Sermon: Different Way of Being

 Lectionary: Proper 11(A)

Text: Romans 8:12-25

The brain is a fascinating organ. A Scientific American article on the topic of thinking explains,

The brain continuously slurps up huge amounts of energy for an organ of its size, regardless of whether we are tackling integral calculus or clicking through the week's top 10 LOLcats…

Although the average adult human brain weighs about 1.4 kilograms, only 2 percent of total body weight, it demands 20 percent of our resting metabolic rate (RMR)—the total amount of energy our bodies expend in one very lazy day of no activity.[1]

We might assume then that if thinking consumes energy, more thinking will consume more energy, but the article continues to explain that experiments in this area have shown mixed results.

But I’m sure we all experience those times when we have been concentrating on some kind of complex task for an extended period, and at the end we feel exhausted and fatigued. So, what is a potential explanation for this phenomenon? The article suggests several possibilities. First, concentrating on a task that does not bring pleasure causes more experiential fatigue than concentrating on a similarly complex task, but in which we find pleasure. Second, merely thinking that a task will be difficult or an ordeal can cause more mental exhaustion. And finally, unpleasant and complex tasks can lead to greater stress with corresponding physiological effects such as increased cortisol production, which in turn can manifest as actual physical effects.

The article concludes with one of the interviewees saying, “My general hypothesis is that the brain is a lazy bum… The brain has a hard time staying focused on just one thing for too long. It's possible that sustained concentration creates some changes in the brain that promote avoidance of that state. It could be like a timer that says, 'Okay you're done now.' Maybe the brain just doesn't like to work so hard for so long.”[2]

An application of this hypothesis to our individual experiences is regarding habits. Why is it so difficult to break an old habit and why is it so difficult to establish a new one? Because these take willful, concentrated, mental effort. And the lazy brain would rather keep running on easy, well-worn pathways that can be traversed with much less effort.

At this point you might be wondering what this has to do with any of today’s readings. I think the science of the brain has quite a bit to do with Romans chapters 7 and 8.

In the latter third of chapter 7, Paul describes an inner conflict experienced by those who have joined with Christ. The conflict is between the desire and intention to live a righteous life versus the reality of falling into deeds that are evil. Paul writes, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”[3]

However, in the opening paragraphs of chapter 8, Paul describes the solution to this conflict. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death… For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”[4]

But old habits do not die easily. It returns, and in Paul’s words, it is like a debt that we feel obligated to pay. The old way of living offers security, certainty, and comfort. The old ways are ingrained in our minds and require little effort. Even though living by the Spirit brings true life and peace, it feels easier to return to the old ways.

In response, Paul writes, “So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live… For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”[5]

A key to interpreting and understanding Paul’s response is the phrase, “Slavery… back into fear.” This is the definition of sin that Paul has in mind throughout his letter to the church in Rome. Fear is what drives humans to seek certainty and stability in the things of the world: power, wealth, acclaim, position and influence. These in turn lead to actions that abuse other humans and the environment. The flesh seeks self-preservation above all else. The desire for more and the fear that what we have is still not enough leads to dehumanization, wars, and destruction of the environment.

To live by the Spirit requires intentional choice and effort. It requires going against the habits and priorities of the world and how that has trained our minds and preferences. It will require us to change our ideas regarding security and stability and where we will find that anchor.

When we live by the Spirit, our focus changes from self-preservation to selfless giving. It seeks to redeem and preserve all life—not just fellow humans but all the creation. This is the life Jesus Christ exemplified, and which resulted in the powers of the world turning against him. It is what caused them to murder him. It revealed sin—the need for self-preservation that underlies all worldly powers and structures.

When we choose to intentionally live this way, we will suffer. We will suffer inner conflict as we seek to retrain the habits that the world has trained us to follow. We will suffer externally as we walk and fight against the accepted ways of the world that prioritize the powerful and their wants over the powerless. When we reject the fear of worldly insecurity and want, the world ceases to have power over us. And when they no longer have power over us, they become frustrated and angry.

But we do not live this way alone. Paul wrote, “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you… If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”[6]

Those of us who are redeemed and being redeemed will live in such a way as to extend the hope of redemption and restoration to all the creation. We will strive toward ways of living that bring more harmony and peace among not just fellow humans, but humans with all the environment without which we cannot survive. It is with these thoughts that we re-read chapter 8, verses 18-25,

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.[7]

In the name of God, the Creator of all the creation,

In the name of God, the Redeemer of all the creation,

And in the name of God who guides us in our suffering for all the creation, Amen.

