-medical person on a team of about a dozen people whose itinerary had them trekking to seven villages in the Himalayas. On their first day, six people were laid out by altitude sickness, but when they recovered, they finished that first leg of their journey and they fell into their routine. They would trek about ten miles to a village one day, and the next day they would hold their medical clinic. They’d stay one more day and then they would leave on their next trek. The people in these villages had never had even basic medical attention, never seen a Westerner, a white person. The only written Gospel the missionaries carried was a Gospel of John translated into the local dialect, but the Gospel the people experienced was the one brought by the missionaries who gave their time, their compassion and themselves to serve.

Where are the places in our lives and those we know where longing and grace meet? We don’t have to travel to Cameroon or India to find people who are waiting and longing to hear the Good News that God loves them.

We do have to step outside of our established patterns and behaviors, our regular routines and, perhaps, even our traditions. The Spirit of God is moving and leading us, calling us to listen and freeing us to move in response. Following the apostles, we are given an invitation to tell the world how our lives are changed by being sons and daughters of a Living God whose love reaches to the ends of the earth and leaves out no one.

Let us pray.

Holy and Gracious God,

Your Word and Your Grace reach to the ends of the earth.

Lead us to the places where people are waiting to hear they are your beloved children.

Free us from sin and open our hearts and lives to be transformed by your love, and by people we do not yet know.

We pray in the name of your Risen Son, our Living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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[i] Matthew Skinner. Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel.

[ii] Ronald Cole Turner, Feasting on the Word.

[iii] ibid

Advent 1C

Luke 21:25-36

Let us pray… May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

A few weeks ago, we heard the disciples questioning Jesus about the fulfillment of the kingdom. They wanted to know when they would see the things he had talked about. They wanted details and specifics, and Jesus told them they would have to wait.

Maybe you remember that I mentioned we were waiting for Emerson’s GRE scores. The scores arrived and all is well, so we were able to move on to something else.

Because there’s always something else, isn’t there? The world always has us on the edge of our seats waiting,

especially this holiday weekend:

Waiting

for the parade to begin,

for the sale to start,

for the countdown to commence.

Our attention is always being drawn to what’s next. So much so that we might miss what is happening right now.

In his gospel, Luke, like Mark before him, talks of signs and we remember that signs always point to God’s action. Luke encourages us to be on guard and alert to what is happening, to what God is doing. The foreboding felt by the people is being fed by their anxiety about the future. It is fear taking over. In response to our collective fear and worry, we are meant to hear Jesus’ promise that “redemption is drawing near”, “the Kingdom of God is near”, and His Word “will not pass away”. (v 28, 31,33)

This is the hope we celebrate in Advent.

In his letter to the Church in Thessalonica, we hear Paul’s own hope realized in the work that the faith community has been doing together.

Sometime after he left them, Paul sent Timothy to check on the church in Thessalonica and now Timothy has returned to Paul and Silas and told them the Christians there are thriving and that their faith is vibrant and strong. In response to this good news, Paul, Silas and Timothy write this letter to the Thessalonian church.

What we hear in today’s reading is the end of a second round of praise and thanksgiving that Paul offers to the church in Thessalonica. He had been so worried that their labors were in vain (1 Thessalonians 3:5) that he was overjoyed upon hearing what Timothy reported. His gratitude leads to thanksgiving.

Paul’s letter invites our own reflection on our community’s faith and witness. Here at Grace, we proclaim that we serve Christ and share God’s love. On this first Sunday in Advent, when we celebrate the beginning of a new church year, we could make a top ten list of all the ways we have served and loved our neighbors and each other well in the last year, and I expect every one of us would have a different list.

Ten things at Grace that brought joy to me this year were that:

We celebrated Día de los Muertos - when we remember our loved ones who have died - with about one hundred people from our congregation, preschool and community.

We cared for the family and friends of thirteen members at Grace who joined the Church Triumphant this year and are counted with all the saints now. And we continue to care for homebound members, with banquet bearers bringing them Holy Communion.

Three of our high school students affirmed their baptisms on Reformation Sunday after three years of study, fellowship and service.

We cared well for our community during Hurricane Helene and continue to help direct funds and assistance as we learn about needs.

We fed hungry neighbors by sponsoring food drives for Interfaith Assistance Ministry, Living Waters Lutheran Church in Cherokee and the Rescue Mission.

Staff, volunteers, young adults and youth traveled together to New Orleans for the ELCA’s National Youth Gathering, delivering thousands of dollars to ELCA World Hunger, and working, playing and worshiping together with tens of thousands of other Lutherans.

We welcomed more than twenty new or returning members to Grace, celebrating their place in our faith community.

