10-25-2026 "Passed Down"

Thomas J Parlette
“Passed Down”
Matt. 22: 34-46
10/25/26, Reformation Sunday
          Today we get a glimpse of Jesus in the midst of a high stakes game of chess.
          The Pharisees had heard about how Jesus got the best of the Sadducees, and now it’s their turn to try to take Jesus down. They come with a plan of attack with their pieces carefully laid out to try to push Jesus into an unwinnable situation. Everything is lined up just they want.
          But just when they think that they’ve got Jesus pinned down – Jesus pulls off a brilliant check-mate – Game Over!
          You can have the greatest plan, the most carefully laid out strategy in the world, but it can all be undone with the right check-mate.
          This morning we return to Matthew’s Gospel. We are still in chapter 22. It is just a few days after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and it hasn’t taken Jesus long to become a real thorn in the side of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
          He confronts the religious leaders head on by telling three parables that cast the religious leaders in a bad light. First, there was the parable of the Two Sons – both were asked to go work in the vineyard, one said “No”, but went anyway, and the other said “Yes”, but never showed up.
         The second parable was about some Wicked Tenants who kill the landowners son and figure the vineyards now belongs to them – and the landowner wipes everyone out and destroys the vineyard.
          The third parable was the one about the Wedding Banquet where no one shows up. So, the King sends servants out into the streets and invites those who seem less desirable.
          All these parables that cast the Pharisees and Sadducees in a bad light are told on their home turf, the Temple – seemingly all on the same day. You can see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon and the religious leaders prepare to dig in and fight.
          So, the Pharisees went off to a backroom somewhere and worked out a strategy whereby they would question Jesus about taxes – always a touchy subject. They thought they had the perfect trap set, but Jesus sidesteps their question and says- “Give to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, but give to God what belongs to God.”
          So then the Sadducees come back for another run at Jesus. They ask a rather complicated question and a woman who marries some brothers, but they all die. And they ask – “At the resurrection, whose wife shall she be.” And Jesus cleverly dodges the question and notes that God is the God of the living, not the dead. Foiled again.
          So now, here come the Pharisees again. They have heard how Jesus silenced the Sadducees, so they came up with another strategy – “Let’s ask him about the Law.” So they ask, “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest.”
          In Matthew’s version, Jesus answers directly, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
          Check, my friends. Your move.
         Part 2 of this passage today tells us that the Pharisees were gathering together, no doubt discussing their next move – when Jesus goes on the offensive.
          “You know, while I have you all here, let me ask you a question. What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
          The Pharisees see this as a rather straightforward answer – everyone knew the Messiah was the Son of David. And they said so.
          “Hmmm,” says Jesus. “Is that what you think? If that is so, how is it then that David, by the Spirit calls him Lord” and he quotes Psalm 110.
         “If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?
          And… Check-Mate. The Pharisees looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Nobody had an answer for that on. They were beaten. Game Over. And no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.
          What Jesus does here isn’t really original. It’s how many Rabbi’s at the time would have handled the situation. There are a total of 613 commands in the Torah – 248 were about what devout Jews SHOULD do and 365 were prohibitions about what NOT to do. (1) That’s a lot of rules to follow. So it was not uncommon for Rabbi’s to debate over which rules were the most important – which ones were the highest priority. When considering this ranking, it wasn’t that some rules were worth following and others weren’t – the question really centered on which of these rules were most necessary to build our lives around. All the rules were important in their own way, but some carried more weight when it came to building a solid foundation for a godly life.
          The famous Rabbi Hillel once gave an answer to a similar question posed here to Jesus. Tradition tells us that a man approached the Rabbi and asked him to teach him the whole Torah while standing on one foot. The Rabbi thought for a moment, raised one foot in the air and said, “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow – This is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary.” (2)
          Jesus puts his own spin on a slightly different version of the question – “Which is the greatest commandment?”
          For his answer, Jesus turns first to the book of Deuteronomy, in chapter 6. He quotes a verse known as the Shema – a verse prayed by devout Jews every day. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment, says Jesus.
          I imagine that the Sadducees and the Pharisees and the other devout Jews gathered in the crowd probably mouthed those words along with Jesus, as he spoke them. It directed godly people to love God with everything in them – love God with their whole being.
          But Jesus isn’t done. Next, he draws on Leviticus 19: 8, part of our Old Testament reading for today. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” calling to mind the old story about Rabbi Hillel.
          These two commandments are the priorities around which we build a godly life. If we build our spiritual lives on these two commandments, we will live a life pleasing to God.
          This is Reformation Sunday – the Sunday we set aside each year to remember the role Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin played in re-shaping the practice of Christian faith. By focusing on being saved by grace and faith alone, the Reformers passed down their own version of these commandments – move in sync with God and neighbor – love everyone with your whole self - heart, soul and mind.
          Or, here’s another way to look at it. This is why you have a QR code in your bulletin this morning. A blogger on substack.com who goes by The Biological Imagination once made an observation on how a “murmuration of starlings”, a flock of small birds, move together in harmony. I invite you to scan the QR code and watch a bit of the video…
          Our human tendency is to focus on leaders, but nature gives us a unique image of the power of neighbors. A murmuration of starlings has no leader. Up to 750,000 birds, flying at 50 miles an hour, executing turns so tight and coordinated that they look choreographed. The flock splits, reforms, pulses like a single organism. Scientists once thought it required some sort of telepathy.
          It doesn’t. It requires math.
          Each starling follows three rules – fly in the same direction as your neighbors, stay close to them, and don’t crash into them. That’s it.
          Alignment – Cohesion – Seperation.
          Research shows that each bird tracks exactly 7 neighbors – not the whole flock, just 7 – and adjusts accordingly. When one bird moves, the change ripples out outward. The entire murmuration transforms in milliseconds.
          No central command. No hierarchy. No one bird deciding where the flock goes. Just local awareness, propagated across hundreds of thousands of individuals, producing breathtaking complexity from almost nothing.
          Humans look at coordination problems and immediately ask – who’s in charge? We build organizational charts. We appoint CEO’s. We elect Presidents. We assume that large-scale action requires a central authority issuing commands.
          But the starlings demonstrate an alternative – distributed intelligence. Everyone follows simple rules. Everyone pays attention to their neighbors. And the system self-organizes.
          We have spent centuries debating the optimal structure of governments. Monarchies, democracies, republics, dictatorships and federations. We have written libraries of political philosophy trying to solve the problem of collective action.
          The starlings solved it with three rules and seven neighbors. (3)
          They all fly in the same direction. They stay close, and they pay attention to seven neighbors around them, and they don’t crash into them.
          As we move together as a murmuration of disciples, we organize ourselves around the ideas passed down to us by the Reformers – we are saved by grace alone, out faith puts us right with God. Nothing we do on our own can save us, only God, through Jesus Christ, can do that. We move in the same direction. We stay close, and we don’t crash into our neighbors.
          And where did the Reformers get that idea? From Scripture alone, from the Word of God. They got it from Jesus himself, who gives us the answer to the question “Which commandment should we build our lives upon?”
          “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” – move in the same direction as God, and stay close.
          And “Love your neighbor as yourself” – in other words, don’t crash into each other.
          Live your life like that, following the example passed down by the Reformers – and you will live a life pleasing to God.
          May God be praised. Amen.
1. Patrick Gray, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 4, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 213.

2. Ibid… p 215.

3. Substack.com/@thebiologicalimagination/note/c-210774033. From Homiletics.com.

10-11-2026 R.S.V.P to the Party

Thomas J Parlette
“R.S.V.P. to the Party”
Matthew 22: 1-14
10/11/26
          It started out as such a simple thing – a birthday party for a 5 year old girl. A mother in Texas, named Lex Fitzgerald organized a party for her birthday for her daughter Willa at a nearby burger restaurant. They made invitations and gave them to all her classmates at school. They decorated a corner of the restaurant with banners and balloons and put out treats and games for all the kids.
          The hour of the party arrived, and no one showed up. Five minutes went by – then ten – then fifteen. At twenty minutes past the hour, and still no guests, a distraught Lex got on her phone. She signed in to a local mom’s Facebook group and put out an emergency call – “Anyone available to celebrate my daughter’s 5th birthday, like right now!” and she included a picture of a lonely little girl sitting at a decorated table all by herself.
          “We had invited her whole class. I know people are busy, but only 30% rsvp’ed – and then they didn’t show, said Lex. “I didn’t know what else to do. I was hoping I might get one or two families to stop by and celebrate us. But then something beautiful happened.”
          To her Lex’s surprise and relief, within minutes, people started showing up, with gifts in hand, asking for Willa. Lex took another picture – instead of a lonely little girl sitting all by herself, this picture showed a back room full of people celebrating with Willa.
          Lex shared, “We went from a single person at her birthday table to not a single table open. The entire restaurant was packed with families who refused to let my daughter celebrate alone.”
          In response to the post, one person wrote, “This is the reason we always try to go to any kid’s parties we are invited to! I would feel so bad for them not to have anyone at their party! I’m glad you were able to get people there.” (1)
          That sounds remarkably similar to what happens in this morning’s rather mysterious and sometimes disturbing parable.
          This parable of a Wedding Feast is the third of a series of parables that Jesus tells in the Temple at Jerusalem. Telling these stories in the Temple is an interesting, direct and bold choice for Jesus. He is taking the religious establishment to task right there in their own turf. We have already heard the story of the Two Sons – one went into the vineyard to work and the other said he would, but did not. Jesus also told the one about the Wicked Tenants who kill the vineyard owner’s son and think the vineyard belongs to them – and the vineyard owners wipes them all out and destroys the vineyard. And now we’ve got the third story in the cycle – the Parable of the Wedding Feast, that compares God’s kingdom to a wedding banquet.
          This metaphor of a feast is pretty common in Biblical literature – both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We can hear echoes of the Isaiah passage we read this morning in this text – “The Lord will make a feast of rich food and well-aged wines” for the people. And of course, Jesus is often depicted having a meal with his disciples – including the Last Supper just before his death.
          Both Luke and Matthew tell this story – but Luke’s version is a good bit softer than Matthew’s. In Luke’s telling, people go to the trouble of offering excuses as to why they can’t attend, whereas, in Matthew, they just don’t bother to show up.  Luke has Jesus tell this parable at a Pharisee’s house, taking the Temple and it’s charged environment out of play. Matthew has Jesus tell the parable right there in the Temple, to underscore the point that this story is about the religious establishment. At the end of Luke’s version, the emphasis is on the inclusion of “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” at the feast, while in Matthew, the ending is much darker, with the King going on a murderous rampage in response to people not showing up to the feast. Same general story – but told much differently.
          One of the most puzzling aspects of this parable is the part about the guest who shows up to the feast, but he isn’t wearing the appropriate wedding garments. The King seems to react very harshly, ordering that the guest be “bound hand and foot and thrown out into the outer darkness.” Seems like a bit of an over-reaction – he did show up after all, that’s more than most others did – why does it matter what he was wearing?
          Apparently, there is a distinction between being INVITED to the party and being READY for the party. It’s one thing to send you RSVP – it’s another thing to arrive at the feast with the right attitude.
          John Calvin once wrote about this passage by referring to two verses from Paul. In Romans 13:14, we read that we must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and in Galatians 3:27, we read that because we are baptized into Christ, we are “clothed” with Christ. Hence, the wedding guest who is hog-tied and dumped outside receives this judgment because he has refused to be clothed in Christ. (2) He has RSVP’ed to the party – he has shown up – but he is not clothed in Christ. He has not come to the party with the right attitude of thankfulness, gratitude and joy.
          Fellow Presbyterian Pastor, Ted Wardlaw, tells a story about a church he once served that had a pre-school that rented some space during the week. Every day, when recess was over and it was time to go back inside, the teacher would line up her class right under the Pastor’s study, and give a lecture about how to behave in church.
          “Boys and girls, I know you have heard me say this many times, but you cannot be reminded often enough about how to behave in God’s house. When you go inside these doors, there is to be no talking, no laughing, no giggling, no playing, no running, no tickling, no chasing each other, no breaking line, no slapping, no fighting, no touching…” Every conceivable behavior you could think of – she had it on the list. All the things you could not do in God’s house. Every day I listened to her list, I got more and more depressed – what could you do in God’s house?
          One day, I happened to walk out of the office into the hallway. One of the preschoolers was there at the drinking fountain, and at the sight of me she gasped, shrank away and blurted out – “I’m sorry!” and ran away. (3)
          She was learning that the realm of God was serious business where punishment waits around every corner if you get caught taking a sip of water or laughing, or talking or giggling.
          It would be easy to read this parable and come away with the idea that God is very touchy about appropriate behavior and is happy to tie you up and throw you into the outer darkness – after all, there is a lot of judgement and punishment going on here.
          But ultimately, God wants us at the party – God wants us at the banquet, but God wants us to come with the right spirit. A spirit of thankfulness. A spirit of Gratitude. A spirit of Mercy. A Spirit of Grace. And a spirit of Joy.
          Elie Wiesel once wrote that the celebration of life was more important than anything – including mourning for the dead. He wrote, “When a wedding procession encounters a funeral procession in the street, the mourners must halt so as to allow the wedding party to proceed. Surely you know what respect we show our dead, but a wedding – symbol of life and renewal, symbol of promise, too – takes precedent.” (4)
          When you RSVP to a party or a wedding, you officially accept the invitation, you acknowledge your willingness to be ready, to be prepared for the festivities – proper clothes, a proper gift, and a proper attitude. With your RSVP, you commit yourself to an attitude of thankfulness, gratitude, mercy, grace and joy.
          So come to the party!