References

Jabr, F. (2012, July 18). Does Thinking Really Hard Burn More Calories? Retrieved from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/

 

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[1] (Jabr, 2012)

[2] Messier, Claude in (Jabr, 2012)

[3] Romans 7:20-23. NRSVue

[4] Romans 8:2, 5-6. NRSVue

[5] Romans 8:12-13, 15-17. NRSVue

[6] Romans 8:9a, 11. NRSVue

[7] Romans 8:18-25. NRSVue

Sermon: Gospel Symphony

Lectionary: Proper 9(A)

Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Jai Krist
Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002

Among the artistic disciplines, I think that music has the most rigid fundamentals. After all, music can be reduced to mathematics and time. It would be technically accurate to say that music is mathematics being performed in time and space.

But that isn’t how our ears and brains take in music. We sense harmony and dissonance. We sense excitement and contemplation. We sense joy and sadness, love and conflict. We sense life and death.

We know these things because music follows rules, and rules that are quite rigid. But if all music did was to follow rules, it wouldn’t be very enjoyable or have emotional effects. Music that simply follows rules can become tedious and repetitious. Good music works within the confines to add variation and interest. Composers of great music understand the rules so innately that they know when and where to break them to bring surprises to the audience and to delight them through these unexpected changes.

Music can be performed only because there are rules. The notes and notations on a sheet of paper are a language that communicates the composer’s instructions and intent. It allows the one performing to interpret the composer's instructions and bring the page to life.

In performing music, the number of performers matters to how much liberty is afforded to each performer. A solo performer has the most freedom to be creative and go “off the page” and add their own personality and interpretation. A small group or ensemble still has freedom to improvise, but they need to remain cognizant of one another, and music provides the rules for staying together. A large symphony or choir affords almost no individual freedom, but through the conductor and director, allows a communal and collective interpretation through which each performer gives their all to a collective expression of a great composition.

Finally, there is the audience. True, music can be performed for one’s own enjoyment. But music is meant to be heard. Music is meant to elicit a response from the audience. Music is communication from the composer, through the performers, to an audience. Ideally, the audience responds to the music in ways intended by the composer and the performers.

Today’s gospel reading begins with a short parable from Jesus.

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.’ (Matthew 11:16-17 NRSVue)

The parable paints a picture of two groups of children: one performing music and a second expected to respond. The first group of children performs a polka, but the second group is unmoved, impassionate. The first group switches to a requiem, but the second group remains unmoved and impassioned.

I’m sure all of us have seen how quickly children normally respond to music. They have yet to develop social and emotional filters and guards. They hear the music and act upon how the music affects them.

So, it seems rather unusual for a group of children to remain unaffected and unresponsive to music that they hear. Jesus offers an interpretation of the parable.

¹⁸ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; ¹⁹ the 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.” (Matthew 11:18-19 NRSVue)

I see two ways in which to understand this, and I think both apply. The first is the most obvious in which the second group is actively resisting the music coming from the first group. The second way is to understand that the two groups are operating under two different sets of rules, and thus the second group is unable to interpret the music.

When Jesus refers to “they”, we should understand it to mean those who previously were opposed to John the Baptizer and now opposing Jesus. They are the guardians of religious and social tradition, religious and social acceptability. They set up the boundaries and they enforce them. They are the keepers and wielders of power and control over everyone else. They define what music is supposed to sound like. Anything outside of what they know and have defined is both a threat and something that is incomprehensible to them.

Our reading skips a few verses and resumes at verse 25.

²⁵ At 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; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷ All 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. (Matthew 11:25-27 NRSVue)

Infants have no control over what happens to them. They have no interest in power games that develop and which are played by older people. And they respond instinctively to the music around them. The music of the gospel, the symphony of good news, is most readily heard and accepted by those who are the victims of power and control games, and by those who refuse and battle against their toxic enticements.

It is for these that Jesus offers the following invitation:

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NRSVue)

The invitation is to take on Jesus’ yoke. It is for those who are bearing the burdens of other yokes. But it is also for those who thought that going alone would be freedom, but instead found their burdens increased with no one to help them.