We collaborated with St. James Episcopal Church and Trinity Presbyterian Church to host Vacation Bible School on Trinity’s campus and had youth and adult volunteers and children of all ages participating.

Our volunteers worked with dozens of ministry partners in our area to help them meet needs and complete projects during the Annual Servant Saturday in April.

Our preschool teachers and staff cared for more than one hundred thirty children, helping them learn and grow and supporting their families and we offered morning worship for our Grace Preschool families.

This praise isn’t about keeping score, and it isn’t about asking the church to do more or work harder.

Our lives of faith are never meant to become to-do lists. Paul’s praise gives thanks for the ways God has strengthened the Thessalonians’ hearts and names his hope that God will increase their love for one another and the world. (v. 12)

And our recognition for what we’ve done well together is similar; it is a celebration and thanksgiving for what God is doing, in, through and among us.

For us all, it is a recognition that the work is not yet complete.

The world is happy to help us remember that, with a secular litany of gift-giving, party preparations and all there is to do leading up to Christmas, but for us, in the Church, our focus is Christ.

We are called to wait and watch to see what God is doing and to participate with God in bringing about God’s kingdom here on earth. It is difficult work to wait on God, patiently watching, alert and attentive to what God is doing.

It’s much harder to wait than to busy ourselves with distractions or to grasp for control.

Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Taylar day Charrdan) writes about “trusting in the slow work of God” in a prayer called “Patient Trust”, where he writes

We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.[i]

A colleague calls this waiting stance “cathedral faith”.

Cathedrals are not built quickly. The great cathedrals of Europe averaged 250-300 years to complete. Here in our country, plans for the National Cathedral in Washington, DC began before the turn of the 20^th century in 1893, and the cornerstone wasn’t laid until 1907. It was 83 years before the “final finial” was set in 1990.[ii] Each architect and planner had to trust the next generation to continue the labor to create what is now one of the largest church buildings in the US and a place where hundreds of thousands of visitors go each year.

Holding “trust in the slow work of God” and having “cathedral faith” are ways of remembering that we are waiting on God’s action in God’s timing and not ours. It is a humbling and hopeful stance to take as we enter into this Advent season, eagerly anticipating Christ’s coming, both as Messiah at Christmas, and in His return.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for your Son Jesus.

Help us be attentive to the ways You are fulfilling your promises.

Awaken us and keep us alert for how we can participate in your kingdom.

Strengthen our hearts and give us patience to trust in Your work in, through and among us.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

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[i] https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/prayer-of-theilhard-de-chardin/

[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_National_Cathedral

"Deeper"

Ephesians 2:13-22

This month, as we worship, we are listening to stories from Scripture that shape our lives as disciples. We are asking how we can be good stewards of God’s gifts and people. We have looked at how we gather both as a community in worship and to bring together resources, and we have been encouraged to scatter beyond these walls to be good neighbors and to share generously what we have first been given.

Another dimension of our commitment to stewardship is depth.

Our Scripture today says, “[each of us is a member of the household of God] built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets….”

The apostles and the prophets are the people whose names we know from Bible study.

Prophets like Isaiah who said,

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

and Jeremiah who promised, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

and Micah who asks God’s people, “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

And apostles like Peter about whom Jesus says, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Of course, it’s also Peter’s recklessness that shows us that discipleship is not about being perfect and getting everything right. And in whom we see the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness when we mess up.

Our foundation is built upon the experiences and words of these ancestors in faith and followers of Jesus. It has been tested and is solid and remains intact.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders. He says,

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:47-49)

When a foundation is shallow, cracked or sunk, the integrity of its structure fails. It cannot bear the ordinary wear and tear of everyday life, let alone the challenges of sustained storms or trials.

Eleven years ago, the residents of a community in Iron Ridge in Lincoln County, North Carolina found this out the hard way. Torrential rains washed away a bridge that crossed a culvert to where 20 families lived. “After a couple of temporary repairs, a local contractor helped the residents restore the road to the way it had been.”[i] Last winter, it happened again and this time 25 families were stranded. The county put a temporary bridge in place, but it didn’t meet requirements, and they had to remove it. So, then they put in a footbridge. Residents had to park their vehicles on one side and walk or use four-wheelers to cross.

In the meantime, the crisis came to the attention of Mennonite Disaster Services (MDS) and Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). The Mennonites had experience building bridges on private roads that had been washed out by floods and offered to come to Lincoln County to help, and they connected with Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann Sipe at Lutheran Disaster Response and the county’s Emergency Manager Mark Howell, who also happens to be an ELCA Lutheran. Together, with other partners, they were able to fund a new, larger and heavier bridge, built to support 38 tons.

