18th Sunday after Pentecost

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Psalm 19, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46

 

      

Introduction

When I hear this parable the refrains that runs through my mind is: 

It doesn’t have to be that way.

 

And while I appreciate the imagery of the vineyard used to envision our life...

We see that with Jesus Christ.

Jesus got down low, just like a good football lineman,

Jesus humbled himself by taking on human form.

And thus became much more powerful, 

more able to take on the enemies of sin, death 

and all that separates us from God and one another.

One of the most popular and successful marketing campaigns of the last decade was made to promote the chocolate candy bar Snickers.

Part of a major overhaul of their brand, 

the motto for the new advertisements were:

“You are not you when you’re hungry.”

15th Sunday after Pentecost

Forgiven

 

The readings this morning focus on the theme of forgiveness.

We wonder:

What is forgiveness? 

What is forgiveness not? 

 

Forgiveness is…

Martin Luther King Jr. said:

Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.

As people of faith, the thought of life without...

God calls, and humans respond.

God is revealed in times of trouble, when people cry out in pain, 

out of fear, out of anger over injustice.

Introduction

One of Martin Luther’s often repeated quotes is,  

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces,  I would still plant my apple tree.

 

While the world is not ending, Covid has certainly caused upheaval. During this Covid lockdown, Sebastian and I have planted a few more trees at our home. Trees are...

Is God angry at us?

Is God punishing us through this coronavirus pandemic?

 

The questions that Eva asked lingers with me.

“What do you people up there in Waterloo think of us?”  

“How do you see us on the reserve?”

 

I am wanting to ask Eva a follow-up question.  How do you want to be seen?  Because in this answer, I wonder if we might discover how we are missing the...

But perhaps suffering in the past two weeks has really risen to our consciousness in what’s being called the racial pandemic, 

or the greatest global racial unrest in history.

At its core is the suffering of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who suffer at the hands of systemic injustice and racism in structures of our society.

So this passage (Numbers 11) is perhaps a good pandemic reference for us.

The Holy Spirit is poured out on those even if they’re not present,

And if we hold this as true, we can say that communion 

(mediated by the Holy Spirit) is also valid if we’re scattered all about.