The greatest symphony and choral performances are not individual pursuits, but a collaborative, team effort. It is not individuals trying to harmonize and stay together on their own, however. There is a conductor, a director. This individual directs the performance, keeps the individual musicians together, guides the interpretation of the music, and helps bring the music together for the enjoyment of the audience. By following the director, the musicians have less to worry about. Their place the burden of staying together and overall interpretation onto the conductor so that each individual can perform at their best.

We are invited to hear the gospel music and respond to its invitation. To hear it, we need to learn the rules of God’s kingdom. We need to learn to let go of our need for power and control. We need to learn to set aside appearances and acceptance by the world’s rules.

Instead, we are to become as infants, in the way they instinctively respond to music, unconcerned about what other people might think or judge. We are to help others learn and respond to the music of the gospel. We are to take up Christ’s yoke and teach others that genuine freedom comes not from casting aside all restraint, but comes from taking up the yoke that binds each of us together in Christ, to become part of the symphony and chorus performing the greatest music ever heard across the universe.

In the name of God the Composer,

In the name of God the Conductor,

And in the name of God who urges us to dance together, Amen.

Sermon: Following Christ in the Ordinary

Lectionary: Proper 5(A)

Text: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Woman with the Flow of Blood (detail)
Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002

What does it look like to live as a Christ-follower? We have left behind the first half of the Christian year, filled with high days and holidays. We move past the pillars of Christian calendar and enter Ordinary Time. We descend from the mountaintops of the Christian liturgical calendar to spend the next six months walking the ordinary paths with Christ. To live as a Christ-follower is to learn how Jesus lived among the ordinary lives around him.

We need to set up the scene for today’s gospel reading. The Sermon on the Mount has been delivered. Jesus goes to Capernaum. Along the way he performs healings. In Capernaum, he heals a centurion’s servant. Jesus goes to Peter’s house where he heals Peter’s mother-in-law. Large crowds come to Peter’s house, where Jesus is staying, to be healed.

Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee, where a storm rises. Jesus calms the storm. Upon reaching the other shore Jesus is confronted by two men possessed by demons. Jesus cures them by sending the demons into pigs which result in their destruction. The people of the town beg Jesus to leave. He does and returns to where he came from.

The text in Matthew reads, “And came to his own town.” This could mean Nazareth, but it is more likely to be Capernaum, the home of Peter and the other fishermen disciples. This is where the rest of the story in Matthew 9 takes place.

First, a group of people carry a paralyzed man on a stretcher. Jesus forgives the man’s sins, giving credit to the faith of the entire group as the catalyst for forgiveness. Some of the religious leaders are alarmed by Jesus’ claim to offer forgiveness. In response, to show that he does have authority to forgive, he heals the man’s physical ailment.

It is in this immediate aftermath (at least in the way the writer of Matthew has arranged the text), Jesus comes across Matthew, the tax collector.

Here I pause to make note that the call of Matthew and the two healings that are part of today’s gospel reading are found in both Mark and Luke. The sequence is the same in all three, but details are different and even contradictory in a couple places. I note this to remind us that the gospel writers were not writing factually accurate historical texts. They were writing theological interpretations of Jesus’ life and adjusted details to fit their purposes.

Matthew, the tax collector, is named Levi in the other gospels. He is called by Jesus to follow, and he does. Next there is a banquet held. In Mark, the location is ambiguous. It could be Matthew’s house, or it could be at Jesus’. Luke identifies the location as Levi’s house. Matthew, the writer, use “the house” to identify it. The last house mentioned that fits the grammar is Peter’s house. Using this last reading, at least when reading Matthew’s text, we can conclude that it is Jesus who is hosting the banquet. This interpretation also fits well with the theme of the Messianic banquet found later in Matthew’s text.

In hosting the banquet and inviting “tax collectors and sinners” (as some of Jesus’ antagonists put it), Jesus acts and shows what restoration and wholeness of community looks like.

Some of the religious leaders observe Jesus’ association and question the boundary breaking Jesus is allowing himself and his disciples. It is interesting that the question is directed not to Jesus, but to his disciples. It is almost as if they are attempting to sow seeds of doubt into Jesus’ disciples…

But Jesus hears the question and answers.