          God is saving you a seat. Amen.

 

1. Carina Stathis, “The heartbreaking moment nobody turns up to little girl’s 5th birthday party – leaving mom distraught: She’s been so excited to celebrate,” Daily Mail, June 22, 2023.

2. Andrew Purves, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 4, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p168.

3. Theodore J Wardlaw, Connections: Year A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p 387.

4. Ibid… p 387- 388.

10-02-2026 All the Things We Do Not Need

Thomas J Parlette
“All the Things We Do Not Need”
Phil. 3: 4b-14
10/4/26, World Communion
          If you’re looking for a business that is recession proof, look no further than self-storage units.
          You see them everywhere, long rows of metal boxes with roll-up doors, stuffed with boxes and furniture, tools and toys – all kinds of stuff that people don’t have a place for anymore but are convinced that they will need again someday.
          Did you know that the average American household contains 300,000 items? (1) Personally, I don’t find that so hard to believe. I have a good bit of the pack-rat DNA in my genes. Books, board games, chess sets, guitars, nativity sets, models of famous golf holes, castles and cathedrals are just a few of the things I collect. So I am no stranger to the accumulation of stuff.
          And I’m not the only one. Just look at the TV shows that have grown out of the habit of collecting stuff. “Hoarders”, for one – the show that takes on the hardest cases of people who have become captives of their stuff and helps them get out from under the burden of more and more things. In the end, they are confronted with the realization that “I didn’t own these things – they owned me.”
          And then there is “Storage Wars.” This show follows people who go to auctions and buy abandoned storage lockers in the hopes of finding some valuable treasures. Then they sell off what they buy and whoever earns the most money at the end of the show wins. The question that confronts us at the end of this show is “Maybe this stuff isn’t worth what I thought.”
          In addition to the reality TV shows, there is an entire industry that has grown up around this issue. A few years ago, Margareta Magnusson published a little book called “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.” Not the most catchy title, but an interesting book non-the-less. Her basic premise was – “Don’t leave your clutter for your family to clean-up. It’s an unnecessary burden on them.” Instead, do your cleaning before you die and make it into a chance to find meaning and memory in your things. (2)
          Perhaps you’ve heard of a de-cluttering expert named Marie Kondo. She is an author and TV personality who developed the KonMari Method of tidying up your life. She asks a simple question – “Does this thing, this object, spark joy.” If it does – great. But if not – perhaps you could get rid of it. Too much stuff interferes with the life we want to live. (3)
          Perhaps Socrates was right when he said – “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” (4) Decluttering is about clearing away things that distract from the life you actually want to live.
          That’s what Paul is getting at here this morning. He is advising the Philippians to declutter their spiritual lives and get rid of all the things they do not need. He invites the Philippians, and us as well, to undertake a holy de-cluttering, as it were.
          The members of the church in Phillipi were struggling with the question of how much of their Jewish heritage do they need to hang onto to be Christian. What do they need to save from their past – the rituals, the dietary laws, the traditions, the things that made them Jewish -  to remain in God’s good graces. Remember, at the time, Christianity was seen as a sect within Judaism. People who believed in Jesus’ resurrection still considered themselves Jewish – but they knew something was different. They were looking to Paul to clarify things. What do we need to keep in our spiritual storage locker, and what can we discard?
          Paul starts by using himself as an example. He lists all his accomplishments and distinctions as a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, a zealous Pharisee, blameless under the law.
          But now, after dedicating his life to Christ, he regards all those distinctions as garbage, as rubbish, or as the theologian Karl Barth put it – “dung”, because for him, nothing compares to the surpassing value of knowing Christ. That is what he wants to center his life on now. The other stuff doesn’t matter. If Paul were to ask himself – “does my past spark joy?,” he would answer – “No. My joy comes from knowing Christ. And so I press on toward what lies ahead. That’s the only path that matters – the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ.”
          Karen Salmansohn tells the story of an interesting meeting she once set-up. She writes: “Recently, I arranged to meet my 90-year-old self for coffee.
          I had questions about life I couldn’t answer on my own. The hard ones. The ones people in their 40’s, like me wonder about constantly.
          I figured if anyone had perspective on life, it would be my 90-year-old self.
          She showed up at my apartment early – 7 am. She walked right in. Turns out, she had a key – I mean, of course she did. She’s me.
          She headed straight to the kitchen like she owned the place – because she sorta did.
          “Where are those pretty purple mugs?” She opened the cabinet on the right and found them on her first try.
          “Wait,” I said, “You’re using the good mugs?”
          “Of course. They were tired of sitting on the shelf – unused – being saved for a special occasion.” Then she winked at me in a way that said – “Gotcha.”
          That’s when I realized something important about what it’s like to be in the presence of someone who is you – but has 50 more years of data…
          After all, they have a full inventory on you, including the parts you’ve been editing out on social media. It’s like being in a room with someone who has read your diary. Every entry, including the things you scribbled in the margins because you were trying to be extra honest.”
          “But then, and this was the part I wasn’t expecting, I relaxed. Because I realized that this older version of me had miraculously decided to love me anyway. 90-year-old me hummed a little as she poured two mugs of coffee.”
          “Tell me,” I said, “What do you wish you had stopped doing sooner?”
          “Asking permission.”
          She blurted it out so quickly I was a little taken aback. Like the answer ad been sitting in her mouth for 50 years and she’d just been waiting for someone to ask.
          “Permission for what?”
          “Everything. Permission to take up space. Have an opinion. Say No. Change my mind. I spent decades running every decision through a Permission Committee, mostly in my rain… mostly made up of people who didn’t even like me much.”
          “What does life look like when you stop asking permission?”
          “Faster. Quieter. You just do the thing. You want to leave the party – you leave. Don’t want to go in the first place – don’t go. And you don’t need to manufacture a stomachache or a “something came up.” You just say “No – I’m not going to do that.” And you don’t. And nothing happens. The world continues to turn. And you’re at home in pajamas watching something terrible on TV – and you’re at peace.”
          “Hmmm. That brings me to my next question. What do you wish you had worried about less in life.?”
          “What people think of me after I leave a room.”
          “Wow – that’s a big one!”
          “One of the biggest. I spent far too many years replaying conversations in my head. Did I say the wrong thing? Was that joke too much? Did she seem weird when I said that? Should I call – should I text? Should I text… and then call to apologize for texting? I was running a full-time post-production department in my head for social interactions – the other people forgot about it eleven seconds after it happened.”
          “How do you know they forgot about it?”
          “Because I forgot theirs. That’s the whole scam. Everyone is so busy worrying about how THEY come across… that nobody is actually analyzing how YOU come across. We are all the anxious, neurotic star of a movie that nobody else is watching.”
          “Hmmmm – that’s either very comforting or deeply lonely.”
          “It’s both – welcome to being alive.”
          Suddenly I heard a “Beep, beep, beep. “What’s that?”
          “It’s my Apple Alarm ring – comes out in 2051. You’ll be obsessed.” She stood up to leave. “I set it to remind me to leave for brunch. Gotta go.”
          “When will I see you again?
          “Every morning, dear – in the mirror. It’s getting closer. Try not to be too startled.”
          She put the mugs away and I walked her to the door.
          “Where are you headed?”
          “Forward dear. Only direction available. To either of us.” (5)
          As we approach the table this morning, with Christians throughout the world, perhaps we can all engage in a little “holy de-cluttering” – clearing away all the things we do not need, so we can focus on the only thing that does matter – knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection.
          May God be praised. Amen.
 

 

1. Homileticsonline, retrieved 9/20/26.

2. John P. Weiss, This Is What Swedish Death Cleaning Taught Me About Life.” BecomingMinimalist.com/death-cleaning/.

3. Homileticsonline, retrieved 9/20/26.

4. Weiss…

5. Karen Salmansohn, “My 90-Year-Old Self Stopped By with Life Advice. She Did Not Sugarcoat It. A conversation between who I am now and who I am becoming.” The Stand Up Philosopher: Weighty Musings, Lightly Served, Feb. 18, 2026.

09-27-2026 Who Gave You the Right?

