10/11/20

Sermon notes:

You all know I have a deep appreciation for the revised common lectionary. Some Sundays, though, I wish we could hang out together all day reading and rereading every one of the offered selections.

This week is just such a time: 

Exodus 32: 1-14 tells of the impatience of the people who built a golden calf while Moses was delayed on the mountain. What a story!

The selected lines from Psalm 106 tell of Moses arguing with God, pleading a case for his people who turned to the worship of idols, and Isaiah 25: 1-9 tells of our God wiping away every tear and clearing all disgrace from the faces of his people. 

Philippians 4:1-9 is one of my favorite accounts. An argument between Euodia and Syntyche has been so contentions news has travelled to Paul all the way from Philippi. He writes to them, calling them back to their senses, back to gentleness with each other, back to hearts and minds guarded in the love of Jesus Christ.

Finally, Matthew 22:1-14 gives us another strange and troubling parable, rich with possibility and life-giving in its challenges to us. 

We are so blessed to have these stories, psalms, and accounts of our mothers and fathers in faith, to read of their struggles and triumphs. Most of all, we are blessed to be reminded that the same love of God that delivered them also delivers us.

With integrity, compassion and humility, let us be the mothers and fathers of future generations. Let us plead the case to God for lost ones. Let us return to one another, united in the mind of Christ, even as we differ. Let us tell the stories and ask the hard questions. Let us hold together, even as we are apart. It is not political. It is holy. Let us be God’s holy people, perhaps not perfect, but always persistent.