New Wineskins

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 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 come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.’ Matthew 9:9-17

When God is doing a new thing, we cannot bring our old games and ways. Too often, we want God to do new things without us having to change one iota. Matthew had to get up from his tax booth and invite Jesus to his home. We are afraid and anxious about change, it is a normal human reaction. Yet all miracles and wonders happen when we are willing to get up from our normal and follow Jesus into uncharted territories. We are in that season now. Let us get up, change our hearts and follow him.

Miraculous Creator, source of all wonder

we like the comfort of our worn-out ways

we fear having to change our daily patterns

yet when we change and turn we find new life.

We build walls and believe we are secure

we think we are in charge yet we are followers

our wineskins are old and ready to breakdown

give us the courage to change our hearts.

The world is in turmoil and great flux

we tremble on the edge of great changes to come

help us to follow you into your wonderful now

and live so that all may have brand new lives. Amen.

Stand Up and Walk

And after getting into a boat, he crossed the water and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Then some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic— ‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings. Matthew 9:1-8

I have spent a good deal of time in the past two years in some form of PT. Some time back they were teaching me to walk again when I was still rather weak and had a troublesome wound. It is so easy to get discouraged when we are sorely wounded, ill and without strength. To all of us who are discouraged and frustrated with our own lack of healing and progress, Jesus speaks to us today. "Your sins are forgiven!" Whatever is holding us back and making us believe we deserve the pain and suffering, Jesus reminds us we are forgiven, and healing is coming our way. May we always be ready to receive forgiveness and to "take up our bed and go home."

Gracious Creator, you know the ache of the world

you understand the desire to be whole and strong

even when the times and seasons wear us all down

you are always ready to bring healing and forgiveness.

When we have much pain and suffering in our bodies

we often blame ourselves and then feel quite abandoned

yet your love is bigger than all the shame and blame we carry

and you are always ready to heal us and help us stand.

Lift us up today so we might be strong for others

strengthen us so we might endure the trails ahead

restore our joy so we might share your love abroad

and help us to seek your healing and forgiveness daily. Amen.

Casting Out Demons

When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, ‘What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’ Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.’ And he said to them, ‘Go!’ So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. Matthew 8:28-34

We all have our demons, some more pronounced than others. The demoniacs that encounter Jesus were so fierce that grown folks avoided them and their surroundings. We don't encounter "demoniacs" today and often don't believe in demons at all. Yet, we can all identify people and places that make us afraid and know how violence and cruelty beget more violence and cruelty. Jesus rids the community of this evil and they want Jesus to go away. Sometimes we get too comfortable with the evil and cruelty around us, loving our familiar devils. We are invited to seek healing from all our demons, so we can serve and love others.

Precious Savior, you are fierce in the face of evil

you turned the tables in the temple and cleansed it

you cast out the demons and sent them away

and call us to move from violence and fear to love.

We are comfortable with our devils and demons

we adore the bad ones and revel in their entertainment

yet when we are fearful and tormented in the night

we cry out to you to rid us of our many demons.

Help us today, Lord Jesus, to admit the evil within

cast out the terrors that keep us from loving and serving

set us free so that we might set others free as well

and let us be instruments of your love and freedom. Amen.

Why Are You Afraid?

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’ Matthew 8:18-27

I get afraid when the storms of life overcome me. I am human, as we all are, and I know too well the dangers that can befall us. I can wonder where Jesus is in these storms and ask why he is sleeping when I am afraid of dying. The disciples were seasoned sailors, with great knowledge of the tides, winds and waves. They were not foolish children, but real experienced adults who knew too well the dangers ahead. Despite their fear, terror and their lack of faith, Jesus calmed the winds and the waves. Jesus is on this boat with us, and despite of fears and lack of faith, will calm the storms of our lives as well.

Wondrous Creator, you breathed on the waters

you put life everywhere on this round earth

giving us peace and calm amidst our storms

and bringing us all home to safe harbors.

We bristle with fear and suspect abandonment

when the storms of life rattle our routines

we forget that you are the master of the sea

and hear our despairing, frightened cries.

Draw near to us, Lord Jesus when we are sinking

restore our calm and our faith in you again

help us to be the calm for others in storms

and let you love bring us all safely home. Amen.

Such Faith

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour. When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’ Matthew 8:5-17

Today, we hear the story of the faithful centurion and the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. Both were people with very specific roles in life, and both had great love for their family and community. We know that the centurion's faith overjoyed Jesus, yet we don't know how the healed servant responded. We do know that Peter's mother-in-law got up and served her family and friends. More than anything she wanted to return to the things that made her feel complete, made her feel like she was able to do her part. That is what we all want, although sometimes our illnesses and brokenness stand in our way. Let us pray today for those who need healing and for those who ache to do their part.

Glorious Creator, you paint the sky with color

lights dancing in the deepest dark of the night

to remind us there is nothing impossible with you

and that you love and healing surround us all.