Thomas J Parlette
“Who Gave You the Right”
Matt. 21: 23-32
9/27/26
           There is an old dinner party game, perhaps you know it – where you consider who you would want to invite to a dinner party. Can be anyone you want – anyone from history, living or dead. Who would you invite?
          Every time I’ve played this game, one guest in particular comes up. Lots of people say they would like to invite Jesus to dinner. It’s an intriguing possibility. I’m sure it would be interesting to invite the Son of God to share a meal and swap stories over roast beef and red wine.
          But then I think about all those times in scripture when Jesus engaged with the people – whether over a meal or in the town square, or here, in the Temple in Jerusalem. These encounters almost never go as expected. Jesus has this way of turning your questions around, confusing the issue and of course, answering a question with another question. And then, there are the stories. Jesus as a story for every occasion.
          Today is no different. It’s important to know the context of today’s passage. This encounters comes right on the heels of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem during Holy Week. After riding into town on a donkey, being serenaded with hosannas – Jesus goes straight to the Temple and causes an uproar by overturning the tables of the moneychangers and driving the merchants out into the streets. Quite the scene.
          The next day, Jesus is back at the scene of the crime. How he got onto the Temple grounds after the riot he caused, we don’t know. But the chief priests and the elders of the people were on the lookout for him. They see him arrive, and while he was teaching, they approach, asking “By what authority are you doing these things, who gave you the authority.” They are essentially saying, “Look, Jesus, you are on our turf – we have been given authority over the Temple, not you. Who gave you the right to come in here and start flipping tables?”
           And as he usually does, Jesus confounds his interrogators by asking them a question about the baptism of John.
          What follows is a comical scene as the chief priests and the elders retreat to a corner of the room to have a quick huddle and review their options.
          “If we say from heaven, he’s going to say – well why didn’t you believe?”
          “If we say of human origin, we’re afraid of the crowd – they are big supporters of John.” What do we say? And they all shrug in unison.
          Finally, they elect a spokesperson, they go back to Jesus. They spokesman takes a deep breath, and says – “We don’t know.” You can almost hear they chuckles from the crowd – “They don’t know – they claim they know everything, this they can’t answer??”
          Then Jesus tells them a story. It seems to be an answer to their question about authority – but not a direct answer. A direct answer was going to land Jesus in hot water with somebody, so he skillfully gives an answer without giving an answer.
          What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He goes to the first and asks him to go work in the field. The son says, “No. I’m not going to do that.” But later, he changes his mind and goes to work. The father goes to the second son and makes the same request. This son says, “Sure, I’ll get right on that,” but he doesn’t go. Which of these two sons did the will of the Father?
          The answer is obvious – the first son. Then Jesus drives his point home. “The tax collectors and the sinner are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. You say the right things, you give the right answers – but you don’t follow through, you don’t do the right things. The sinners, they say they don’t believe, they live in sin – but they listened to John, they repented, they did the right thing. SAYING the right thing means nothing – DOING the right thing is what counts.”
          That’s why Jesus would ruin any dinner party he got invited to – pointing out hypocrisy doesn’t win you many friends, or dinner invitations.
          History is filled with people who have said all the right things, but they didn’t do the right things. Our own Christian history is not immune. You only need to look at the story of The Crusades to find some striking examples.
          In his book Saladin: The Sultan Who Vanquished the Crusaders and Built an Islamic Empire, John Mann describes how, during the First Crusade, from 1095 – 1099, the Christian knights who sought to free the Holy Land from the infidels did not act particularly Christ-like. On July 15th, 1099, the months-long siege of Jerusalem ended with the Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, breached the defenses. Once they were in the city, the men who bore the cross, the sign of Christ on their chests, mercilessly slaughtered all the inhabitants – men, women and children, Muslims and Jews. Eyewitness accounts tell of the street running with the blood of the dead. Even at a time when war was unimaginably brutal, the atrocities committed by the Crusaders drew criticism.
          Now fast forward 90 years. Saladin, the great Fatimid general, defeated the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin in 1187. Saladin then moved on to take Jerusalem and, after a short siege, entered the city. The Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem were terrified; they remembered what the Crusaders had done in 1099 and thought Saladin would take revenge.
          However, Saladin was merciful. He granted amnesty to the Christians and set a low ransom price, which enabled the residents to leave the city. For those who were too poor to pay, Saladin forgave the ransom or paid it himself, much to his advisors’ chagrin. The Jews, who had been banished by the Christians, were invited to return to Jerusalem. Saladin did not even destroy the Crusader churches; instead, he repurposed them. Anyone who has stood under the medieval arches of the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem has witnessed the work of Saladin.
          Though largely forgotten in the Muslim world until the 20th century, Saladin was hailed as the epitome of chivalry in medieval Europe and celebrated for his bravery, his wisdom and his generosity.
          So, what do you think? Which son of God did the will of the Father here? Godfrey of Bouillon or Saladin?
          The Christian faith is more than a set of words or ideas; it is a way of acting in the world. What is more important – getting the words right or the work right? (1)
          That’s what Jesus is getting at this morning. SAYING the right things means nothing. DOING the right things is what counts.
          Jesus may not be the best guest for a congenial dinner party. He says challenging things. He flips our expectations upside down. He turns our questions back on us, and has no time for hypocrisy. When the religious people of the day asked – “Who gave you the right?”, Jesus responded with a story highlighting that saying the right things was not enough, you have to do the right things – that’s what counts. And when you look at Jesus life – his ministry, his teaching, his healing – he is doing all the right things. He doesn’t just talk a good game, he backs it up with his actions. Who gave him the right to do these things? The Spirit of God, embodied in God’s Son, that’s who gave him the right.
          Let those with ears to hear – Listen!
          May God be praised. Amen.

 

 

1. Shawnthea Monroe, Connections, Year A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p 351.

09-20-2026 It's Not Fair!

Thomas J Parlette
“It’s Not Fair!”
Matt. 20: 1-16
9/20/26
 

          If you ever have the chance to visit Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, you will no doubt notice the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights – an imposing building of ornate stone modeled after a Greek Temple.
          Kirby Hall is named after Fred Morgan Kirby – a wealthy businessman who donated the money to build it in the late 1920’s.
          Mr. Kirby did very well for himself. At the tender age of 23, he used his life-savings of $600 to purchase a variety store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He had a partner in the venture named Charles Sumner Woolworth. Together, they opened the first Woolworth’s “five and ten,” store – which became the cornerstone of a retail empire.
          Mr. Kirby took an active role in designing the college building that would bear his name. He also was very specific about what kind of teaching would go inside its walls. There’s a dedicatory plaque just inside the entrance, declaring that Kirby Hall is “for instruction in the Anglo-Saxon ideals of the true principles of constitutional freedom, including the right of man to own property and do with it as he will; the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and, incidentally, the right to sell his labor as he chooses.”
          Mr. Kirby was a Gilded Age captain of industry. He was anti-socialism and anti-union. He didn’t want any left-wing ideas taught inside HIS building.
          Mr. Kirby also directed that something else be carved into that stone plaque – a Bible verse, one we read this morning, Matthew 20: 15. In the King James Version it reads: “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?”
          To Mr. Kirby, that verse seemed like the perfect justification for the capitalist, free-enterprise system. (1)
          Turns out, the joke was on him – because that scripture verse doesn’t really mean what he thought it meant. You always have to consider context.
          Apparently no one pointed out to Mr. Kirby that the person who speaks that line in Jesus parable about laborers in a vineyard, is the landowner. He’s anything but a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist. In fact, he is just the opposite. What he does seems downright unfair. How he uses his wealth is dangerously close to socialism. This is the boss who, at the end of the day, pays all his farm hands the same amount of money, regardless of how many hours they worked. That just seems like bad business – and it’s not fair.
          Fairness is something we learn very early in life. Infants as young as 13 months begin to have a concept of fairness when they see that someone has more cheerios or brightly colored blocks than they do. By the time they get to about 10 years old, fairness, playing the game by the same rules, becomes very important – and they are quite happy to point out, “Hey, that’s not fair!
          An awareness of the concept of fairness is not limited to humans. There is a researcher named Frans de Waal who conducted a study with monkeys in which two groups of moneys did the exact same task – but the rewards were different. One group for instance received more bananas and some oranges while the other group got 1 small banana each. When the monkeys were asked to perform the same task again, the group who got less fruit refused. (2) They could see – this was not fair!
          Fairness is what’s at the heart of both of our passage for today. We all remember the story of Jonah – the guy who tries to run away from what God asked him to do and gets swallowed by a whale. We all know that part. We don’t always remember the end of that story. That’s what we hear today. After getting spit out by the whale, Jonah goes to Nineveh as the Lord asked him to do, he preaches against the wickedness of the city and their need to repent, and he gets out of town. Shockingly, at least to Jonah, the people of Nineveh listen to him. They do repent, and they avoid the wrath of God.
          As Jonah sits atop a mountain overlooking the city, he throws himself a bit of a pity party. He complains loudly that God has let him down. “You sent me there to condemn those sinners, and look, nothing happened. I look ridiculous, Lord.”
          God answers Jonah, “Are you angry because I showed the people of Nineveh mercy? Look, Jonah, I can show mercy to anyone I want. That’s my department, not yours. I am God – you are not.”
          To Jonah, God was not fair to the people of Nineveh. The deserved to be punished – and Jonah wanted a front row seat. But it turns out, God has a different view of fairness. God chooses grace over fairness every time.
          That’s what we see in Matthew as well. Matthew is the only Gospel writer who tells this story. That’s probably because Matthew was writing for a Jewish audience and there was a great deal of consternation about these new Gentile converts and whether they were entitled to same rewards of the life-long Jews. So Matthew shares this story that almost all scholars agree was a genuine Jesus-story, with very little editing down through the centuries.
          We know the jist – there is this vineyard owner who heads out to hire some workers. He hops in his old pick-up truck and drives down to the local lumberyard, or Menards or Kwik-Trip – wherever the guys are hanging out looking for work. He picks a group of guys, agrees on a price for the day and put them to work. He goes back and picks up more workers throughout the day, until he drops off his final crew at the vineyard around 5:00, with one hour left in the work day.
          6:00 rolls around, quitting time – and time to get paid. The vineyard owner pulls up, lowers the tailgate on his truck, pulls out his cash box and the workers line up for their money. The ones who worked an hour get in line first – and to their delight, they receive a full day’s pay! This causes a stir at the back of the line, where the ones who worked all day are waiting.
          “If those guys got a full day’s pay, we’re bound to get more, right? That’s the only fair way.”
          But when they get to the front of the line – they get the same pay as everyone else! And the ruckus begins – “Hey, this isn’t fair! We worked all day – they worked an hour. Why are we all getting the same! It isn’t fair!”
          And that’s a good point – it’s not fair.  Not only is not fair, it also seems to be a terrible business practice.
          But then the vineyard owner stands up in the back of his pick-up truck – “Hey, you got what we agreed on. I paid you exactly what I said I would. How is that unfair. It’s my vineyard, and it’s my money. I can use it as I see fit. Are you angry because I am generous?”
          Two things we can take from this parable today.
          First – God gives all of us work to do. Notice that the Vineyard owner didn’t conduct interviews, there is no ranking of who has more experience or more skills when it comes to vineyard work. It seems that the owner just loads people up in the back of the truck and puts them to work. God has a job for everyone. God gives us all work to do to further the Kingdom of God.
          Second – God is above all, generous – always, and in all ways. As it turns out, God is a very good businessman. God is a lousy accountant. BUT – God is a great Philanthropist. God is generous, but not always fair – at last not by our usual definitions. But God is always gracious and generous – always and in all ways.
          As Charlotte Dudley Cleghorne points out, “This parable really isn’t about fairness – although that’s where we get hung up. This parable is actually about the generosity of God. It is not about equity or proper disbursement of wages but a gracious and undeserved gift. It is ot about an economic exchange, but rather, about a bestowing of grace and mercy to all, no matter what time they have put in or how deserving or undeserving we may think them to be. God’s generosity often violates our own sense of right and wrong, or sense of how things would be if we ran the world.”
          “This parable challenges us to see through the eyes of God. Our ideas of right and wrong, fair and unfair, of what is just or unjust, are not necessarily God’s ideas – and that is actually a very good thing.” (3) It’s good thing because God doesn’t give us what we deserve. God gives us what God desires to give. It’s not always fair – thank goodness. But it’s always grace.
          One of the sayings we hear a lot these days is “Get over it.” It’s very simple advice – but there is some wisdom there.
          I remember a friend of mine in Seminary – he was studying for the Master of Divinity degree, as I was, but he was always working on a Masters of Social Work as well. One of the requirements was to participate in counseling sessions with clients.
          Every couple of weeks, we would go out to “debrief,” especially after a particularly difficult week, and he would tell me about the clients he saw and the problems they were dealing with. One particular week, we looked up and said to me – “Sometimes I just want to shout, “Just get over it!”
          Now he said it more out of frustration than anything else – but there was some wisdom there. Work through things, yes. Then, let them go – get over it, move on. As long as we hold on, we continue to hurt others and ourselves. God forgives us and loves us, and so we must forgive and love ourselves and others as well.
          Rest assured, God is always gracious and generous. Fair – not always, at least not by our usual standards. God may be a terrible accountant, but God is a great Philanthropist. For God is generous and gracious - Always, and in All Ways.
          And for that, may God be praised. Amen.


1. Homileticsonline, retrieved 9/14/26

2. Shawnthea Monroe, Connections, Year A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p 331

3. Charlotte Dudley Cleghorne, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 4, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 96.