The bridge opened on June 29 to the joy and relief of the residents. [ii]

The foundations of faith and trust led to relationships that literally connected people across obstacles and created new pathways.

As disciples, we are part of the household of God that is built upon the foundation of the prophets and the apostles. We have both a responsibility to see that it doesn’t erode or rust away into dust, and an imperative to trust its integrity. As our text says, God has placed Christ as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20)

Christ, not our efforts or accomplishments, is the cornerstone. And Christ is the one who has gathered us, and who scatters us, and Christ is the one who invites us deeper into faith and discipleship.

As we look ahead to a new year of ministry, and as we anticipate a new strategic plan and priorities for our work as a congregation and in our community, may we have confidence that we already have the foundation necessary to support robust ideas and to bear the weight of our work. May we have courage to step out in faith, test new directions and try out new possibilities, knowing we are following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for giving us faith built upon a firm foundation, strengthened through generations of faithful people.

Help us be good stewards of all you have first given us.

Deepen our own faith and give us courage to depend on you, listening to Your Word and your Holy Spirit.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

[i] https://nclutheran.org/special_posts/a-story-of-partnerships/

[ii] ibid

Photos by Mark Howell, Emergency Manager, Lincoln County

Lectionary 9B

 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Between Thursday and Saturday, I participated in the North Carolina Synod’s gathering at Lenoir-Rhyne University. The theme for the Gathering was “We are More”, taken from lines from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans where he is writing about the suffering of the present day, and asks, rhetorically, how God’s people ought to respond, and whether we should despair. He answers his own question, writing,

“No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:38)

Throughout the Gathering, in worship and in conversation, we reflected on what it means to be more ̶ to be more than us and them, and to be “we”.

 And while I was there, I read the verses we have today from another of Paul’s letters, this time not to the Romans, but to the church in Corinth. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul was writing to help the young congregation there navigate the thorny places where faith and life conflict. Knowing there were conflicts in the community there, Paul wrote to remind them of their unity in Christ Jesus.[i] Our reading today comes from his second letter, and at this point, Paul’s relationship with the believers in Corinth is more strained. (2 Corinthians 2) They have been hosting teachers whose teachings are contrary to the Gospel, and now there are divided loyalties among God’s people. There is an “us” and a “them”.

That’s why our reading begins with Paul reminding God’s people, “We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord….” (4:5)

We find our identity in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Our identity is sealed by the Holy Spirit at the font in baptism. To borrow from Paul again,

⁷ We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:7-8 NRS)

For us, as Christians, Christ Jesus is at the center.

Never ourselves. Never another human being or ideology.

When Paul writes in this letter, “we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7), Christ is the treasure. The love of God, abundant and boundless, for each and every one of us; the forgiveness of our sin and our redemption and sanctification –that happens in relationship with God. It is the treasure that we are given when we are named God’s children. We don’t find it or earn it, but receive it, freely from the God who created us and loves us.

We are the clay jars. We are the fragile, mortal vessels that carry Christ into the world, whose hearts shine on the world that they may know God’s love and mercy. We are the vessels through which God’s love reaches our neighbors, that expansive “we” that encompasses both “us” and “them”.

I was challenged in our conversations to think about who I might name as “us” and “them”, in my own complicity in dividing the world into parts.

It is human instinct.

Just like Pastor Jonathan is dedicated to the Gamecocks, as far back as I can remember, I have watched Duke basketball. Maybe you’ve heard how serious the rivalry between Duke and Carolina is.

Both my mom and my dad went to Duke, and my granddaddy worked at the Medical Center there. We have always cheered for Duke!

But there was a faithful couple in my first congregation who were Carolina fans, and I did learn to cheer for Carolina, as long as they weren’t playing Duke!

In a more serious vein, you may have noticed I am a woman in ministry.

Within the Christian faith, there are siblings in Christ, even within Lutheranism, who do not condone women in ministry and who would not recognize my ordination or allow me to preach or preside at Holy Communion. It is easy for me to “other” those believers and dismiss them as unworthy of relationship. And yet, listening to Paul’s words, I must remember what we heard earlier, “We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord….” (4:5) I don’t have to agree with others or even share the same beliefs to enter into relationship with my siblings in Christ if I begin with God’s love for us all.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy, or fun. It is really hard. Paul tells us,

⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  

⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.

¹¹ For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. (4:8-11)

Afflicted,

perplexed,

persecuted and

stricken,

all for Jesus’ sake.

I can watch a ballgame with Carolina fans. It’s harder, but not impossible, to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t honor the ordination of women. Harder still to have honest, hard conversations with people whose beliefs are different than mine about who God is, or about how to solve the problems of the world and who should make those decisions.

