Our readings for Sunday, September 6th, the 15th Sunday after Pentecost are: Ezekiel 33:7-11, Psalm 119:33-40, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
How does anyone live in the family of God, loving and following Jesus?
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Our readings for Sunday, August 30th, the 14th Sunday after Pentecost are: Jeremiah 15:15-21; Romans 12:9-21; and Matthew 16:21-28.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the incurable wound of his suffering yet finds in God’s words the delight of his heart. When Peter doesn’t grasp Jesus’ words about suffering, Jesus tells the disciples they will find their lives in losing them. Such sacrificial love is described by Paul when he urges us to associate with the lowly and not repay evil with evil. In worship we gather as a community that we might offer ourselves for the sake of our suffering world.
Our texts for Sunday, August 23rd, the 13th after Pentecost are: Jeremiah 15:15-21; Romans 12:9-21; and Matthew 16:21-28.
In Isaiah the people are advised to look to their spiritual ancestors as the rock from which they were hewn. Jesus declares that the church will be built on the rock of Peter’s bold confession of faith, even though Peter then sticks his foot in his mouth. God’s word of reconciliation and God’s mercy are keys to the church’s mission. Paul urges us to not be conformed to this world but to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, using our individual gifts to build up the body of Christ. From the table where we are nourished we are sent out to offer our spiritual worship through word and deed to neighbors, near and far.
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Our readings for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost are: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Psalm 67; and Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28
In Isaiah we hear that God’s house shall be a house of prayer for all people and that God will gather the outcasts of Israel. The Canaanite woman in today’s gospel is a Gentile, an outsider, who is persistent and unflinching in her plea that Jesus heal her daughter. As Jesus commends her bold faith, how might our church extend its mission to those on the margins of society? In our gathering around word and meal we receive strength to be signs of comfort, healing, and justice for those in need.
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Our Bible readings for Sunday, August 9, the 11th Sunday after Pentecost are:1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; and Matthew 14:22-33
Elijah finds the presence of God not in earthquake, wind, or fire, but in the sound of sheer silence. When the disciples face a great storm on the sea, they cry out with fear. Jesus says: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Amid the storms of life, we gather to seek the calm presence of Christ that soothes our fears. In comforting words of scripture and in the refreshing bread and cup of the eucharist, God grants us peace and sends us forth to be a sign of God’s presence to others.
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Our texts for Sunday, August 2 are: Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 (as the call to worship); Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21
In today’s first reading God invites all who are hungry or thirsty to receive food and drink without cost. Jesus feeds the hungry multitude and reveals the abundance of God. At the eucharistic table we remember all who are hungry or poor in our world today. In the offering we bring all that we have and all that we are to share with the people of God. As we share the bread of life, we are sent forth to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.
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