09-13-2026 The Calculus of Forgiveness

Thomas J Parlette
“The Calculus of Forgiveness”
Matthew 18: 21-35
9/13/26
 

          To be honest, math is not my strong suit. I was always better at English, History and Social Studies than I was in anything math-related.
          To be even more honest, I never took Calculus. I got through two years of Algebra. I would say that I survived Geometry – barely. But I was able to successfully graduate both high school and college without ever taking Calculus.
          So, I felt a little funny about titling the sermon for today, “The Calculus of Forgiveness” – because really, what do I know about Calculus?
          So, I googled the definition of Calculus – “the branch of mathematics that studies continuous change and motion using the core concepts of limits, derivatives and integrals.”
          Wow – I lost myself on that one right off the bat. Let’s try another one:
          “the mathematical study of continuous change, split into looking at how things change at any exact moment and how small pieces add up to a whole.”
          Ahhh… yes, that definition feels better to me. I can get my head around that. “The study of continuous change, split into looking at how things change at any exact moment and how small pieces add up to a whole.”
          That seems better suited to our passage for today.
          Peter brings an interesting math problem to Jesus today. “How many times should I forgive someone? As many as 7 times?”
          It’s an interesting number, seven. Peter didn’t just randomly pluck that number out of the air. It has significance. The number seven is a holy number, it represents perfection. So what Peter is really asking is, “Should I be practicing perfect forgiveness? Should my forgiveness be unlimited? What’s the limit here Jesus – when is enough, enough.”
I think Peter may be asking this with a bit of irony. He is expecting Jesus to wave him off  – “Oh no, my friend, of course not, I’m not saying that, I’m saying…”
Now, you have to admit, what Peter says here makes sense. Forgiveness has limits, right? Isn’t there a point at which forgiving someone becomes “enabling” someone, to use our modern parlance.
That’s worth considering. When we say that word, “forgiveness,” what comes to mind. We often think of that phrase “forgive and forget.” But is that even possible, or healthy? Sometimes we approach forgiveness as if we are saying to someone – “It’s OK, forget about it, no problem, water under the bridge.”
But that doesn’t feel right either. Sometimes it’s not OK, and we can’t forget about it and it’s almost always a problem. What about consequences? What about justice? No, Peter has a point here. It’s a good question, how much forgiveness is enough.
And here is where Jesus flips the calculus of forgiveness on its head. Instead of offering any sort of reasonable limits on forgiveness, as Peter may have been expecting, Jesus gives an extreme number, an absurdly high threshold for forgiveness – 77 times or 70 times 7 times. Whichever translation you prefer, Jesus’ point is clear. There are no limits on forgiveness. To drive his point home, Jesus tells a dangerous and often mis-used story.
A King decides to settle his accounts, collect some overdue payments. There is one slave in particular who owes him what amounts to millions of dollars – a crazy sum of money. So the King orders the man and his family to be sold and all his property seized to pay the debt. The slave begs for mercy and promises to pay back the debt, “I just need a little more time.”
The King shows him mercy and lets him go. As soon as the debt-ridden slave is out the door, he runs into a fellow slave who owes him some money, grabs him by the throat and demands payment – but the slave who has been shown mercy, shows none to his debtor.
The other slaves report back to the King, and the King is outraged. “I forgave you this astronomical sum of money and you couldn’t forgive your fellow slave a hundred denarii? Come on! You should have shown the same mercy you received.” And the King handed him over to ne tortured until his debt was paid.
The story concludes with the ominous post-script – “So my heavenly father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from the heart.”
Hard to miss the point there. Forgiveness and mercy is one of the pillars of our faith. It is one our defining traits as disciples of Jesus and a community of God.
Yet this parable has been mis-used over the centuries. Preachers have leaned too heavily into the individual focus of forgiveness, teaching that as individuals we should forgive everyone for everything. That can be dangerous.
I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called “Death of the Pastor’s Wife.” It tells the story of a young pastor in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, whose wife turns up dead under suspicious circumstances. The death is ruled a suicide, but many friends and family doubt that’s what really happened. The case is still on-going – but in one of the scenes, the producers show some footage from one of the church services where this young pastor is preaching on this very passage. He encourages his members, especially his female parishioners, to forgive their husbands of their infidelities and even physical abuse and move on with their marriage – because that’s what God wants. If they don’t forgive their husbands, then they are destined for eternal punishment, like Jesus says at the end of the story.
That’s why this parable can be dangerous. There are many interpreters of God’s word that have used this passage to encourage women and abused spouses to forgive and stay in abusive relationships, because, they say, God hates divorce. And that is, quite simply, a mis-use of this text. Yes, God does not like divorce – God doesn’t want any relationship to end up broken. But God hates abuse more. God is all about forgiveness, mercy AND reconciliation. The reconciliation part, unfortunately, usually gets left out of the interpretation of this parable.
This story is meant to show what God’s mercy and forgiveness looks like. It is a hyperbolic parable – it is meant to be extreme in order to make Jesus’ point. The point is: God’s mercy and forgiveness is unlimited. Desmond Tutu once told a story about a man who struggled with one sin in particular. He would ask God for forgiveness, but as soon as got up from his knees, he would sin again. One day this happened, and he rushed back to God and said, “I’m sorry, Lord, I’ve done it again.”
And God looked confused, and asked, “What have you done again?”
God suffers from amnesia when it comes to our sins. God does not look at the caterpillar we are now, but at the dazzling butterfly we have in us to become.” (1)
Or, as Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking wrote, “Every human being is worth more than the worst thing they’ve ever done. All life has dignity, guilty life too.” (2)
In response to the mercy and forgiveness God has shown to us, we should be a forgiving people, a people guided by mercy, a people hungry for reconciliation. Does that mean we are to forget about how we have been hurt or abused, just pretend it never happened? Of course not – God may be able to do that, but we can’t.
Forgiving does mean that we can let go of the burden of carrying our hurt and anger and resentment and seething desire for revenge and stop letting it control of every thought and action.
There is a scene in the show “Ted Lasso” that captures this moment well – even if you don’t have Apple TV, you can find it on YouTube pretty easily. The star player, Jamie Tart has always had a tough time dealing with his demanding, abusive father. He harbors a lot of anger toward his Dad for leaving him and his mother and driving Jamie so hard to be the best soccer player he could be. Jamie has used his anger as his motivation – but after a confrontation with his Dad in the locker room that ends in violence, Jamie is at a lost.
Coach Ted says to him, “If hating your father isn’t motivating you like it used to, it might be time to try a different approach. Maybe you should try forgiving him.”
“No way,” says Jamie, “I’m not giving him that.”
And Ted responds, “Choosing to forgive isn’t about giving anything to the other person – it’ a gift to yourself to let go of a heavy burden you shouldn’t have to carry.”
It is in that moment that the calculus of forgiveness gets turned upside down. Our normal approach is to take the Golden Rule – “Do unto other as you would have them do to you,” and invert it to “Do unto others as they have done to you.” It becomes more about revenge than grace.
But Jesus encourages us to change the calculus of forgiveness, to engage in continuous change, looking at how things change moment by moment, how small pieces of mercy and forgiveness and grace will add up to a new whole that looks more and more like the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom meant to show the kind of forgiveness and mercy shown here today.
May God be praised. Amen.

1. Desmond Tutu, An African Prayer Book (New York: Doubleday, 1995), 38.

2. Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking, (Random House, 1993.)

08-30-2026 Some Peculiar Glory

Thomas J Parlette

“Some Peculiar Glory”

Matt. 16: 21-28

8/30/26

A young man walks into an electronics store and stares longingly at the brand-new, cutting-edge, 60 inch, high-definition, TV’s lined up against the wall. A -smooth-talking salesclerk approaches and begins explaining all the enticing and entertaining new features of the latest model. “But you’d better hurry,” he says, “we’re almost sold out. Tell you what, I can let you have this display model with a 10% discount. We can have it delivered and set-up just in time for football season.”

The young man smiles and nods, and says, “I’ll take it.” Just then, a funny-looking man who looks remarkably like a pig with little triangle ears on top of his head, chubby pink cheeks and a flat snout of a nose slides into the camera’s view. He just stands there looking disappointed and shakes his head back and forth to show his disapproval.

The young man thinks for a moment, and has a change of heart.

“You know, you’re right. I don’t really need a new TV.”

The pig man smiles a little, although the salesclerk is visibly annoyed that he has lost the sale. That little scenario is actually a commercial from an organization called feedthepig.org. They’re a financial consulting group that specializes in helping people manage their finances, make a budget, reduce debt, pay off loans and in general save money. The name “feed the pig” is meant to recall those childhood days when we used to relish putting money into our piggy banks to save up for something special.

When I googled feedthepig.org, I found lots of commercials they have produced over the last 15 years or so. I also found lots of facebook references and reddit threads that ranked their commercials as some of the most hated on the internet. I think that might be because one of the organizations basic tenets is self-denial. They teach, “learn to say “No”, you don’t need everything. Sometimes we buy things that we don’t really need. It’s better to feed the piggy bank, rather than our need for the newest and most trendy new thing.”

Self-denial is not something we hear a lot about in our consumer oriented society. We are much more comfortable with ideas like self fulfillment, our self-care, where we can encourage ourselves to indulge our cravings to make ourselves feel good. None of us really want to hear about saying “No” to ourselves. We’d rather hear about saying “Yes” to whatever pampers our body and soul. America is all about saying Yes – not No. Yet, self-denial is one of the key themes in our passage for today.

This story comes right on the heels of the one we heard last week when Jesus and his disciples visited Caesarea Phillipi and Jesus asked his disciples – “Who do people say that I am?” Some say, John the Baptist, some Elijah, or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

“But who do you say I am?”

Peter comes up with the answer Jesus is hoping to hear when he says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

It was a glorious moment. Finally, the disciples had put all the pieces together – Jesus was the Messiah. Things were going to change now. They had their ace-in-the-hole. They had the Messiah on their side. They would put together an invincible army, drive the Romans out of town, and they would rule over Judea. They would all be rich and powerful. This was great and glorious news!

But for now, Jesus didn’t want them to tell anyone. A little strange – but okay. Whatever you say Jesus. You’re the boss, you’re the Messiah after all. We will keep our mouths shut. So, the disciples followed along behind Jesus, bursting at the seams with their amazing news, visions of power and glory dancing in their heads. And yet, from that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, undergo great suffering and be killed – then raised to life on the third day.

When they hear this, I’m sure the disciples mouths dropped open.

“What are you talking about Jesus? That can’t possibly be your game plan. What kind of glorious victory is this?” I’m sure the disciples were utterly shocked. The 1999 film simply called “Jesus” captured this sense of shock pretty well. We see Judas there urging Jesus to reconsider, strike while the iron is hot, act now while you have so much popular support. Passover is coming – that would be the perfect time to galvanize opposition to Roman power. Jesus then addresses the group, “In two days, it will be Passover, and I will be killed.” The response around the room is disbelief, shock and rejection. Peter, speaking for all the disciples, insists that he will defend Jesus, that Jesus’ death cannot be God’s will, that Jesus’ mission is just beginning.

Finally, Jesus turns on Peter and shouts, “Satan, get away from me.” The room is shocked into silence, and Judas storms out in disgust. But it doesn’t stop there. The passage moves from the shock of Jesus’ impending death to the even greater shock that they too will have to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow if they want to be disciples. What sort of peculiar glory is this? This is not what the disciples wanted to hear.

Still isn’t, in fact. It’s not what we want to hear either. We don’t want to hear about suffering and loss being the way to spiritual fulfillment. Self-denial is not a popular topic. I once heard about a professor at Luther Seminary in St.Paul named Fred Gaiser, who once did an admittedly unscientific survey of church mission statements. He looked at websites and old bulletins to see what churches were saying about themselves, and how they presented themselves to the world. What he found was pretty surprising. Churches generally described their mission in terms of being warm and welcoming communities. They wrote of their commitment to serve Jesus by ministering to the needs of the community. They described their efforts to provide excellent educational programs, fellowship opportunities and weekly worship. They declared themselves committed to inspiring, biblical preaching. But not one church he surveyed mentioned the call to suffer in Jesus’ name. What was missing from practically every mission statement was the cross.

No, we don’t like to hear about the suffering and self-denial it takes to follow Christ. When we hear that we have “lose our lives to save them, deny ourselves, take up a cross and follow” – well it might be tempting to follow Judas as he storms out of the room.

And yet, that is what we are called to do. When we commit ourselves to follow Jesus we commit ourselves to suffering in that we pledge to put our own ambitions in second place, our own plans for our lives take a back seat. When we commit ourselves to follow Jesus, we commit ourselves to self-denial instead of self-fulfillment. And in so doing, we discover a peculiar sort of glory. A glory that finds joy in serving instead of being served. A glory that finds meaning in the struggle instead of avoiding conflict altogether. A glory that can only come through loss.

William Willimon tells the story of a woman he knows who lost the possibility of ever having a family of her own. So, she and her husband decided to become foster parents. One day Willimon stopped over for a visit and he admitted he was a bit taken aback at the situation he found. This middle-aged couple had signed up to be foster parents for a group of 6 special needs foster children – not one, but six. The shape of their day was constant washing, cleaning, cooking and caring. Yet, they could not have been in better spirits.

“These children make my life worth living,” said mom as she put in another load of laundry. “They give me a meaningful life. I don’t sit around and mope looking for something to do – I don’t have time. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in somebody else’s aches and pains.”