The kingdom of God is broader than my opinions,

no matter how right I believe I am.

The kingdom of God is bigger than my imagination,

because it isn’t Christina’s kingdom, it is God’s.

If we are going to be “more than” we are,

we must widen our embrace to include those we would other.

To include those with whom we disagree on big things and small.

We must proclaim Christ Jesus, and not ourselves,

that Christ’s light will shine through us to a hurting world.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for the abundant and boundless love and mercy that you freely give us.

Thank you for your Son Jesus, in whom we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Show us how to widen our embrace of those who are different from us; give us wisdom and help us love well,

Not because we are the same, not because we are in full agreement, but because we belong to you.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

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[i] Luther Seminary. EntertheBible.org

Fourth Sunday in Lent (El cuarto domingo de Cuaresma)

Efesios 2:1-10

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below. 

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables a tu vista, oh Señor nuestra fuerza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

Una de mis frases favoritas en las Escrituras aparece en la Epístola, o Carta de hoy a la Iglesia en Éfeso. La frase en inglés es “But God”. En español, la frase cambia, pero el significado es la mismo. "pero Dios".

¿Recuerdas cuando Jose confronta a sus hermanos cuando la hambruna golpea a Israel y vienen a Egipto en busca de ayuda? Él les dice, ⁸ pues, no me enviaron ustedes acá , sino Dios, que me ha puesto por padre de Faraón, y por señor de toda su casa y gobernador en toda la tierra de Egipto. (Gen. 45: 8 RVR1960) y, más tarde les dice,

²⁰ Vosotros pensasteis mal contra mí, mas Dios lo encaminó a bien, para hacer lo que vemos hoy, para mantener en vida a a mucho pueblo. (Génesis 50:20 RVR1960)

Cuando el escritor de los Hechos habla a los israelitas sobre Jesús, recordándoles que lo habían matado, dice,

²⁴ al cual Dios levantó, sueltos los dolores de la muerte, por cuanto era imposible que fuese retenido por ella. (Hechos 2:24 RVR1960)

Y en la carta de Pablo a los romanos, escribe,

⁷ ... Ciertamente, apenas morirá alguno por un justo... ⁸ Mas Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros, en que, siendo aún pecadores, Cristo murió por nosotros. (Rom. 5: 7-8 RVR1960)

Una y otra vez, estamos viendo cómo se desarrolla la historia y creemos que sabemos lo que sucederá después, "pero Dios" actúa y la historia cambia.

Entonces, quiero que veamos lo que sucede cuando escuchamos estas palabras en efesios.

Cuando leemos las epístolas, y particularmente los efesios, es útil recordar tres cosas.

Primero, estamos escuchando la conversación de otras persona.

Estas cartas fueron enviadas a comunidades de creyentes y luego se compartieron en voz alta en una reunión. Por lo general, fueron escritas en respuesta a algo conocido por el autor, pero oculto para nosotros mientras escuchamos su conversación dos mil años después.

Y segundo, aunque los efesios es una de las letras paulinas, es lo que se llama una "carta en disputa". Es más probable que uno de los propios discípulos de Pablo que querían escribir en la misma tradición o estilo que Pablo lo haya escrito. Eso nos ayuda a comprender por qué Pablo a veces suena como un radical y otras veces un conservador y otros aún un reaccionario. ⁱ

El primer capítulo de Efesios es el saludo del autor a la comunidad en la isla griega de Éfeso.

La carta luego se acelera, y la porción que escuchamos hoy describe rápidamente a las personas como "estabais muertos en vuestros delitos y pecados, en los cuales anduvisteis " (v.1-2, RVR1960)

El escritor dice que estaban siguiendo poderes malévolos, incluidos "este mundo", “el príncipe de la potestad del aire" y  “la carne”. (v. 2-3, RVR1960) No necesitamos saber la naturaleza exacta de su pecado. Sabemos que el pecado nos separa de Dios, y sabemos que, debido a nuestra condición humana, todos pecamos diariamente y necesitamos el perdón de Dios. ⁱⁱ

El escritor dice: "Pero Dios" (2: 4)

Y con esas dos palabras, sabemos que no todo está perdido.

Dios interviene.

Dios actúa.

Dios salva.

Él escribe: "Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia, por su gran amor con que nos amó ... nos dio vida juntamente con Cristo ...". (v. 4-5, RVR1960)

Estábamos muertos, pero ahora estamos vivos.

Éramos esclavos del pecado, pero ahora somos liberados en Cristo.

Éramos "hijos de la ira" (v.3, RVR1960) pero ahora somos agentes de gracia.

Espero que cada uno de ustedes sepa que las palabras de Dios son para ti. Nadie está fuera de la rica misericordia de Dios y su gran amor.