But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13 NRSVue)

The first saying is an adaptation of similar proverbs in circulation around that time. One commentary states,

Plutarch quotes a similar saying of the Spartan king Pausanias when he was criticized for neglecting his own people: “It is not the custom of doctors to spend time among people who are healthy, but where people are ill.” The philosopher Diogenes is quoted as saying that as a doctor must go among the sick so a wise man must mix with fools. The point is obvious: any effective “healer” must expect to get his hands dirty.[1]

Jesus then says, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” The word learn is μανθάνω (manthanō) which forms the root for the word disciple, μαθητής (mathētēs). Here we begin to understand that becoming a disciple means learning. What are disciples to learn? We are to learn the way of God’s mercy.

God’s mercy has already been demonstrated in the Jesus’ works of healing, of casting out demons, and offering forgiveness. Mercy was demonstrated in calling Matthew, someone many would have considered a traitor to the nation. Mercy was demonstrated in Jesus seeking out those that would normally not be invited to dine at a rabbi’s table.

Too often, Jesus’ response has been used to place grace and mercy in opposition with religion, ritual, and law. It has been used to negatively portray Jews and Judaism as self-righteous, legalistic and lacking in grace and mercy. We need to unlearn such misconceptions and harmful stereotypes.

Sacrifice, religion, and rituals are not problems. Neither is righteousness. But when they become boundary markers to define insiders and outsiders, when they become tools to harm and exclude, then their uses become problematic.

In the next two vignettes, Jesus continues to demonstrate his way of mercy.

In the middle of the banquet he is hosting, a community leader enters and entreats Jesus to come now. He is a desperate father and assumes a posture of petitioning, but this scene could be interpreted as showing this leader’s privilege in interrupting a banquet and assuming Jesus would comply.

Jesus sets aside his own banquet to follow the community leader. In this we learn that following Christ might mean following petitions of need, regardless of whomever is making the request. It might mean diverting from our current activities and plans.

While on the way, a woman experiencing hemorrhaging for twelve years quietly comes to Jesus and touches the fringe of his outer garment. In doing so, she is healed and noticed. A woman is restored to physical and social health.

History is replete with Christian sermons that expound on the idea of uncleanness and ritual purity that is supposedly found here. The text is silent on the matter. Even if the concept of ritual purity might have been in the background, the foreground is about the mercy that Jesus shows and the healing and restoration to wholeness that is his work.

When ritual purity becomes the focus of these texts, it too often becomes a boundary marker and a point of judgment by Christians against Jews and Judaism. It ends up reinforcing something these very stories are meant to abolish.

Jesus continues to the leader’s house where funeral practices have already begun. He is laughed at when he says that the girl is only sleeping. Ignoring their ridicule, he commands them out. He resurrects the girl by merely touching. And in so doing, he restores life, family, and community.

On this first Sunday of Ordinary Time, a lesson on following Christ is to learn the way of mercy. God extends the same mercy to all, the mercy that brings healing and wholeness, mercy that begins reconciliations and restorations, mercy that invites all to come. We are agents of God’s mercy and invitation to join at God’s banquet table.

How can we be more inclusive and accepting? How can we be more welcoming? How can we erase boundaries that world’s systems and structures say are needed? What harmful ideas must we unlearn that society, culture, and religion have transmitted to us? This is our work during Ordinary Time, the time of quiet growth and transformation.

In the name of God who Creates,

In the name of God who Invites,

And in the name of God who Cultivates, Amen.

Bibliography

France, R. T. (2007). New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Grace, S. (2026, June 2). An Inconvenient Gospel. Retrieved from Companions on the Way: https://www.companionsontheway.com/post/an-inconvenient-gospel

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2013). Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Levine, A.-J. (2007). Matthew and Anti-Judaism. Currents in Theology and Mission, 34-6, 409-416.

Levine, A.-J. (2009). The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Mathis, T. M. (2026, June 7). Learning Tenderness, Proper 5 (A) – June 7, 2026. Retrieved from Sermons that Work: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermon/learning-tenderness-proper-5-a-june-7-2026/

Van De Laar, J. (2026, May 29). Lectionary Reflection for Proper 5A on Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-proper-853

Wassen, C. (2008). Jesus And The Hemorrhaging Woman In Mark 5:24–34: Insights From Purity Laws From The Dead Sea Scrolls. Scripture in Transition, 647-666.

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

Wilson, W. T. (2022). Eerdmans Critical Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

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[1] (France, 2007)

Sermon: What Is Glory?

