10 Pentecost/Year C – August 14, 2022
Jeremiah 23:23-29; Psalm 82; Luke 12:49-56
Let us pray: (L) 115– Spirit of the Living God – Sequence hymn
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me. Amen.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me…
Oh, how we need to hear the words over and over again…especially on days like today, when we’ve just listened to some difficult texts...and are left scratching our heads with this image of Jesus, that some might interpret as him unleashing his frustration and anger towards those he was gathered with at the time…He had been speaking to his disciples….yet Peter asked an important question in Luke 12:41…in a follow up verse from last week’s teaching... Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”
I think it is safe to say, that the parable Jesus just shared with them in last week’s gospel, and any teaching of Jesus’ we bear witness to…is not only for his disciples that were there at the time…but indeed, for everyone…and most especially for all of us here today in the year 2022…who are constantly striving to make sense of this world we live in…and who long to understand through the teachings of Jesus…just what God is desiring for his people now…and how can it be – that God is alive and in the world right now…seeking to transform our world from the nightmare it appears to be at times, into God’s dream for his people and all of creation…(as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry often reminds us…)
In today’s gospel reading…I hear in Jesus’ voice…frustration and anger…but I mostly hear passion, heartache and compassion for those around him...who continue to fail to see the urgency of the mission that is right in front of them…to Love Him …Listen to Him…Seek a relationship with Him…Trust Him and Follow Him…
Follow Him and Serve Him in the way of love, by loving and serving Him through the loving relationships we seek to build with others we share this earthy home with…Strive to follow Him in a way of life that proclaims to others, through our words and actions, the saving power of God’s love to heal and transform our world today… from the nightmare it appears to be at times, into God’s dream for his people and all of creation…
Jesus often reminds us… that joining him in the movement, in the way of love he is advocating for, is almost always going to ruffle some feathers, is often going to cause some division among those who don’t want to change anything, to give up what they have, what they already know…It’s often difficult for some folks to trust in a new discovery or a new way forward just yet…so that’s the beauty of remembering that we don’t need to do any of this alone…that’s what community centered around the love of God made known to us in Jesus can be for…as messy and chaotic at times it may be…it is our only hope…to embark on this journey together, listening to one another, helping each other and encouraging each other along the way…to see the vision of God’s dream coming to fruition day by day…
We are not quite post-pandemic yet…although some may say we are…but we are on our way…this is one area of our life together, in the present time...that has been causing some deep division…that has caused a lot of despair, as we have lost many people we have loved, we have had to give up some of our old ways of doing church together, school, work, entertainment together…many of our “usual ways” of doing things have been turned upside down…everything seems to have been in a mode of constant change…But, as we reflect back, and look to the present time right now… we can see where God has surely been a living presence in this place…helping us to find new ways to love one another, care for one another, do church, school, work and other things together in ways we had never imagined…
That’s the urgency of the message that Jesus seeks to impart in our lives every day… Jesus is very much alive today…if only we can open our minds and hearts and be present to what the Spirit is revealing to us today…in worship, in prayer, in our music, in silence, in our relationships with one another, outside walking among creation…and then go…go out and live our lives as witness to this good news…Jesus is passionate about wanting us to see that God has not abandoned us…that God is showing up in all the places we thought were dead and without a chance for newness of life…
Through our belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, we believe that our hope is in following Jesus, in this way of love… in a way of life that proclaims to others, through our words and actions, the saving power of God’s love to heal and transform our world today… from the nightmare it appears to be at times, into God’s dream for his people and all of creation…
I would like to close this morning, with some words offered by the Presiding Bishop Michael Curry back in 2013…about God’s dream…
(God has a dream. God has a dream, a vision, plan, a sublime divine purpose for this world. God has a dream for his creation, a dream for every man, woman, and child whoever walked upon the face of the earth, and God will not rest until our nightmare is ended and God's dream is realized. That's what Jesus is all about. That's what he came to show us. He came to show us the way to live God's dream instead of our nightmare. He came to show us the way to be truly and authentically and genuinely human as God intended and created us. He came to show us how to become more than simply an individual collection of self-interests. He came to show us how to become the human family of God.
And when the world is lived like that, when our lives are lived like that, then children don't go to bed hungry. When the world is lived more in accord with God's dream, God's vision for life, then we will find ways to lay down our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more.
Oh, God has a dream. And God will not rest until God's dream is accomplished, and miraculously God will not do it without us.
I believe it was St. Augustine of Hippo--but I've heard Desmond Tutu say it--that with respect to God's work:
By himself, God won't.
By ourselves, we can't.
But together with God, we can.
We can.
God has a dream! And he has called us to help him realize that dream for every man, woman, and child who walks upon the face of the earth.)
Let us pray:
In this present time…May our hope and our prayers be rooted in the vision and Dream of God…Let us pray for the spirit of the Living God to fall fresh upon us, to revive us, and remind us that we serve a Risen Savior, who’s in the world today…
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
Re Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: (L) 42 – He Lives!
I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever others say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.
Refrain
Rejoice, rejoice. O Christian, lift up your voice and sing.
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
Refrain