Cuando vivimos con confianza de que estamos en el abrazo de Dios, ya no nos condenamos a nosotros mismos ni a los demás, sino que buscamos cómo podemos compartir el amor de Dios con los demás. Estamos dotados de la vida en Cristo para poder compartir esa vida con los demás, con nuestra iglesia, nuestros vecinos y la comunidad.

Podemos ser Cristo para los demás a través de actos de servicio, como lo haremos el próximo mes cuando tengamos el sábado de servicio.

Pero a veces, es justo en casa donde necesitamos mostrar el mismo tipo de amor y misericordia que hemos recibido por primera vez. Está en nuestra relación con un cónyuge, un hermano, un niño o incluso un padre.

Lutero nos recuerda que "así como pecamos mucho contra Dios todos los días y, sin embargo, nos perdona a través de toda gracia, así siempre debemos perdonar a nuestro prójimo que nos hace daño, violencia e injusticia ...".ⁱⁱⁱ

El perdón es un trabajo duro. Pero aferrarse al resentimiento, la ira o el dolor simplemente perpetúa el daño. A lo largo de esta temporada de Cuaresma, estamos escuchando en las Escrituras y aprendiendo cómo perdonarnos a nosotros mismos y a los demás,

y cómo liberar y dejar a un lado el peso de la falta de perdón.

Cuando llegamos a saber lo que necesitamos, podemos confiar en que Dios responderá, y no dependerá de nuestros propio trabajo o esfuerzos. Y lo mismo es cierto para esta tarea. Debemos entregar nuestra ira a Dios y confiar en Dios para que trabaje para ayudarnos a perdonar.

Oremos…

Dios bueno y amable

Gracias por tu rica misericordia y gran amor por nosotros.

Ayúdanos a poner nuestros ojos en ti y poner nuestra mente en ti,

Recordando que te pertenecemos.

Haznos agentes de gracia para

que todos sepan  de tu abundante gracia.

Oramos en el nombre de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor y Salvador, Jesucristo.

Amén.

[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Let us pray…         

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

One of my favorite phrases in Scripture shows up in today’s epistle, or letter, to the church at Ephesus. The phrase is “But God”.

Do you remember when Joseph confronts his brothers when the famine strikes Israel and they come to Egypt for help? He tells them, ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Gen. 45:8 NRS) And, later he tells them,

²⁰ Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. (Gen. 50:20 NRS)

When the author of Acts speaks to the Israelites about Jesus, reminding them that they had killed him, he says,

²⁴ But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. (Act 2:24 NRS)

And in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes,

⁷ …rarely will anyone die for a righteous person… ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:7-8 NRS)

Again and again, we are watching the story unfold and we think we know what will happen next, “but God” acts and the story changes.

So, I want us to look at what happens when we hear these words in Ephesians.

When we read the epistles, and particularly Ephesians, it’s helpful to remember three things.

First, we are eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. These letters were sent to communities of believers and then shared aloud at a gathering. Usually, they were written in response to something known to the author but hidden from us as we listen in on their conversation two thousand years later.

And second, while Ephesians is one of the Pauline letters, it is what’s called a “disputed letter”. It was more likely written by one of Paul’s own disciples who wanted to write in the same tradition or style as Paul had written. That helps us understand why Paul sometimes sounds like a radical and other times a conservative and still others a reactionary.[i]

The first chapter of Ephesians is the author’s greeting to the community on the Greek island of Ephesus. The letter then picks up speed, and the portion we hear today swiftly describes the people as having “been dead through the trespasses and sins in which they once lived” (v.1-2)

The writer says they were following malevolent powers including “this world”, the ruler of the power of the air” and “the flesh”. (v. 2-3) We don’t need to know the exact nature of their sin. We know that sin separates us from God, and we know that because of our human condition, we all sin daily and need God’s forgiveness.[ii]

The writer then says, “But God,” (2:4)

And with those two words, we know that all is not lost.

God intervenes.

God acts.

God saves.

He writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which God loved us… made us alive together with Christ….” (v. 4-5)

We were dead but now we are alive.

We were slaves to sin but now we are freed in Christ.

We were “children of wrath” (v.3) but now we are agents of grace.

I hope each of you knows that God’s words are for you. No one is outside of God’s rich mercy and great love.

When we live with confidence that we are held in God’s embrace, we no longer condemn ourselves or others, but look for how we can share God’s love with others. We are gifted with life in Christ so that we can share that life with others, with our church, our neighbors and community.

We can be Christ to others through acts of service, like we will do next month when we have Servant Saturday.

But sometimes, it’s right at home where we need to show the same kind of love and mercy that we have first received. It is in our relationship with a spouse, a sibling, a child or even a parent.