Lectionary: Easter 7(A)

Texts: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John17:1-11

Assumption - Christ, Mary, Saints, and Angels in Glory
Antonio Allegri da Correggio, ca. 1526-1530

What is the greatest threat to the community of the followers of Jesus Christ? We might easily be led to think it is the external threat from demonic persecution as the reading from 1 Peter 4 and 5 seems to imply. And in response, reading that we are to be more “steadfast in faith” (1 Pet. 5:9) we might think that we this means better definition and policing of our faith boundaries. We might want to keep a closer eye on who and what are inside and outside our boundaries.

The reading from Psalm 68 seems to support the idea of those who are God’s people and those who are not. The psalm calls for the warrior God to fly out against the enemies of God’s people and destroy them. The psalm reminds God of God’s dealings against Pharaoh and the Egyptians during the Exodus, and God’s provision for God’s people in the wilderness as examples of why God needs to act now.

But are external threats the most dangerous to the community raised up by Jesus? Immediately prior to his arrest and crucifixion, what was foremost on Jesus’ mind about his community?

Foremost on Jesus’ mind and concern is the unity of his community. He prays, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:11b) Further on, past where today’s reading ended, Jesus continues his prayer, “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

Internal strife, conflict, and divisions are the most significant threat Jesus sees that will threaten his community. Two thousand years later, we can see that Jesus’ fears were well founded. We have become experts at defining and policing boundaries, both between those who profess belief in Christ and between those who do and those who do not. Wars have been waged in efforts to prove that might is right. Christians have not only been persecutors of those outside the faith, but those within, who believed different things.

Christians, at our best, reflect to some degree the glory of Christ. At our worst, we become devils devouring our own. We need no external threat to destroy ourselves. Rather, the truth is that Christians have often been at their best during times of collective hardship.

The author of Ephesians gives us examples of devilish powers. “… Our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The portion of 1 Peter read this morning is written to leaders of Christian communities that are experiencing hardship and some kind of persecution. Between the two portions that were read, the writer directs the leaders to be examples of service to those under their charge. True leaders of the community of Jesus Christ are marked by their humility, service, and care for those that they have been entrusted; they reject prideful ambition, power, and material gain.

What is glory? The word is commonly used to describe things such as triumph, honor, fame, renown, brilliance, and splendor. When Christians use “glory” in association with God and Christ, it often follows our common usage. God’s glory and Christ’s glory is frequently associated with the manner of Christ’s second Advent, pictured as a conquering king, destroying his enemies and bringing justice to his followers by vindicating them. This image lines up well with the first part of today’s Psalm reading.

But Jesus, who frequently redefined and reimagined traditional readings and interpretations of scripture, does the same with the concept of God’s glory. In the gospel of John, Jesus consistently speaks of God’s glory as being revealed in Jesus’ life and his crucifixion as the culmination of God’s glory. This is the furthest thing from traditional understandings of glory as victory, triumph, and honor. What then, is God’s glory?

Although the words of Psalm 68 are found clothed in tribal and nationalistic language, within we find hints of God’s glory. And it has nothing to do with God conquering and destroying other nations and peoples.

Rather it is found in the portions that read, “Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity… Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.” (Psalms 68:5-6a, 9-10)

God’s glory is God’s desire to be one with humanity – to reconcile with God’s enemies. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) This is the gospel of Christ – to be reconciled to God.

But if we are divided amongst ourselves, if we keep dividing, if we keep creating boundaries, if we keep defining and policing who is in and who is out – if we cannot reconcile amongst ourselves, our witness to the world is diluted at best and destroyed in many cases.

How can we recover, restore, and resurrect unity of Christ’s community?

The first is to believe and live the truth that God desires to reconcile with all. There is no one outside God’s grace. No matter how despicable and evil a person’s thoughts and actions are, God still desires to awaken them to their true heritage as a child of God. We cannot treat as enemies those who God does not.

Secondly, we must understand who our true enemy is. Our enemy is not fellow human beings. As the author of Ephesians tells us, our enemies are not “blood and flesh.” They are, rather, the power structures and systems that feed on fear. Fear leads to the need to define insiders and outsiders, to create scapegoats, to power struggles, conflicts, violence, and wars.

Finally, the only way out of the cycle of violence and death is to understand and live the resurrection life. The resurrection life is one where we put to death all the things motivated by fear and instead live by trusting in God’s abundant provisions. When we are freed from fear, we are freed from the need to protect ourselves. We are free to serve and give of ourselves, even to those that may seek to harm us, just as Jesus served and prayed for those that crucified him.