That’s what it is to lose your life. I like the way Barbara Brown Taylor says it. She writes: “Like every believer I know, my search for real life has led me through at least three distinct seasons of faith – not once or twice, but over and over again. Jesus called it finding life and losing life, and finding life again… You don’t have to die in order to discover the truth of this teaching. You only need to lose track of who you are, or who you thought you were supposed to be, so that you end up lying flat on the dirt floor basement of your heart. “Do this,” says Jesus, “and you will live.”

“As hard as we preachers may work to clarify this, I’m not so sure we ever can. Jesus’ promise contains truth that can only be experienced. Loss and self-denial is how we come to surrender our lives to God. And even those who profess no faith at all may still confess that losing really has helped them find their way again.”

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me,” said Jesus. Lose your life for my sake, and I will show you a peculiar sort of glory.

May God be praised. Amen.

08-23-2026 A Question of Identity

Thomas J Parlette
“A Question of Identity”
Matt. 16: 13-20
8/23/26

          In his 1936 lecture, “The Presentation of New Testament Texts,” the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer proposed an alternative strategy for how to read scripture. Instead of questioning the Bible from their standpoint, as many German Christians were doing at the time, Bonhoeffer challenged people to let the Bible question them. (1) Ninety years later, I’m amazed at how well this challenge holds up.
          In this morning’s text from Matthew, we find Jesus questioning his disciples – “Who do people say that I am?”, and then a follow-up question, “Who do you say I am?”
          This sets the stage for Peter to make his confession of faith – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” One of the many names we use to describe who Jesus is. There are other names, of course.
         Saint Thomas Aquinas called Jesus “the perfect mediator between God and humanity.”
          Theologian Horace Bushnell named Jesus “the poor man’s philosopher, the first and only one that has appeared.”
          Fidel Castro said Jesus is “a great revolutionary.”
          George Bernard Shaw called him “a first-rate political economist.”
          Johnny Cash said he was “the foundation of my life and my strength.”
          Author and storyteller John Shea describes Jesus as “God’s challenge and invitation.”
          And the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, “Jesus is our hero, a hero all the world wants.” (2)
          So, who is Jesus? That is the question before us today.
          Jesus questions his disciples in the beautiful town of Caesarea Philippi. The town is known for two things. It is home to a splendid summer palace for the Emperor and an enormous shrine carved into the side of a mountain that housed little statues to all the various Greek gods, including the Greek god Pan.
          As Jesus and the disciples looked up at this shrine to all the different gods people worshipped, Jesus posed his question – “Who do people say that I am.” The disciples throw out a couple of possibilities they have heard – John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Jesus nods his head, still gazing at the shrine of god – statues. “I see, I expected that – but who do you say I am?”
          This throws the disciples for a loop, they aren’t sure what the right answer is. Finally, Simon Peter answered – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
          That’s the answer Jesus is looking for – “Right you are Simon, son of Jonah! And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
          Three ideas worth noting in Jesus’ answer:
          First – Jesus tells Peter, “on this rock I will build my church…”
What does he mean by that? Since about the fourth century, the Catholic church has interpreted that verse as the foundation of the office of the Pope. It is here that Peter becomes the first pope, and the position has been passed down ever since. Protestants interpret this a little differently. We see the rock not so much as the person of Peter, but the confession of faith he makes. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah the Son of the living God, that is what Jesus intends as the foundation of the church he will build – not one person, but the faith that is confessed.
          Second idea worth noting – Jesus intends to build a church that not even the gates of Hades will be able to prevail against. In other words, Jesus will build a church that cannot be defeated by the powers of this world – not even the greatest enemy of humanity, death itself. It’s important to remember that Hades, as referred to here, is not the same as Hell. Hell is a place of punishment and torture, a place where sinners are condemned to an eternity apart from God. Hades is different. Hades is the place of the dead. Hades is not a place intended for punishment and judgment, it is simply the place where the dead go – the good and the bad, when they die, they all end up in Hades. So Jesus is promising that the church he will build will prevail against all challenges and difficulties – even the most fearful challenge of death itself.
          And finally, the third idea worth noting – Jesus promises that he will give to the church, through Peter, the keys to the kingdom. These keys give the church the power to bind and to loose. To use some updated language, Jesus gives to the church the power and responsibility to interpret the Word of God.
          So we started with a question about the identity of Jesus. Peter gives the answer Jesus is looking for. And now Jesus answers a question that hasn’t been asked. Who is the Church? What does it mean to be the Chruch? What is our identity?
          First, we are formed by Jesus, to continue the work that he has started. What is this work – is it to conquer the world and make believers of all nations and races? That sounds good, that sounds like the right answer – but Jesus doesn’t ever do that. What Jesus does is exhibit the Kingdom of God. Jesus shows us with his daily living what the Kingdom of God is like – as opposed to the Kingdom of his day, the Roman Empire. Jesus models a Kingdom built on love, peace, justice, self-sacrifice and mercy. That is Jesus’ way. And Jesus will build his church to continue to teach this to the world.
          Jesus also gives assurance that the church he builds will survive – it will prevail against all enemies – even the ultimate enemy of death. Sure, the form and structure of the church may change – but it will prevail, because Jesus, the Son of the living God, is the one who is building it. Not us, not the disciples, not his followers – but Jesus himself.
          It is Jesus who gives the church the authority to teach in his name and interpret the kingdom of God to the world.
          In the words of Mark Allan Powell, Matthew is convinced that “the church has the authority to declare God’s will not because it exhibits more insight or greater faithfulness to God than others but because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has chosen to be present in the church and to exercise his authority on earth through this community.” (3)
          The church has been given a daunting task – to interpret the will of God to the world. In this passage, the manner in which Jesus declares what is “binding” and what is “loosed” becomes a model for how the church is to practice its task. Scripture is not static; it must be reapplied to new situations. Just as Jesus applies the teachings of the Torah in fresh and creative ways, the church must be emboldened to interpret the teachings of Jesus in new and inspired ways. (4)
          William Willimon tells the story about the time a student came to see him and asked him to explain to her the difference between Christianity and Judaism. She told Willimon that she was in love with man who was Jewish. They were both law students and they were thinking about getting married. How would they deal with the difficult differences.

          Willimon jokingly told her that he had known people who married lawyers and everything worked out fine – which was not what she meant at all. She was worried about the differences in their faiths. So, they discussed rituals, festivals and theological beliefs. Then the student asked a fundamental question.
          “When it comes down to it, what is the one thing that makes Christians, Christian?”
          The answer was not pot luck dinners, gold crosses wore on the neck or scripture verses tattooed on your arms. Willimon said, “The thing that makes us who we are is who Jesus is. Jesus Christ IS Christianity.” (5)
          So there really are two questions of identity before us this morning:
          Who is Jesus? – Peter hits the nail on the head, “The Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
          And, who is the Church? We learn this answer from Jesus. We are the community built by Jesus himself so that Jesus’ teachings may continue in this world. And the forces of this world will never overcome it.
          God doesn’t need us to conquer the world. God has already done that. Jesus came to show us that God needs us to tell the world what God has already done.
          God has already conquered the powers of this world, through Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
          And for that, May God be praised. Amen.

1. L. Gregory Jones, Christian Century, June 1st, 2004.

2. Alice Camille, U.S. Catholic, August, 2002.

3. Mark Allan Powell, Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, Minneapolis Augsburg Press, 1998, p 80.

4. Mitchell G. Reddish, Feasting on the Word, Year 1, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 385.

5. William Willimon, “Who do you say that I am?” August 22nd, 1999, Duke Chapel Web Site, chapel.duke.edu.

08-16-2026 "Crumbs on the Table"

Thomas J Parlette
“Crumbs on the Table”
Matthew 15: 10-28
8/16/26

Once upon a time there was a cartoon in a magazine that showed a female preacher speaking from the pulpit. Two middle-aged men were sitting near the front. Looking up at the preacher, one of them leans over and whispers, “Nag, nag, nag.” (1)
It’s unfortunate but true that many men are very sensitive about women telling them what to do, even when it’s for their own good. And men tend to label this nagging.
Well, that’s where the meat of this story for today starts – it begins with nagging. A woman shows up and starts nagging Jesus and the disciples because her daughter is sick and she wants their help. At first, Jesus ignores her. But she just won’t let up - she is so persistent that the disciples finally plead with Jesus to send her away, “She’s driving us crazy.”
Then Jesus does something very out of character. He says, “I have only been sent to the lost sheep of Israel.” This is actually quite a scandalous passage. It is not often that we catch Jesus with his compassion down, so to speak. First, he ignores this poor woman, even though she seems to have a legitimate concern for her daughter. Then he compares this determined mother and her sick daughter to a dog – not meant as a compliment at all. Now that is simply shocking. In fact, it’s hard to imagine Jesus saying or doing something more out of character than what we see him do and say today. This is not the Jesus we think we know.
Today’s passage is actually two separate stories tied together by a road trip. Jesus starts out in the outskirts of Jerusalem where he has another confrontation with the Pharisees – this time over the many dietary laws governing what you could eat and what you couldn’t eat. Jesus leaves the crowd and the Pharisees with the lesson, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
And then Jesus skips town. He takes a road trip to the region of Tyre and Sidon – a predominantly Gentile region. It’s there that the nagging begins.
A Canaanite woman shows up and starts shouting at Jesus and the disciples – nagging them about her daughter who is being tormented by a demon. At first, Jesus ignores her – a very un-Jesus like thing to do. But the woman is so persistent and annoying that the disciples plead with Jesus to send her away. “No,” says Jesus, “I don’t have time to deal with her. I have only been sent to the lost sheep of Israel’- to the Jews, not the Gentiles. Again, very un-Jesus like.
And then begins a showdown that is pretty unique in the Gospels. Do you remember when you were a kid playing a game called chicken. In the version I knew, you basically had a staring contest to see who would blink first. You blink, you lose. Well that’s what is going on here. The Canaanite mother kneels before Jesus, addresses him as Lord, and asks for his help. Jesus doesn’t blink – and says, “It’s not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Your move, Mom. But she doesn’t blink either. “Yes, Lord… yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.”
This is another one of the moments in scripture where I think there is a long pause. Jesus and this Canaanite mother seeking help for daughter, look eyes, staring each other down – finally, Jesus blinks “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter is healed instantly.
There are two things at play here in this story. First, there is the physical act of getting God’s attention. At first, this desperate mother just gets ignored – by the disciples and by Jesus himself. There have probably been times when many of us have felt like that. We pray and pray and pray, and nothing happens. We wonder if God is listening at all and we ask ourselves – what does it take to get God’s attention? That’s where this Canaanite woman finds herself – on the outside looking in, knocking on the window trying to get Jesus’ attention, not for herself, but for her daughter.
Once there was a man getting ready to go up to bed. He was locking all the doors and turning off all the lights when his wife yelled down from upstairs – “Honey, you left the lights on in the shed, I can see it from our window.” The man shouted back up the steps – “I wasn’t in the shed at all today.” But when he took a look out the window, he could see the lights on and shadows moving about. There were people in the shed stealing things!
So he called the police and reported a robbery in progress. But the dispatcher said – “I’m sorry we don’t have anyone available to respond right now.”
“I see,” said the man, and he hung up. He counted down one minute on his watch, and called the police again.
“Hi, I just called a minute ago, because there were burglars in my shed. Well you don’t have to worry about it – I took care of it. I shot them all.”
Well, within three minutes there were half a dozen police cars on sight and a SWAT Team ready to go – they caught the burglars red- handed.
As the suspects were being loaded into the back of the squad cars, an officer said to the man, “I thought you said you shot them all.”
And the man answered, “I thought you said no one was available.”
(2)
Sometimes we just need some attention. That’s what this Canaanite woman was after. And she will not give up until she is satisfied. Which brings us to the second important thing about this story. It’s easy to get caught up with the finer points like, Why is Jesus so rude?
Or, Does Jesus actually change his mind here?
And, if Jesus is indeed divine, why would he need to change his mind about anything?
All of those are good questions, and worthy of debate. But are we to take from this story about the crumbs from the table? What are we to emulate here.
In the end, Jesus commends this Canaanite woman for her great faith, and as a result, here daughter is immediately healed. So what makes her faith so great? Her faith is great because of its persistence. She will not give up. She is so confident that God’s mercy and grace is for her as well as the lost sheep of the house of Israel, that she is insistent that Jesus help her and her daughter. This woman’s tenacity and persistence is what makes her faith great.
Paul would agree as we hear him say to the church in Rome:
“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!”
Paul is quite emphatic on that point. Exclamation points are few and far between in our scripture – but one appears today. Has God rejected his people, has God rejected even the Gentiles? Paul asks rhetorically. Then he thunders the answer to his own question – BY NO MEANS, exclamation point! “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Anyone who was once disobedient to God, has now received mercy, God is merciful to all.” It’s almost as if this Canaanite woman has those words ringing in her ears as she stares down Jesus today. “Let me remind you, Lord, that God’s mercy and grace is for me and my daughter just as much as the house of Israel.” And when the stare down is over, I imagine Jesus laughing, and saying, “I like the way you think, you’re right! Great is your faith!” Her persistence is what makes her faith great.
A few years ago there was a story that made headlines about an interesting encounter between a duck and police officer. The officer was walking his beat, when this duck started grabbing at his pant leg. At first, the officer thought it a bit odd, but pushed the duck away with his boot and continued on his patrol. But the duck followed him, quacking and tugging at his pant leg. Finally, the duck sat down on a sewer grate and stared at the officer, quacking every couple of seconds.
The officer thought, “Ok, this is weird,” and he walked over to investigate. As he got closer to the sewer grate, he could hear little quacking noises coming from the sewer. He looked down and there six little ducklings down in the water below. They had fallen through the grate and their mother had gone to seek to help. Well, the police officer called a tow truck and they pulled the grate up and used a vegetable strainer from a nearby restaurant to lift the little ducklings out of the sewer. Then the mother duck and her ducklings waddled off to a nearby pond. (3)
That mother duck did just what the Canaanite woman does in this story – took extraordinary measures to get the attention she needed and then persisted until she got the help she required.
And that’s just what we are called to do as well. Be persistent in getting the help you need. Be tenacious, it will pay off. God has not forgotten or rejected us. God’s mercy and grace are for all of us in need.
So be persistent in seeking the mercy and grace that God offers.
May God be praised. Amen.