Luther reminds us that “Just as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives us through all grace, so we must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence and injustice,….”[iii]

Forgiveness is hard work. But holding onto resentment, anger or pain just perpetuates the harm. Throughout this season of Lent, we are listening in Scripture and learning how to forgive ourselves and others, and how to release and let go of the weight of unforgiveness. 

When we come to an awareness of what we need, we can trust that God will respond, and not depend on our own works or efforts. And the same is true for this task. We must surrender our anger to God and trust God to work to help us forgive.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for your rich mercy and great love for us.

Help us fix our eyes on you and set our minds on you,

remembering we belong to you.

Make us agents of grace

that everyone would know your abundant grace.

We pray in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

---

[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.

Lectionary 25A (el decimoséptimo domingo después de Pentecostés)

Filipenses1:21-30

Mateo 20:1-16

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below. 

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestro corazón sean aceptables ante tus ojos, Señor, nuestra fortaleza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

En su carta a la iglesia de Filipos, Pablo emite un mandato que me llamó la atención en mi lectura de esta semana. Él escribe: "Vive tu vida de una manera digna del evangelio de Cristo". (1:27)

La palabra griega “axios” (ἀξίως) o “digno” aparece cinco veces en las cartas de Pablo a la Iglesia primitiva. Hablar de “dignidad” con razón hace saltar nuestras alarmas sobre la justicia por obras: la idea de que la salvación depende de ser “suficientemente bueno”. Sin embargo, nuestra lectura del evangelio nos recuerda que la gracia de Dios es abundante y no depende de cuánto o qué tan duro trabajemos. No es nuestro esfuerzo sino el amor de Dios por nosotros lo que nos salva.

Cuando Pablo anima a los cristianos a "vivir de una manera digna del evangelio", primero nos está diciendo "que vivamos como ciudadanos" – estar comprometidos y activos en la vida pública, tal como prometemos en el bautismo:

“anunciar a Cristo con palabras y obras,cuidar de los demás y del mundo que Dios creó, y trabajar por la justicia y la paz”.

Y luego define cómo es vivir de una manera digna del evangelio. Lo describe como “permanecer firmes en un mismo espíritu” y “luchar codo a codo con una sola mente”. (1:27) Un Dios, un Salvador, un Espíritu, una mente.

Recuerde que Pablo escribió cartas a la iglesia cuando la gente estaba en algún tipo de conflicto. Solo escuchamos su respuesta, por lo que nos perdemos la mitad de la conversación, pero aquí podemos imaginar que la iglesia en Filipos estaba experimentando trastornos y Pablo les anima a mirar más allá de sus diferencias y permanecer enfocados en la Buenas Nuevas de Cristo Jesús. En Cristo encontramos nuestra verdadera identidad y pertenencia, no a una facción política o ideológica u otra, sino a la familia de Dios, como hijos de Dios.

Cuando hablo de desacuerdos en la Iglesia, a menudo digo que si podemos estar de acuerdo desde el principio en que Jesús nos ama a todos, entonces tendremos puntos en común, un punto de partida compartido.

Lo admito, lamentablemente eso no siempre es posible, pero cuando lo es, nos ayuda a abrir los ojos y los oídos para ver el amor de Dios encarnado en la otra persona, en nuestro oponente e incluso en nuestro enemigo.

Creo que esto es lo hermoso del trabajo que involucra a más de una congregación, una denominación o incluso una religión. Pienso en lugares como Marruecos, donde miles de personas murieron a causa de terremotos, o en Libia que sufrió pérdidas similares por inundaciones catastróficas. En ambos lugares, decenas de miles de supervivientes están desplazados, y se están organizando trabajadores humanitarios y asistencia para brindar ayuda. En estos lugares, fácilmente miramos más allá de nuestras diferencias para ver la amada comunidad creada por Dios y cuidar de ella.

Nuestro Lutheran World Relief trabaja junto con otras organizaciones, y la atención se centra no en dónde no estamos de acuerdo, sino en cómo podemos lograr el objetivo de brindar servicios y apoyarnos mutuamente para lograr el mayor bienestar.

Volviendo a nuestro evangelio de hoy, que nos habla del amor extravagante y generoso de Dios, los trabajadores de la viña descontentos no pueden ver a los que llegan tarde como dignos o amados. Mateo no hace ningún juicio sobre por qué los trabajadores todavía estaban de pie por la tarde.

Podemos imaginar que tal vez eran mayores o más frágiles que los que fueron contratados primero. Quizás su apariencia fuera desconcertante.

Cualquiera que sea la razón, los trabajadores que iban temprano al campo y trabajaban en el calor del día estaban resentidos.