Jesus prayed,

“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world… The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one... I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17:18, 22, 26)

When this takes place, the concluding verses of Psalm 68 will be fulfilled as all people come for reconciliation to God,

32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah

33 O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel and whose power is in the skies.

35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God! (Psalm 68:32-35)

References

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Van De Laar, J. (2026, May 7). An Invitation to Erotic Aliveness: A Reflection on John 17:1-11 for Easter 7A. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/an-invitation-to-erotic-aliveness

Van De Laar, J. (2026, May 11). Lectionary Reflection for Easter 7A on Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-easter-765

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

Sermon: Natures of Power

Lectionary: Palm/Passion Sunday Year A

Texts: Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-11

A Choice
Lauren Wright Pittman, 2018

Jesus directs a couple of his disciples to fetch a donkey and a colt and bring it back to him. This isn’t some random request or an impromptu activity. This is prearranged. What Jesus is about to perform is a deliberate demonstration – a parody of a Roman imperial procession. Through this parody, Jesus contrasts two different kinds of power and rule, two differing ways of defining kingship.

This procession instigated by Jesus, on the Sunday prior to his crucifixion, is often referred to as the triumphal entry, but that is a misnomer. It is a triumphal entry only in its parody of the Roman version. Those following Jesus likely would have expected him to use the opportunity to seize power, and at least for a few days it seems like Jesus continues to increase his power and influence. But the week finishes in dishonor, shame, and defeat… at least when judged by human standards of triumph and victory.

There are a couple of small, but important, textual details in the Palm Sunday narrative. The first to point out is that the text describes two different crowds: one is mostly Galileans who followed Jesus and sang his praises; the other is the Judean crowds of Jerusalem who ask, “Who is this?” These are two distinct crowds. When later in the week the crowd turns against Jesus, it is the Jerusalem crowd.

The second point to note is that the procession ends before Jesus enters Jerusalem proper. The procession and acclamations are finished in Matthew 21:9. Jesus enters Jerusalem in verse 10. This sequence rendered more precisely in Mark 11.

When the processional crowd shouts “Hosanna”, they are praising Jesus as the son of David who they expect will bring salvation to them. But how that salvation is inaugurated is utterly unexpected and despicable.

Christianity has sanitized the symbol of the cross. Many wear it as a sign of honor and respect. Some may wear it with pride. And there are some who wear it shamelessly even when their actions contradict the values of Jesus. But hardly anyone feels shame to be associated with it.

For the early followers of Christ, it held mixed messages. On one hand, it was a symbol of the worst kind of suffering and shame that the imperial powers could inflict on who they considered worthless and utterly disposable. On the other hand, because Jesus had accepted his lot with the worthless and disposable and died in shame and dishonor, Christians could be assured of their worth in the sight of God.

In deliberately presenting himself before Jerusalem as its messianic king, Jesus has chosen an OT model which subverts any popular militaristic idea of kingship. The meek, peaceful donkey-rider of Zech 9:9 is not a potential leader of an anti-Roman insurrection. In [Matthew] 20:25–28 Jesus has spoken of a type of leadership which is completely opposed to the world’s notions of kingship and authority, and now he models it in the “meekness” of his royal procession to the city. (France, 2007)

Our text from Philippians is what many scholars believe is one of the earliest Christian hymns about Christ. Paul is probably not its author, but he included it because it spoke to what he was trying to convey. To understand why, we need to back up in the letter to chapter 1, verse 27, and begin reading from there.

Here it is from The Message translation:

^27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

2 ^1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

^5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

^9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, The Message)

John Van De Laar writes this about the city of Philippi:

The city of Philippi “prided itself on its loyalty to the Roman Empire and its ‘Lord,’ Caesar”. As a Roman colony, it held a privileged place in the Empire; its citizens enjoyed the same status as those who lived in Rome itself, and the population included many veteran Roman soldiers. In this society, honour, status, and power held great value, and it seems that this culture had infiltrated the church. Paul’s letter reveals that there was competition, rivalry, and dissension in the community. And so Paul wrote to the believers and pleaded with them to “adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus” (2:5). (Van De Laar, 2026)