1. Source unknown, retrieved from the Internet

2. Ibid…

3. Ibid…

08-090-2026 Two Storms

Thomas J Parlette
“Two Storms”
Matt. 14: 22-33, 1st Kings 19: 9-18
8/9/26


A storm is a great way to start a play.
At least William Shakespeare believed that to be true.
Think back to your high school or college days, or whenever you have had run-ins with the Bard. How many times did he start things off in the midst of a violent storm. Storms or strange weather are a part of such Shakespearean classics as Twelfth Night, in which a storm causes a shipwreck that gets the action rolling. In Macbeth, stormy, supernatural weather accompanies the witches’ predictions of “toil and trouble” and breaks out the night King Duncan is killed. And in the political thriller Julius Caesar, “strange portents in the sky” precede the bloody political violence that tears Rome apart.
But the two best examples of storms that begin Shakespearean plays are probably King Lear and The Tempest. In King Lear, the play opens during a violent storm with Lear raging at nature herself. The scene mirrors the anguish and brokenness of Lear as well as his descent into madness at the loss of his royal status. In The Tempest, the opening storm reflects Prospero’s rage and desire for revenge after years of exile as he shipwrecks the poor crew on his deserted island.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any first hand interviews with Ol’ Will, so we don’t know exactly why he liked to start his plays off with storms – but we might be able to make an educated guess.
First of all, it’s a great way to grab your audience’s attention from the get-go. We still see this technique used in action adventure movies – think of the Mission Impossible movies, or any of the James Bond movies. They almost always start off with a breath-taking, stunt – filled opening scene. Shakespeare was doing the same thing with what he had to work with in the 1600’s.
Secondly, a storm is a great metaphor to show us something about the characters we are going to meet. Shakespeare doesn’t just show us Prospero’s rage or King Lear’s oncoming madness – he shows it to us with a storm – symbolic of the characters’ inner conflict and turmoil.
We can see this not only in Shakespeare, but in the Bible as well.
This morning we have the stories of two storms. They are meant to grab our attention and announce God’s presence about to take the stage. They are also meant to show us something about the characters of Elijah and Peter – the central characters in today’s stories.
First, we turn to the book of 1st Kings. The prophet Elijah has had a tough time lately. He’s been driven out into the wilderness and the Israelites are trying to kill him. So, he is hiding out in a cave. The Lord comes and asks him “What are you doing here?”
So Elijah complains to the Lord – “I did what you asked, nobody listened. They killed all the prophets and now they are trying to kill me.”
Then the presence of the Lord sweeps onto the stage in the form of a storm. First, a strong wind, then an earthquake and then fire. And then the sound of sheer silence. And when the Lord has Elijah’s full, undivided attention - the Lord speaks. Elijah utters his complaints again – repeating himself word for word, and the Lord tells him what to do next.
Next, we turn to the Gospel of Matthew, where we hear about another storm, this one at sea. Jesus is still looking for some alone time after hearing about John the Baptist’s death, and he sends his disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. A storm kicks up and the boat is being battered by the waves. Actually, the original language is a bit more descriptive here. The original language tells us that the boat was being “tormented” or “tortured” by the wind. (1) In the midst of this torment, Jesus came walking across the water. The disciples are terrified and think he’s a ghost, but Jesus assures them – “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Actually what Jesus says here is the same thing that Yahweh says to Moses from the burning bush when Moses asked about a name. The answers he receives is “I AM.” (2) That’s what Jesus says here to his terrified disciples – “Take heart, I AM; Do not be afraid.”
Peter gets so excited about all this that he initiates a conversation with Jesus over the wind and the waves, in fact, Matthew is the only Gospel writer who records this dialogue in which Peter cries out “save me, Lord,” and Jesus reaches out and grabs him. “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
In both stories, the storms grab our attention and prepare us for the entrance of the Divine presence onto the stage. They also show us something about Elijah and Peter – and the nature of faith.
In these stories we see that God comes in the midst of the storms that we face, the storms that torment and torture and batter our souls. God comes in the midst of the earthquakes of life that shake us to our core. God comes in the midst of the fires of life that threaten to consume us. In fact, God uses those storms to get our attention, so that when the sheer silence descends when the crisis passes, we are ready to listen for what God has to say.
God gets our attention through tragedies and challenges and unexpected obstacles. As the theologian and author Frederick Buechner once said, “Coincidences are God’s way of getting our attention.” (3) So are the hardships we face – the storms, and earthquakes and fires.
Rick Warren, the author of “A Purpose-Driven Life, says, “God is more concerned with our development than our comfort.” (4) And we certainly see that here for both Elijah and Peter. Their situations were not comfortable, God used the wind, earthquake and fire to strengthen Elijah’s faith and trust. Jesus did the same for Peter on the Sea of Galilee.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote about this storm at sea – he said, “Peter had to leave the boat and risk his life on the sea, in order to learn both his own weakness and the almighty power of the Lord. If Peter had not taken the risk, he would never have learned the meaning of faith.” (5)
And sometimes to learn what faith truly is, sometimes to strengthen and deepen our faith, we must face storms and hardships and unexpected challenges. Sometimes we have to summon the courage to get out of the boat or come out of the safety of our caves. It may be uncomfortable, but the reward is a deeper trust in God’s power to pull us through and get us back into the boat.
Martin Luther once said that, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake their life on it a thousand times.” (6)
To be honest, Luther sets that bar pretty high. A perfect faith, one like Luther describes, that hard to imagine. A perfect faith like that doesn’t really exist, not for most of us. The best we can do is take one more step toward better. That’s what Elijah and Peter both did today. In the midst of the storms they faced - they took one more step toward better. A step toward:
Better, more satisfying relationships,
Better, more fulfilling lives,
And a better, deeper, more trusting faith.
One step closer to the kind of faith Martin Luther describes as a living and daring confidence.
May we all be more willing to take such a risk in the midst of the storms we face. If we are willing to step out of the safety of our boat – Jesus will be there to catch us, and haul us back to safety.

May God be praised. Amen.

1. Lance Pape, Connections, Yr. A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p 224.

2. Iwan Russell-Jones, Feasting on the Word, Yr. A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 334.

3. Retrieved online, 8/4/26.

4 Retrieved online, 8/4/26

5. Pape… p 226.

6. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, Connections Yr. A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 220, p 223.


08-02-2026 A Meal in a Deserted Place

Thomas J Parlette
“A Meal in a Deserted Place”
Matt. 14: 13-22, Isa. 55: 1-5
8/2/26
Today we see the very human side of Jesus. It’s been a bad day. He has just gotten some horrible news. His cousin, John the Baptizer, has been murdered by Herod – his head served up on a platter at the whim of a young girl at a dinner party. I’m not sure Jesus was surprised by this development. He knew something like this was coming. John was a rabble-rouser, he was often in trouble with the authorities. Still – it’s always a shock when something like that happens.
Jesus needs to take some time for himself. So he sets off in a boat looking for some alone time. He retreats to a deserted place, where he can be by himself. Unfortunately, he can’t escape the crowds. They followed him on foot, and when Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd.
I’m sure there was a bit of time here as Jesus surveyed all the people waiting for him. He probably closed his eyes and sighed deeply as he realized he wasn’t going to get any time to himself – not yet. But when he opened his eyes, he had compassion for the crowd and healed those who were sick.
As it began to grow dark, the disciples came to him. They knew Jesus was suffering. They knew he needed some time to grieve his cousin. They had compassion on their Teacher and tried to reason with him. “Look, Jesus, this is a deserted place – for you, in terms of your spiritual resources right now, and for the people. Look around. There’s nothing here… We’re in the middle of nowhere. Send the people away for their own good, so they can find something to eat on their own.” But Jesus won’t hear any of it. “No,” he says, “You give them something to eat.”
“But we don’t have enough – we’ve got a couple of loaves of bread and some fish, that’s it.”
“Bring me what you have.”
And miraculously, it all works out. Everyone is fed, and there’s even some leftovers. Whether you read this story as Jesus using his heavenly power to make more food, or you read it as many modern scholars do as the people gathered pulled out their own stash of extra food from under their cloaks and were willing to share – it’s still a miracle.
In the most deserted, desperate and lonely places of life, where hope seems impossible, Jesus demonstrates how God will always provide for what we need. The prophet Isaiah makes much the same point:
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk even though you have no money, and things seem hopeless, come, enjoy without money and without price.” The issue for Isaiah is not lack of food – there seems to be plenty available. It’s the price that’s the problem – something that is all too real for many people today where everyday groceries seem out of reach. But, Isaiah assures us that God’s gifts are available to all. The spiritual food we need comes for free. When we come for a meal in a deserted place of our own, a place where desperation holds on tight, where a sense of hope is hard to come by, both Jesus and Isaiah assure us that there is more than enough to go around – and it is available to all, regardless of anything that might seek to divide us – that goes for economic position, social status or insider credibility. These stories show us that All are welcome at God’s table.
Biblical scholar Jana Childers has written of this Isaiah passage, saying: “It is as if Isaiah believes that God’s big business with humankind – the thing the heart of God is most after – is to call people to larger and larger versions of life together, to a big tent and a large life fueled and funded by God.”
“This is what the people of God celebrate today every time they approach the Communion table. Every time they offer each other the Cup that brims and the Loaf that stretches to feed all.” “This is what Jesus came for. This is what Jesus died for. This is what his resurrection points us to. This is how the Holy Spirit navigates the 21 st century church. Wooing and Urging. Planting seeds of the ever- expanding love of God.” (1)
At the first church I served as an Associate Pastor in Johnstown, PA, we used to have the tradition of baking different sorts of bread to celebrate World Communion Sunday. People would make all different kinds of breads, in all different shapes and sizes. I remember one particular World Communion, the Senior Pastor was away and our Parish Associate was preaching and I was assisting in worship. When it came time for communion, the preacher said the words of institution over the bread and we each picked up a loaf to tear in half.
Well, the loaf he picked up looked perfect, nicely browned and crusty on the outside, but when he tore it in half, it wasn’t done inside. The dough inside wouldn’t tear – it just kept stretching like a giant rubber band. At first, he panicked a little bit, and looked over at me, asking with his expression, “What do I do?” So I stepped over and he handed one end of the under-baked loaf and we both pulled it farther and farther apart, until we had enough to encircle the whole communion table. We looked like we were pulling salt-water taffy on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.
After a few seconds of this, he and I both realized the ridiculousness of the situation, and we started chuckling – then we heard the congregation start to chuckle as well. Finally, everyone started laughing out loud as our Parish Associate sort of karate-chopped the raw dough to separate the loaf. Fortunately, we didn’t have a problem with any of the other loaves – in fact, when the congregation came forward to be served by intinction, most of them made a point of pulling off a small piece of the baked section of the unbreakable loaf that seemed to stretch forever.
So it is with God’s table. Isaiah reminds us that God calls us to a larger and wider perspective on our life together. There is no price for the gifts of God – everyone is welcome, God’s gifts are meant for all. Jesus gives us an example of this as he provides for the needs of the people with a meal in a deserted place.
These stories show us that all are welcome at God’s table – there is enough for all. Every time we gather at this table we celebrate with a bottom-less cup and a loaf that stretches enough to feed us all.
So, come to the table, my friends, and be nourished for the journey of life.
May God be praised. Amen.