Y juntos estos textos me hacen preguntarme,

¿A quién descuido o resiento?

¿Cuándo juzgo quién es digno de recibir el amor de Dios?

¿Y a quién descarto porque no puedo ver más allá de nuestras diferencias?

No me gustan estas preguntas. Porque sé que me comporto de esta maneras:

Me siento frustrada con la gente que no apoya un salario mínimo más alto para los trabajadores.

Estoy decepcionada con la gente que adora en un lugar donde no se invita a las mujeres a ser liderares.

Estoy enojada porque tenemos legisladores en nuestro estado y nación que han creado leyes que hacen que las personas que amo se sientan inseguras.

Y hay un lugar para mi frustración, mi desilusión y mi enojo, pero no puedo convertirlos en una línea de division y pretender que “esas personas” están fuera del amor de Dios.

Porque no estan.

Cada vez que trazo una línea en la arena, Jesús la cruzará.

En ambas direcciones.

El dio la bienvenida tanto al fariseo Nicodemo (Juan 3) como al recaudador de impuestos Zaqueo. (Lucas 19). Ambos compartieron una comida sabática con el líder de los fariseos (Lucas 14) y cenó con recaudadores de impuestos y pecadores. (Mateo 9)

Así es como se ve el amor extravagante de Dios. Todos juntos, unidos como amados de Dios, incluso con nuestras propias opiniones y creencias.

Gracias a Dios.

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

In his letter to the church in Phillipi, Paul issues a command that stood out to me in my reading this week. He writes, “Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (1:27)

The Greek word “axios” ( ἀξίως )or “worthy” appears five times in Paul’s letters to the early Church. Talk of “worthiness” rightly trips our alarms about works righteousness – the idea that salvation is dependent on being “good enough”. However, our gospel reading reminds us that God’s grace is abundant, and it is not dependent on how much or how hard we work. It is not our effort but God’s love for us that saves us.

When Paul encourages Christians to “live in a manner worthy of the gospel” he first is telling us “to live as citizens” – to be engaged and active in public life, just as we promise at baptism:

“to proclaim Christ through word and deed,

care for others and the world God made,

and work for justice and peace.” (ELW)

And then he defines what living in a manner worthy of the gospel looks like. He describes it as “standing firm in one spirit” and “striving side by side with one mind”. (1:27) One God, one Savior, one Spirit, one mind.

Remember Paul wrote letters to the church when the people were in conflict of some kind. We only hear his response so we’re missing half of the conversation, but here we can imagine that the church in Philippi was experiencing disruption, and Paul is urging them to look beyond their differences and remain focused on the Good News of Christ Jesus. In Christ, we find our true identity and belonging, not in one political or ideological faction or another, but in the family of God, as God’s children.

When I talk about disagreements in the Church, I often say that if we can agree at the beginning that Jesus loves us all, then we have common ground, a shared starting place.

I admit, unfortunately that isn’t always possible, but when it is, it helps us open our eyes and our ears to see the love of God embodied in the other person, in our opponent, and even in our enemy.

I think this is what is beautiful with work that involves more than one congregation, one denomination or even one religion. I think of places like Morocco where thousands were killed by earthquakes, or Libya suffered similar losses from catastrophic flooding. In both places, tens of thousands of survivors are displaced, and aid workers and assistance are being organized to provide relief. In these places, we easily look past our differences to see the beloved community created by God and to care for them. Our Lutheran World Relief works beside other organizations, and the focus is not on where we disagree, but on how we can accomplish the goal of providing services and support each other to accomplish the greatest good.

Returning to our gospel today, which tells us about the extravagant, generous love of God, the grumbling vineyard workers cannot see the late arrivals as worthy or beloved. Matthew doesn’t make any judgment about why the laborers were still standing around in the afternoon. We can imagine that perhaps they were older or frailer than the ones who were hired first. Maybe their appearance was disconcerting. Whatever the reason, the workers who went to the fields early and worked in the heat of the day resented them.

And together these texts make me wonder,

who do I neglect or resent?

when do I judge who is worthy to receive God’s love?

And who do I dismiss because I can’t see past our differences?

I don’t like these questions. Because I know I behave in these ways:

I get frustrated with people who won’t support a higher minimum wage for workers.

I am disappointed with people who worship in a place where women are not invited to lead.

I am angry that we have lawmakers in our state and nation who have created laws that make people whom I love feel unsafe.

And there is a place for my frustration, my disappointment, and my anger, but I cannot make them a dividing line and pretend that “those people” are outside God’s love.

Because they aren’t.

Anytime I draw a line in the sand, Jesus is going to cross it.

In both directions.