Paul is trying to get across to his audience that the glory and honor of Christ Jesus is not like that of the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor is considered godlike because “he rules mercilessly over the violently conquered territories.” (Van De Laar, 2026) This is the default view of gods through human history. Even today, Christians have a difficult time abandoning this view of God. Many Christians seek to walk the halls and chambers of power, to amass material wealth, recognition, and honor, and justify the use of violence and war in the name of God. “When we cling to an image of God that is defined by power and domination, we have to ignore most of Jesus’ life and message.” (Van De Laar, 2026)

On Palm Sunday, Jesus began the demonstration of the stark difference in what he valued vs. what the world values. The demonstration will continue through the week and end at the cross, when the world crucified Jesus to silence the voice that announced an alternate kingdom, a kingdom where no one held power over another, a kingdom that threatened all other kingdoms based on holding on to power over.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus comically showed what it looks like to renounce “power-by-dominance and join the dance of true freedom.” (Van De Laar, 2026) Jesus showed that what looks like mundane or even failure to the world is where the power of divinity can be found.

By becoming human, and remaining one, Jesus raised humanity along with himself. We do not have to become something else to have worth and value. Honor and glory are not found by pursuing it. Rather, to mutually give to and serve one another in humility and love is how we join the work of Christ in building his kingdom and share in Christ’s honor and glory.

In the name of God who Creates,

In the name of God who Loves,

In the name of God who exposes our desire for illicit power, Amen.

References

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Cousar, C. B. (2013). Reading Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.

Craddock, F. B. (1985). Philippians: Interpretation - A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

France, R. T. (2007). New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Van De Laar, J. (2026, March 23). Lectionary Reflection for Palm-Passion Sunday A on Philippians 2:5-11. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-palm-passion

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

Sermon: Breathing Hope

Lectionary: Lent 5(A)

Texts: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

You Shall Live
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553

In case you haven’t guessed already, today’s message comes from our Ezekiel reading.[1] It is a dialogue between God and Ezekiel, set in a valley of dry bones. It is a curious passage where God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, to speak words that God has given Ezekiel, to the bones. Once the words are spoken, God does something. But the return of life is not instantaneous; it is completed after two phases and required Ezekiel’s involvement.

What could this vision of Ezekiel mean? One interpretation that is dismissed by nearly all is where this vision is interpreted as evidence of a future resurrection of individuals. A key reason for this is that the idea of resurrection of people developed in the post-exilic period. As we will see, Ezekiel was written close to the beginning of the Babylonian exile.

First, who was Ezekiel?

Ezekiel the son of Buzi (1:3) was an Israelite priest in the deportee Israelite community in Babylonia. Dates in the book imply that he was born in Judah in 622 BC, just before Josiah’s reform, and thus lived through much of Jeremiah’s ministry there. He was married (24:18), was thirty years old when he began his ministry in 592 BC (1:1), and continued his ministry until at least 571 BC (29:17).[2]

As for the book bearing his name, scholarly views range from Ezekiel being its sole author to Ezekiel having written none of it. There are reasons to dismiss the sole authorship hypothesis, and it is impossible to determine how much of the text can be traced back to the prophet in Babylon. Therefore, it is perhaps best to conclude that the text of the book has some undeterminable relationship to Ezekiel and his time in Babylon.

The portion of text that was read comes from the fourth and final division in the book where the prophet writes about the restoration of Judah and a return to their land. The key point of the prophecy of the dry bones is found in verses 11 to 14.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”[3]

The bones represent an entire group of people as a single entity. There is no hint that the bones are about individuals. The message presented is not about a resurrection, but a return and restoration of the group entity to their ancestral lands. The message is for a people who have lost hope, “who have lost heart, who are suffering a death of the spirit, a living death in exile in a foreign land.”[4]

Is hope and the lack of it really a determinant of life and death?

You may have heard of a book by the title, Man’s Search for Meaning. It was authored by Viktor Frankl, a Jewish Austrian who survived the Nazi concentration camps and wrote about his experiences and observations while imprisoned. In it he writes how those who looked for meaning and purpose, however minute, in their lives tended to survive better than those who lost hope.

Another example comes from the city of Sarajevo and a cellist by the name of Vedran Smailovic. An explosive shell had killed 22 and wounded more than 100. To honor those who had died, Vedran played Albinoni’s Adagio for 22 days. In this war-torn city, where many civilians had died and had been wounded, Vedran, even if for just a few minutes, brought a sense of normalcy and hope that peace would return.