When we are struggling, hurting and ailing

we think you have abandoned us to this pain

yet in all times and places your love is reaching

seeking the broken in all of our hiding places.

Help us to seek your healing touch this day

give us the strength to do our part for others

let your love surround us so we might know you

and live in faith and trust that all deserve healing. Amen.

Seventh Sunday of Easter

    

                                Seventh Sunday of Easter May 12, 2024

Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” John 17:6-19

The words of Jesus and his prayer for his disciples, reminds us that things are constantly changing, people move, they pass away, and what we counted on once is no longer available. Transitions are hard and we are always in some sort of transition. We are invited by Jesus, when we are afraid, when things are changing, when the world seems way off center, Jesus calls us to pray. Pray for others, pray for the world and pray for ourselves. We always need protection, peace and sanctification to get through our rough days, and our God is always ready to pour great measures of love, protection, peace and sanctification upon us all.

Loving Creator, source of strength and resilience

your world is a thing of great beauty and challenge

this verdant orb turns with every season and every day

and we ache from the constant changes that surround us.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another.

War and divisions have torn families and nations apart

the young valiantly raise the voices in protest

too often they are rewarded with violence and arrest

and we are all bowed down from the unsolvable problems.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another.

Yet you are the Creator who is with us from the start

you hold us in the palm of you hand, nestle us in your arms

you light up the sky with wonders, and bless us with plenty

even when we are afraid of tomorrow and fear the worst.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another.

Help us Lord to remember to pray in every moment

laying our troubles and heartache at your feet.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another.

You offered yourself on the cross so we might live

help us live as people of hope and resurrection.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another.

For you prayed for your disciples in turning times

and you hold us and love us in every season.

Precious Savior, pray for us and teach us to always pray for one another. Amen.

Messiah

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. Matthew 22:41-46

We humans too often revel in arguing and fighting, tussling as small children and having political debates as adults. We pretend it's all in fun, in the name of sport, or in the name of vigorous democracy. In fact, too often, it is pride and jealousy rolling around like young cubs, biting and teasing until blood is drawn. We want our way, we want to dominate, and when we don't get our way, we often lash out and call it righteousness. Jesus was in conversation with the religious leaders of the day who barely tolerated in the best of times. They wanted him gone because he pointed out their hypocrisy, selfishness and love of money and power. Often, act all spiritual, humble and thoughtful but when pressed we are violent in our responses. The religious leaders of his day could not answer him in the end and so were silent. Maybe, we all might practice some silence and listening before we do battle, act righteous and pretend we are better than others.

Precious Creator, heart of our hearts 

you sent us a messiah, a savior

to walk with us and teach us love

yet we are stubborn and want our way.

You do not chose one over the other

yet we want our group to be your favorite

we think our hurts allow us to hurt others and

think ourselves righteous when we are mean.

Humble us enough to see our cruel ways

let us follow in the messiah's path of love

which is renewal, healing and deep grace

even in the face of pain, sorrow and grief. Amen.

Good Soil

‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’ Matthew 13:18-23

There are many things required to be good, rich soil. It needs to be well fed and watered, not too alkaline, not too base. Good soil can be overworked and become fragile and blow away. Crops need to be rotated so the soil stays good, and it needs to be full of life like worms and bugs. How hard it is to be good soil for us. We want everything and every crop to be the same year after year. We want to keep moving forward with our goals without resting. And we are quickly angry with all the worms and the bugs in our lives. We rail at God for not protecting us, when we have been taught over and over how to be good soil. Rest, food, balance, change and plenty of squirmy annoying life is where we find our health.

Living Creator, you plant us all in community

you teach us how to be good and productive earth

you make us the soft soil of our many lands

and yet we want to be the rigid strong buildings.

We get frustrated when our plans are futile

we think ourselves as victims of a cruel gardener

when you have given us all good places to grow

and called us to rest and renewal in every season.

Help us to examine ourselves for the sake of love

let what we do and say enrich the whole garden

let you light renew us and your word feed us all

so we might know you blessings as we serve others. Amen.

Abundance

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’ Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: “You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Matthew 13:1-16

It is often hard to feel like good soil in this season when folks are aching over decline and living with a sense of failure and great loss.  We can feel more like depleted soil with nothing left to give. Jesus told stories and then interpreted them to his followers, so we can understand how to live. We know ourselves, as the disciples did then, blessed and loved by God. Even in times of poverty and loss, we can give thanks for love's abundance. I have been ill for a few days, in hospital for a few more. Breakfast at home today with my beloved was a feeling close to heaven. May we all be good soil, despite our circumstances, so others might see and taste heaven's abundance.

Abundant Creator, source of all life

you designed the seasons for our teaching

show us how to live in many stories

and renew us even when we feel so depleted.

We too often reject you love for us

choosing instead to win and be the victor

only to find victory without love is empty

and abundant life comes only with sharing.

Lift us all up from any of our despair today

help us be renewed by your abundant love

let us be those who readily share your love

so all may be blessed in their times of woe. Amen.