Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 9 (14) 9 July 2023
Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30
Theme: His yoke is easy.
Synopsis: The image of a yoke brings to my mind a team of oxen, and a yoke does require relationship and cooperation, even if there’s just one ox and the farmer. We are first yoked to Jesus, who is gentle and good, and also yoked to one another. Houghton and Vail bring a richer experience to each other.
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 8 (13) – 2 July 2023
Scripture: Luke 5:1-11
Synopsis: Here we are on our lake shore. Like Simon, Jesus calls us as we are, and also calls us to something new. Let’s get in the boat together, and head out to deep water with Jesus, sometimes away from our comfort zones, and see what Jesus will do!
Scripture: – Matthew 14: 22-31a (The Message)
…the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror. But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come ahead.” Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!” Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand.
Synopsis: It takes courage to change, to break out of whatever narrow paths we might find ourselves in. Just like Peter, if we are going to change, we have to take the first uncertain steps out of the boat onto the water and into the unknown. Luckily, we too have Jesus’ redeeming help and support, his hand reaching out to us, if we start to sink or lose our way.
Step Four for Change: Courage to take the first step
Scripture: John 12: 20-26 (The Message)
“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Holy One, Parent of Us All, will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”
Synopsis: In our scripture today, Jesus asks us to let go of life “as it is” in order to create and multiply the love that is eternal. What feels like the chaos, or recklessness, of change is the breaking-open of possibility and the sprouting of new life. This is what it means to follow the change-maker Jesus and serve his purpose of more love in the world.
Step Three for Change: be willing to let old expectations fall away
Scripture: Mark 1: 1-15 (The Message)
John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey. As he preached he said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”
Synopsis: Our Scripture this week invites us to remember the baptism of Jesus and the message that we, as followers of Jesus, are changed constantly “from the inside out.” Transformation does not start with the action of change itself, but a willingness within our own spirits to “lean into” the life path that is calling to us.
Step Two for Change: start with inner change
Scripture: Jeremiah 18: 1-6 (The Message)
God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.” So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. Then God’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” God’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel.
God’s creative activity is described as an ongoing active force for good. Rather than fashioning us of something that could not change, the biblical metaphor is that we are fashioned of clay, a malleable substance that can be reshaped again and again. When life requires change of us, let us embrace our ability to roll with it, for we were made for this!
Step One for Change: believe we are created for change
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Pentecost: Another high holy day of the Christian calendar. Called by many the birthday of the church, Pentecost represents a passing of the mantle of sorts—from the Incarnate Christ to the ever-present Spirit, the reminder of the God within, the sustainer, the teacher, the strengthener. Pentecost is a day of celebration for all that God has done and is doing within the life of the church.
Scripture: John 17:1-11
This is the seventh Sunday of Easter: the final “of.” It is time to turn back to the one who is “chosen and precious,” except, as you’ll see, he turns it back to us. Even when talking about himself, his own glory, he turns back to us. It’s amazing, really. in this moment, you’d think he would be focused on himself. But even in the final moments on this earth, were the objects of his attention and his prayer.
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Scripture: Psalm 66:8-20
There is honesty in these words, as you usually find in the psalms, that will connect with many as a witness to the struggles in their own lives. Let the people have a voice and find that voice. Although they are reading ancient words, they are telling their own stories. It is a story that doesn’t end in suffering, but in praise.
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-10
But we are living stones, so what does that mean? How do we carry this foundational presence out into the world? How do we commit to building a church that transforms not just those inside, but those outside as well? How will our body-building strengthen our whole neighborhood and not just ourselves? This is the challenge of the living stones: discipleship for the transformation of the world.
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