A third example comes from our own state, Alaska. In 2014 Craig Johnson fell through ice while riding a snowmobile 80 miles to visit his family for the holidays. A rescue chopper flew overhead without seeing him and he was stalked by a wolverine. He was ready to give up, but his hope of being reunited with his boys and family kept him going and alive.

Finally, from the world of fiction we might look at the Lord of the Rings where Frodo is the unwilling ring-bearer. He is accompanied every step of the way by his loyal friend, Sam. Toward the end of the journey, Frodo, burdened by the ring and the responsibility of carrying it, poisoned by the curse of a Nazgul, he struggles and is on the verge of giving up. But Sam is there by Frodo’s side, carrying him when necessary, and keeping hope alive for both.

Several years ago, I was involved in several suicide prevention and intervention courses. Among the many ways to intervene when someone is considering suicide, here are a couple of them. The first is to remind the individual that things won’t always seem so dark or hopeless – that there are better days to look forward to. A second is to talk with them to find at least one reason to keep living, even if for just one day.

For the Jews who ended up in Babylon, the dry bones represent a total collapse and loss of hope. God asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” When Ezekiel answers that he doesn’t know, God tells him to prophesy to the bones, “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel becomes the agent of hope that is carried to the hopeless. He sees the bones come together, and sinews and flesh formed on the bones. But there is yet no life. Ezekiel must persist by prophesying breath into the physical forms. Only then do the bones, sinews, and flesh recover life and stand as a multitude.

The African American spirituals, of which we sang one earlier and we will be closing with another, were words of hope in what seemed to the ones singing places of hopelessness and death. They looked toward a time and place when they would be free, away from forced labor, and where families would not be torn apart for the monetization and profit for the slaveowners.

The world we inhabit today is not all that different from nations and empires of the past. The poor are still exploited by the rich. War and violence still mostly victimize the poor and weak. The powerless continue to be the victims of the whims and privilege of the powerful. Outsiders are still blamed without cause for the problems created by those on the inside. The powerful still lord power over the less powerful.

All of us, in one way or another, participate in the games of power and position. We try to hang on to what we have, lest we end up falling down the ladder of this game called life. We are scared. We are fearful. And sometimes we feel hopeless. We look at our nation and world and oftentimes it can be difficult to see any kind of hopeful future.

Maybe hope isn’t looking for something big to change. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be about waiting for something to change. Rather, it is finding something, however small it might be, to be an agent and spark of hope in someone else’s life.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is the agent of hope who brings life back to Lazarus. It is a sign that even death and the grave is powerless in the presence of Jesus, the Life and Light of the world.

We are agents of hope and life in the world as well. We may not physically resurrect dead people back to life, but we can carry the hope of a just world, the kingdom of God, to those who are suffering under the pressures of this present one. We can be agents of hope by offering encouraging words and through our work to help bear the burdens that others are suffering under.

The Season of Lent is not just about introspection. It is also about looking forward to the kingdom of heaven fully realized and acting today to do what we can to bring pieces of it to be tasted by the communities in which we live and serve. Each of us are called, as Ezekiel was, to prophesy hope and life to the world around us.

In closing I read from Romans 8:6-11.

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (NRSVue)

Let us live as resurrected people, alive with the Spirit of Christ.

References

ABC News. (2014, December 28). Alaska Man Survives Three Days Lost in Sub-Zero Temps, Fights Off Wolverine. Retrieved from ABC News: https://abcnews.com/US/alaska-man-survives-days-lost-temps-fights-off/story?id=27860053

Alter, R. (2019). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Burns, J. F. (1992, June 8). The Death of a City: Elegy for Sarajevo -- A special report.; A People Under Artillery Fire Manage to Retain Humanity. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/08/world/death-city-elegy-for-sarajevo-special-report-people-under-artillery-fire-manage.html

Tolkien, J. R. (n.d.). The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy).

Van De Laar, J. (2026, March 12). The Other Side of Suffering: Evolving Consciously in Lent (Part 5): A Reflection on Ezekiel 37:1-14. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/the-other-side-of-suffering

Wikipedia. (2026, March 21). Viktor Frankl. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

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[1] One of the hymns was Dry Bones.

[2] (William B. Eerdmans, 2003)

[3] Ezekiel 37:11-14, NRSVue.

[4] (Bartlett & Brown Taylor, 2010)