Afleveringen
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As Episcopalians and most importantly as Christians let us remember that our traditions and our form of worship is a gift from God as we have received them and that they call us into community, and they call us into relationship. We give thanks so that we may come to Godâs table together so that we may come to communion together.
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Jesus and Judas. We donât spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between the two of them but maybe if we did, we might rethink how we profess our faith. It is not enough to be Jesus at church if we discover we are Judas in the world.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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The letter to the Ephesians encourages the housechurches there to build one another up as they are members of one another. I canât help but wonder if it is the building up of one anotherâembracing their identity as Godâs beloved childrenâthat evangelizes this community that had been so dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis. Those who had caused riots whenPaul visited, driven by their anger and bitterness and malice do not win in the end. God does. And God wins because his children embrace their true identity in Christ and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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When we come saying, âSir, give us this bread always,â do we know what we are asking? Our journey will not always be easy. Our âteamsâ do not always enjoy that success, that brings us joy and elation. But when our journey is grounded in a sense of community and belonging, we find that we experience a fullness that satisfies us because all that is required is faith in our God, faith in Jesus. It is this faith that will feed us and sustain us
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What are we pouring ourselves into? Who are we feeding? Are we seeking Godâs grace or glory? We are Godâs beloved creation made in his image. We are called to reflect his love into the world. We donât get it right all of the time but that is why we are offered grace and forgiveness and the chance to try all over again to be representatives of Godâs love in the world today.
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Embracing the disorder instead of resisting it offers us an opportunity into the reordering of our lives through Jesus Christâand when our reordering is centered on God, then it will be a righteous reordering.
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If we are following a god to prosper us as individuals or even as a nation, then we are following a false god. Our God is a god of hope and peace and love for all mankind. Our common humanity is rooted not in our prosperity but in our suffering and our desire to be free from that suffering is a desire every human being on this earth holds in the depths of their heart of hearts.
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When do we not let go of our preconceived notions of people and let those notions get in the way of our relationships with others? What are we missing out on because of our unwillingness to believe that God can work wonders in our lives and those we have met along the way?
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It's All About the Kids
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Learning to trust God and giving things up to Jesus requires practice on our part. I donât know if we ever get it right, but maybe that is the point. We are supposed to keep tryingand maybe just maybe we get a little bit better with each try.
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As Christians, if we are in Christ, we must choose differentlyâwe must walk by faith not knowing where the path ahead may lead us and yet trusting that God will never lead us astray.
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We cannot travel this world putting our own needs or expectations first because we believe we have a right to something and then wonder why the world seems so dark and broken. As Christians we cannot be entitled travelers, but instead we must embrace our responsibilities as brothers and sisters and mothers to all whom we meet.
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The sabbath is a gift that gives us the opportunity to reevaluate relationships. Jesus is not saying anything new this morning, he is just challenging us to reevaluate ourrelationships. How do we feel when Jesus runs roughshod over those things we find in our lives that we thought were definitive of how Christians are supposed to act?â I find it challenging at first but in the end, I find myself loved up to a place of joy filled grace that leaves my heart full, and my soul refreshed.
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When we know that love, when we live that love, then our worries can cease because we will know with every atom of our beingness that âevery little thingâs gonna be alright.â
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As we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit on this day what are the stars of distraction in our lives and who are the Northern Lights that guide us? Who are those steady presences in our lives who visibly manifest the Holy Spirit to us? Who draws us into community and how do we open our hearts to these new gifts of relationship?
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Every day, every moment of our lives we have a choice to follow the path of the happy or that of the wicked. To choose the path of the happy is not to choose self-fulfillment or prosperity or wealthâwe will not be happy simply by getting what we want. To be one of those who are âhappyâ only happens when we choose to connect to the source of lifeâŠwhen we choose God.
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Peterâs love for Cornelius can only be mimicked by us when we love the otherâone who is different from us in race, socio-economic condition, position, influence, whatever the criteria might be. When we can see the other, not through our differences but in how we are the same, we can discover how to love them.
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To bear fruit is to act in love, which is always a communal act and to live as a branch is to live in a community shaped by love. In order for us to take our place in thisrelationship we must find our own seedpods and withering flowers that must be removed so that our energy might flow into those efforts and more importantlyinto the people that we are being called to serve and that we are being called to love. Let us find comfort in this season of pruning and deadheading as a time when beauty and love are revealed in the channeling of our energy toward one another.
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When we stop objectifying God and focus on God as the subject of our lives, we discover that our relationshipwith God and one another deepensânot just with family and friends, but with stranger, with those who are the other, who understand the world in vastly different ways than we do. We stop seeing God as a good shepherd and start experiencing life in the flock in which our shepherd is willing to lay down his life for us.
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We can take comfort in knowing that Jesus is with us and that when two or three are gathered in His name, Hewill be in the midst of them. We help each other to seek and to see Jesus by helping each other to be Jesus in the world. Fear never has the last word because fear is born out of isolation and when we invite our Lord into the middle of our messy lives, we are simply acknowledging what has always been and what we should always know and that is that God is always with us.
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