He welcomed both the pharisee Nicodemus (John 3) and the tax collector Zaccheus.(Luke 19)

He both shared a sabbath meal with the leader of the Pharisees (Luke 14) and he had dinner with tax collectors and sinners. (Matthew 9)

That is what the extravagant love of God looks like. All of us together, united as God’s beloved, even with our own opinions and beliefs. 

Thanks be to God.

Epiphany 3A

Matthew 4:12-23

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

A popular question for pastors is “What is your call story?”

It may be surprising to you, but from those I’ve heard, it’s more often characterized by a persistent or bothersome nudging than the clarion call we hear Jesus make to Simon Peter and the others in today’s gospel.

My own certainly was. Although I’d considered going to seminary after college, I didn’t pursue it then. A few years later, after Jamie and I had met and married and our oldest daughter was born, I was 26 and diagnosed with cancer, and it was there that I first experienced the holy work of hospital chaplains. But it wasn’t until ten years later, when our two children were in elementary school, that I began to ask what God wanted me to do, as I was pretty sure it was something different from the work I had been doing in nonprofits. And it was in the conversations with pastors that followed, and at each step of candidacy, seminary and internship that confirmed I was listening well and following God’s call for my life.

Like the disciples in today’s gospel, I wasn’t called to work that is wildly different from what I had been doing. It’s not like Jesus called me to build wells in Kenya or teach farmers in Guatemala. God is using what I know to make a difference with God’s people.

I still have deep conversations with people and learn about their lives. But instead of connecting their interests and passions to a cause or campaign, our conversations are more often centered on their faith stories and how God is calling them to live and serve. I still talk with people about giving but now it’s from the perspective of seeing our giving as a faith practice where we remember that we are custodians of what God has first given us. One of the very best, new parts of this call God has given me is helping people hear that God’s grace is for them and not only for other people; it sounds like foolishness when we use the world’s measures and standards, but that’s why grace is God’s gift to us and nothing we earn.

Each one of us has a call story. You may say, “Oh, I’m retired” or “I never went to seminary” or any number of other things to tell yourself you aren’t called, but you are. Like the pronouncement from the heavens when Jesus was baptized by John, at baptism, God pronounces you a child of God. In this way, God calls each one of us.

There’s a saying that goes, “God doesn’t call the equipped, but God equips the called.” In today’s gospel, we see Jesus call fishermen – laborers without education, credentials or power. Jesus calls them and tells them,

“You know all you need to know – instead of fishing for fish in the sea, now you’re going to fish for people. Help people be caught by the love that God shows you and you show the world.”

 “The call that Jesus casts over the waters of today is the same as the one that those first disciples heard.” (Jennifer Moland-Kovash, “Living by the Word”, Christian Century) Our call begins with our identity as children of God and continues with using the gifts God equips us with to show God’s love to the people we meet.

In calling them to join him, Jesus tells Simon Peter and the others that what they do matters, and we learn that there is a connection between what we believe and what we do. Disciples hear God’s Word and do it.

The gospel shows us that discipleship or following Jesus means leaving what we know or what is comfortable and going into an unknown future. Following Jesus means dying to the old and beginning anew.

It is what St. Paul talks about in Romans 6:

we have been buried with [Christ Jesus] by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4 NRS)

In another of Paul’s letter, the one to the church in Corinth, we hear again about discipleship, and the importance of unity among the followers of Jesus. We don’t know exactly what is happening there, but Paul addresses the rise of factions or divisions within the community there and chastises them for placing their loyalty to one teacher or missionary above their unity in Christ Jesus. He calls the disciples there to set aside their divisions and focus on the power of God, known in the cross of Christ and what God is doing in their midst.

It isn’t easy to surrender to the disruptive love of God, leave what we know and follow God into a new and unknown future. But that is exactly what Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James and John to do, and it’s what God calls us to do, also.

We are called to be unified by God’s good news for the world as we figure out how God is calling us, individually and as a congregation, to bear that Good News to our neighbors and world.

As a community of God’s beloved, we’re called to be a place of welcome and acceptance, and a place where lives are transformed by hearing God’s word taught and where people experience healing. (David Lose, “In the Meantime”)

Reflecting on the gospel, as a congregation – a community of people following Jesus - we want to help catch people in the love of God.

When we share our lives with each other, when we tell others where we have seen Jesus in our day or our week, and when we invite friends to come and see what God is doing here at Grace or in one of the ministries we partner with, we are creating a giant net, woven together by relationships, where people can be caught up in God’s love.

Just imagine what that bountiful catch could be!

 

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for calling each one of us your beloved child.

Thank you for the gift of your grace that invites us to die to the old and begin anew, every day.

Help us live in your love for us and share that love with the world.

Amen.