1. Jana Childers, Connections, Year A, Volume 3, Westminster John

Knox Press, 2020, p. 195.

07-12-2026 Birthright Stew

Thomas J Parlette
“Birthright Stew”
Genesis 25: 19-34
7/12/26
          I wonder how many of you remember the 1988 movie called “Twins?” It pops up every so often on a Saturday afternoon, or if TBS is running an Arnold Schwarzenegger marathon. The movie teamed Arnold with Danny Devito as an unlikely set of twins.
          The premise of the movie was that the brothers were a result of an experiment to grow a perfect man – who is the Schwarzenegger character – named Julius. But when the genes were being manipulated in the pre-natal stage, there were scraps left over that were unused. These scraps were used to make the smaller, less than perfect man, played by Devito, named Vincent.
          Thus, Julius is planned and grows to athletic proportions. Julius is an accident and develops from the scraps left over. While Julius is taken to a south sea island and raised by philosophers, Vincent is put into an orphanage. Grown up, Vincent becomes a bit of a low life and is about to be killed by loan sharks when Julius discovers that he has a brother and begins looking for him. The movie takes off from there.
          In today’s passage from Genesis, we meet another set of twins – Jacob and Esau. Although they are twins, they could not be more different.
          Esau is the first born. Therefore, he is the one who has the hereditary rights over his younger brother. Esau is a real man’s man – kind of like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is strong, big, and rugger outdoorsman and a hunter. He is his father Issac’s favorite, especially because Isaac has a taste for the meat Esau brings home from his hunting trips.
          On the other hand, Jacob is more of a homebody, a quiet person who spends most of his time helping out at home. So it’s no surprise that Jacob is his mother Rebekah’s favorite son.
          Esau is a man of the outdoors, a man of action. He is impulsive, he is decisive, he is the one destined to take over the leadership of the tribe – as was his birthright.
          Jacob is man of the tents, so to speak, an indoor sort of person, someone more comfortable helping out in the kitchen and taking care of the daily chores than tromping about the fields hunting down game.
          They were twins – but they couldn’t be more different.
          Which brings us to today’s story involving Esau’s birthright and a homemade bowl of stew.
          Esau has been out on a hunting trip. He comes home and he is starving. He can think of nothing but getting something to eat. He’s is in one of the moods where he comes in saying – “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” Not the best state of mind to be in mind to make wise decisions.
          Esau enters the tent and he smells this wonderful aroma of homemade red lentil stew simmering away. Doesn’t sound so good in the heat of summer, but think of that aroma during the fall and winter here in Minnesota – homemade soup on the stove, fresh bread baking in the oven… MMMM, wonderful.
          Our NRSV translation has Esau saying to Jacob – “Let me eat some of that red stuff!” Pretty tame compared to what the Hebrew really says. In the original language, Esau is much more gruff, much more dismissive and disrespectful. Rabbi and author Burton Visotsky, says that a better translation would be “Gimme some of that red stuff.” In fact, Rabbi Visotzky points out that the Hebrew verb “gimme” is generally used in the Bible when talking about feeding livestock. (1) That’s how Esau approaches this meal.
          Jacob, on the other hand sees an opportunity. Jacob maybe a bit of a Mama’s boy – but he is shrewd, “conniving” some might say, or maybe “opportunistic.” Jacob sees how hungry and irrational his brother is being, so he says, “Sure, I’ll give you a bowl of stew – but I want you to sell me your birthright. I want you to give me your claim to the inheritance as the first-born.”
          Without much thought, Esau agrees, and sits down to a nice hot bowl of birthright stew. And Jacob goes back to his household duties with a contented smile on his face.
          Esau is like many of us today. He is impatient. He wants what he wants, when he wants it. He doesn’t like to wait. For many in our world today, being patient is a sign of weakness.
          The psychiatrist and author Scott Peck, points out in his book The Road Less Travelled, that life presents us with a series of problems, some of which are painful to deal with. Nonetheless, to avoid a miserable existence, we need to deal with them, because most do not go away on their own. One of the basic tools that we need to solve those problems is the willingness to delay gratification. Peck defines delaying gratification as “a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only decent way to live.” (2)
          Or, to use the words I’ve seen on inspirational plaques that you might find at Hobby Lobby – “Do the hard stuff first.”
          David Laibson, a professor at Harvard University, sees the matter as a battle between emotions and reason: “Our emotional brain has a hard time imagining the future, even though our logical brain clearly sees the future consequences of our current actions. Our emotional brain wants to max out the credit card, order dessert, and smoke a cigarette. Our logical brain knows we should save for retirement, go for a jog, and quit smoking.” (3)
          What we have before us in this story about two brothers is an example of two extremes in how to live life.
          In Esau – we see someone who lives life in the moment to such an extreme that he messes up his future, and he pays for that the rest of life.
          In Jacob – we see someone who is not above a little trickery, but keeps the long view in mind.
          We tend to be a little hard on Esau in this story. We portray him as a bit of a brute who only thinks about his stomach. And that is true. But he also has his positive qualities. Living in the moment is not a bad thing. We hear that advice quite a bit these days – and even from Jesus himself in the sermon on the mount, “do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will bring problems of it’s own.”  But we would be wise to temper our “living in the moment” with a bit of delayed gratification as well. We would be wise to keep our eyes on the long term goals.
          Jacob is certainly not above reproach here. He is hardly a model of righteous behavior. He takes advantage of his older brother to get the birthright. Later, he and his mother Rebekah, will pull a fast one on Isaac to get his blessing. Jacob is no angel.
          But Jacob clearly has the ability to delay gratification and work towards long-term goals. Perhaps you remember how Jacob commits to working for 7 years to earn the wife he wants, and his potential father-in-law tricks him into working another 7 years. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy pill to swallow – but he did it. Jacob trusted in God – and he kept looking to the future. As a result, Jacob was the one from whom the people of Israel descended – because he was able to fit into God’s plan by taking the long view and delaying gratification.
          We can learn something from each brother in this story of birthright stew. Like Esau, we should live our faith moment to moment, in the present. But like Jacob, we should keep our eyes open to the long view – God’s kingdom view – so that we sow the seeds of God’s Kingdom not just for immediate results, but a long-term harvest.

          May God be praised. Amen.

07-05-2026 A Funeral, A Wedding and The Table

Thomas J Parlette
A Funeral, A Wedding and The Table”
Matt. 11: 16-19, 25-30
7/5/26
          Many of you know Juliet and I just back from a wedding in Brooklyn last weekend. My oldest nephew, Andrew, got married. It was a lovely ceremony as you would expect. As we sat at the long reception tables enjoying a dinner of lemon chicken and rigatoni, I overheard something I’ve heard many times at gatherings like these, maybe you have too:
          “About the only time our family gets together anymore is for weddings and funerals.”
          That is true for many families, including my own these days. Not so long ago, families stayed in the same general area. Lots of young people graduated from high school, some got married right away, some went off to college – but many ended up coming back to the communities where they grew up, found jobs and raised their families. At most, it was a couple hour trip to visit grandma and grandpa for weekends or holidays, and that’s what everybody did. Some families are lucky enough to still do that.
          But over the last couple of generations that has changed. Families have become more scattered, people in general are much more mobile than they used to be. For instance, my family now lives just outside Louisville, Kentucky – some 11 hours away. Juliet has a sister in Minneapolis, but her mother still lives in Johnstown, Pa, her brother lives in Brooklyn and her other sister lives in Washington D.C. Our families are all over the place. The old saying is truer than ever:
          “About the only time we get together is for weddings and funerals.”
          When you think about it, weddings and funerals have a lot in common. Both have a way of bringing families together to be sure.
          Both mark beginnings and endings – for weddings, it’s the end of the single life and the start of marital bliss. For funerals, it’s the end of this earthly life and the beginning of life in God’s eternal realm.
          Weddings and funerals are both bittersweet occasions, tears flow, but for different reasons. Both occasions are filled with sorrow and loss, but also a sense of celebration. For weddings, it’s the loss of a son or a daughter, but also the addition of a new son or daughter. For funerals, it’s the loss of someone we have loved, but also a celebration of their lives and their place with God in the heavenly mansion.
          And of course, both weddings and funerals are a time to gather around the table to share food, a banquet and a reception. At weddings and funerals there is always a table.
          In the Book of Revelation, the risen, triumphant Christ says to the people of the world, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they will eat with me.” You probably recognize those words as one of the invitations we often use to partake in communion.
 I’m sure you remember the famous painting that hangs in thousands of Sunday School rooms across the country that depicts Jesus knocking at the door of a lovely little cottage. If you look closely, you will notice that the door to the cottage has no handle or latch on the outside. Apparently, the door must be opened from the inside. If we think of that cottage as the human heart, the message is clear. We must be the ones to open our hearts to Jesus. The decision is up to us. Jesus does intend to force his way in or break down the door. No – it’s our decision whether to open the door or not.
          In our text from Matthew for today we have another invitation from Jesus. “Come to me. All you that are weary are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
          Notice there is nothing you have to do to get an invitation. There is no way to earn an invitation to the table. It is simply offered. It is there for the taking. But it does require a response. It’s our decision whether to open the door or accept Jesus’ yoke.
          Once upon a time there was a man who sat in the back row of the church and every week, without fail, he would nod off during the sermon. Some Sunday, he would snort in his sleep and wake himself up – but most of the time he slept soundly through the entire sermon.
          So, one Sunday, the minister decided to see if he could break him of that habit. During the sermon, the minister said quietly, “All those who want to go to heaven, stand up.” The whole congregation stood up, except the sleepy head in the back row.
          The minister asked the congregation to sit down, and then said in a loud booming voice – “Everyone who wants to go to hell, stand up!”
          The sleeping man, startled from his nap, stood up and looked around at the congregation sitting there, chuckling softly, and finally said, “Well, I don’t know what we’re voting for, Pastor, but it looks like you and me are the only ones for it.” You better make sure you don’t sleep through the invitation. Don’t get caught napping.
          Today we have another invitation to join Jesus at this table of celebration. The decision is ours. We can accept – and find rest for our souls. Or, we can sleep through yet another invitation and risk skipping the milestones of life. Weddings and funerals bring us together to mark beginnings and endings, celebrations and farewells. But nothing brings us together quite like the Table.
          So come to the table today my friends – accept Jesus’ invitation. Open the door and find rest for your souls. Take your seat at God’s table and savor a foretaste of glory divine.
 

          May God be praised. Amen.

06-21-2026 The Hard Way

Thomas J Parlette
“The Hard Way”
Gen. 21: 8-21, Jer. 20: 7-13
6/21/26
          Maybe I’m alone in this sentiment – but I actually kinda enjoy commercials. Commercials can be a real art form, 20 – 30 seconds spots that lay out a premise, tell a quick story and deliver a punchline, all organized around a certain product. There’s nothing quite like a well-constructed, well-executed commercial – they can be a real pleasure to watch. That’s why we make such a big deal about the Super Bowl commercials each year.
          But I must admit, there is one series of commercials that I just can’t watch – the one’s that encourage us to support the ASPCA, the organization that rescues abused and mistreated animals. It’s not that I don’t support their work – I do. I appreciate those people who rescue dogs and cats and horses from deplorable living conditions, sometimes starving to death in the cold. But I just can’t watch the commercials. Every time they come on, Juliet and lunge for the remote to pause it, or change channels as quickly as we can. We both love dogs – but we can’t watch the suffering animals on screen.
          I feel the same way about this Genesis passage we have before us today. It’s a tough one to hear, and even tougher if you let your mind picture the action described. Abraham sends his mistress Hagar away with their illegitimate son Ishmael, because it appears Sarah has become jealous now that she has a child of her own to care for. God speaks to Abraham and assures him that he will make a great nation of Ishmael as well. He gives them a bit of food and water and sends them on their way.
          Together they wander in the desert until the water gives out. Hagar knows her son will not last long in the desert heat. So she casts him under a bush, settles herself a long ways off, and waits for him to die. It’s a heart-breaking story – one that’s almost impossible to watch.
          But God intervenes. God assures Hagar that her son is destined for great things. He will grow up the hard way – but a great nation will come from him because he too is Abraham’s son – and that was my promise.
          Our passage from Jeremiah isn’t much better. It’s almost as if we are walking past Jeremiah’s bedroom at night and we over hear his heartfelt prayer to God. The life of a prophet was hard. Jeremiah notes that God has overpowered him with the need to speak – but he has become a laughingstock, “everyone mocks me”, he says. “Terror is all around me and they say denounce him, denounce him. All my close friends are watching for me to stumble.”
          But then, after what I imagine is a long pause, Jeremiah takes a deep breath, and comes to his senses. “But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore, my persecutors will not prevail… Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord, for he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.”
          Both of these stories are about living the hard way. Hagar and Ishmael live the hard way as outcasts. Jeremiah lives the hard way as a prophet wo nobody wants to listen to. Yet God is still there, even in the midst of their difficulties, still working to keep the Divine promises.
          These are hard stories to hear, especially the Genesis story. But the good news is that God is still present in these stories, God hears the cries of the people who are living the hard way. Almost everyone knows that Isaac – Abraham and Sarah’s legitimate son – his name means “laughter,” signifying the joy that his birth brings. But Hagar’s son by Abraham, although illegitimate, also has a meaningful name. Ishmael means “God Hears” – which God actually says in the passage – “Do not be afraid, Hagar, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.”
          That’s the insight that I think we can take from this disturbing story. Don’t change the channel until you hear that – God hears the voice of the outcast, where they are.” That means that whatever you are going through, whatever difficult circumstance you are faced with, God hears you. God hears you where you are. And God will act. For Hagar and Ishmael, God provided life-giving water in the desert. For Jeremiah, God gave him the strength he needed to keep speaking truth to power, as a prophet of the Lord. For all those faced with living life the hard way, God hears your cries – and God will act.
          For some, God’s actions come in a kind of rebirth experience. Sometimes you have to die to one way of living in order to move into the new life God promises.
          For instance, the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, when he was a young man, he was knocked unconscious by a dog. When he came to, Rousseau found himself free of all worldly concerns. He felt able, for the first time, to see the big picture. Later in life, he observed how ironic it was that he never truly came to his senses until after he’d been knocked senseless.
          Or, at the age of 36, Count Leo Tolstoy was thrown from his horse while hunting. When he came around, a thought entered his mind that he couldn’t get rid of. “I am a writer,” he told himself. Soon after, Tolstoy began writing, and eventually he wrote Anna Karenina and War and Peace.
          Harriet Tubman’s name is famous in American history. Once a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she escaped to the North, but returned again and again to lead other slaves to freedom. Harriet’s life as a liberator began one day in her teenage years, when she stepped between her master and another slave being savagely beaten. Harriet was struck in the head. She fell to the ground, her skull fractured. She was in a coma for weeks, but finally recovered. She would suffer epileptic fits for the rest of her life because of that injury.
          Yet that injury was also Tubman’s liberation. “The blow that cracked Tubman’s skull,” a biographer wrote, “struck off her psychic chains. She had already died once; she had nothing to lose.” (1)
          So it was for the prophet Jeremiah – hated, scorned and ridiculed for bringing God’s word to the people.
          So it was for Hagar and Ishmael – cast out to wander in the desert.
          They had nothing else to lose. And that’s just the right time for God to step in and act. When we are at the end of our rope – God hears, and God acts. As the old saying goes – “When God closes a door, God opens a window.”
          So it was for a young man whom you all know. In 1920, this young man felt like he was on top of the world. He had landed his dream job as a cartoonist for The Kansas City Star. But then one day the editor called him into his office and fired him. The reason: he “lacked imagination.”
          This young man had recently become fascinated by a new artistic form – animated films. He set up a little company in Kansas City that he christened Laugh-O-Gram Studios. Three years later, the company failed, and he declared bankruptcy.
          He moved to California with what little money he had left. He started out in animation work again. Movie theaters were clamoring for short cartoons they could show before the main feature. So he developed a cartoon character, “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit”, that became an overnight success. This seemed like his big break. But then his distributor – in a shrewd legal maneuver – essentially stole the copyright for the Oswald character. Not only that, the distributor poached most of the animators who had been working on the project.
          So this man, no longer so young, started over yet again. He developed a new cartoon character he called “Mickey Mouse.” (2)
          The rest is history. Walt Disney would never have become the world’s most famous animator if he hadn’t learned by growing up the hard way that when one door closes, God opens a window. Sometimes you have to die to one life in order to experience the new life that God has in store.
          Both these stories are hard to hear – especially the story about Hagar and Ishmael cast out into the desert to die. It’s tempting to change the channel and skip these stories.
          But even though they are difficult, there is value in them. Remember what Ishmael’s name means – “God hears.” God heard their cries. And God stepped in to take action.
          Even though we are sometimes called to live life the hard way, God never abandons us. God is always there in our time of need. Sometimes we have to die to the life we know in order to move into the new life that God has in mind for us.
          And for that, May God be praised. Amen.

 

1. Homileticsonline, retrieved 6/4/26.

2. Ibid…

06-14-2026 Improvising Along the Way

Thomas J Parlette
“Improvising Along the Way”
Matt. 9:35-10:8-23
6/14/26
          I admit this passage from Matthew has always bothered me a bit. This morning we find Jesus travelling all over the region of Galilee, visiting the cities and the villages, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing diseases everywhere he goes.
          It’s a big job, no doubt – so Jesus gathers up his 12 disciples and gives them authority over the unclean spirits and sent them out to do some of the work in his name. Jesus gives them explicit instructions – don’t go to the Gentiles, don’t go to the Samaritans, just go the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Proclaim this good news – “The kingdom of God has come near.” Go ahead and cure the sick, raise the dead and cast out the demons, but don’t accept any payment. Don’t take any money with you, no bags, no luggage, no extra clothes, nothing. Although Jesus does seem to imply that it’s ok to accept food, because he says “laborers deserve their food.” Wherever you go, if they welcome you, stay with them. If they don’t welcome you, shake the dust off your feet and leave.”
          Interesting commissioning service. But it’s this next part that has always bothered me. Jesus warns his disciples to keep on their toes, “I’m sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise.” When they hand you over to be persecuted, don’t worry about how you will speak or what you are to say – for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit speaking through you.”
          That’s what bothers me – “don’t worry about what you will say, it will be given to you at the time.” That doesn’t sit well with me. I’m more of a planner. I like to have everything prepared beforehand – especially when it comes to speaking in public.
Every Sunday, when we pray the Lord’s prayer, which I’ve said literally thousands of times in my life, I always have the words printed out up here in the pulpit – just in case. The same goes for the words of Institution at Communion – I’ve said those words hundreds of times, I know them by heart. Every morning when we celebrate communion, I run through those before coming to church, just to have them fresh in my head – but I still have them printed out in front of me – just in case. You never know when your mind might wander or the words just suddenly fly out of your head or you lose your train of thought. I like to be prepared.
          I’m that way when it comes to sermons too. I always preach from a printed manuscript. That’s the way I was trained in Seminary, and I’ve always stuck to it. I’ve seen people preach without manuscripts, prowling around the front of the church as they speak. Congregations are often very impressed by that. But they’re usually not impressed by the content – they’re impressed by the presentation. More often than not, someone preaching without a manuscript is a guest preacher, who has probably delivered that sermon dozens of times, they know it by heart. Or, if this is a preacher who preaches to the same congregation every week with no manuscript, they probably end up repeating themselves on a sort of a loop, and never provide any movement. The sermon doesn’t go anywhere, it just circles around the theme endlessly.
          So, when I hear Jesus say, “Don’t worry about what you’re going to say, words will be given to you in the moment,” – I get concerned, I get nervous, and a bit afraid. That’s not something I do. That seems a bit too improvisational for my taste.
          Improvising is also something Abraham and Sarah were being asked to do. You remember last week, we revisited the story of how God called Abram to leave everything and follow the Lord to a new land, where God would bless him with many descendants and make of him a new nation. And without a word, Abraham goes. He begins a life of improvisation as he follows God.
          Today, we hear the story of how God is going to go about making that new nation a reality. God is going to bless Abraham and Sarah with a son. An extremely unlikely scenario since both Abraham and Sarah are well into their Social Security years and would be unable to have children. Sarah overhears this news while she is preparing a meal for the mysterious visitors Abraham welcomes – and her response is laughter. She laughs out loud at this preposterous idea. “I’m going to have a baby – at my age – are you kidding? No way!!”
          It is a rare instance in the scriptures where a very human response is recorded. Sarah’s reaction is one we can all identify with. “A baby, at my age – not going to happen, can’t happen. No way.” And yet it does. Now she and Abraham will need to adapt- they will need to improvise as they raise a child when he’s 100 and she is probably in her 80’s.
          Starting with Abraham and Sarah and continuing all the way down the years to Jesus disciples, God calls us to improvise along the way. That’s not always a comfortable situation – but that’s what God calls us to do.
          Most of us are familiar with the term “improvise” through the world of comedy. Improvisational comedy groups have a been a popular form of entertainment since the 16th century, but improv as we know it today didn’t come into its own until the mid-1990’s. Viola Spolin’s 1963 book “Improvisation for the Theater” laid the ground work for groups like the Compass Players, Second City, the Upright Citizens Brigade, the Groundlings and the Committee that produced such performers as Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Kate McKinnon and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
          The basic rule of improve is quite simple – “yes, and…” No matter what is going on, you agree and add to the scene. No negativity – just Yes… and, and go from there, building a character and a scene.
          Three other basic rules for improve would include:
1. Make choices – before yes, and – you and your partner have to establish three key pieces of information. WHO is the character you’re playing, WHERE are you, and what is the central CONFLICT. Once you have those – you can move forward with yes, and… as you each make contributions to the scene.
2. Listen actively – obviously to be a part of scene, especially when there is no script, you have to listen closely – otherwise you’re missing everything and you’re flying solo.
3. Get physical – use your body and engage whatever space you have. Your middle school English teacher probably taught you – “Show, don’t tell,” and that is true for improve. Don’t tell people what you’re doing – show them. (1)
          In both of the passage before us today, we see first Abraham and Sarah and then the disciples improvising along the way. They make clear choices – Abraham and Sarah to follow God’s instructions, while the disciples follow Jesus’ instructions. In both stories, the characters listen actively – in Sarah’s case we know this because she laughs at the situation. And then, in both stories, the characters get physical. Abraham and Sarah set out on a journey and begin the job of raising a child. The disciples begin travelling and proclaiming the good news. Throughout these stories, people following God say “yes, and” as they improvise their way through life. What we see here is that God will always give us WHAT we need, WHEN we need it - just as Jesus says in Matthew.
          Some of you know that for the last several years I have served on one of the Institutional Review Boards for the Clinic. I fill the role of a  community member on a board of doctors and medical professionals that review research projects using human subjects.
          I remember one of the training activities we participated in a few years ago. It centered on the difference between Equality and Equity. Very similar, I know. I had never really thought about the difference before – but there is a difference between thing being equal and things being equitable.
          Here’s the example I remember. Say you have two different sized people – one is 6 foot four and the other is 5 foot one. You provide each with a bicycle – the exact same bicycle. All things are equal – it’s the same bike. But are all things equitable? No. Each person is going to require a different size bicycle, one that fits them, for all things to be equitable.
          The same applies to parenting. Let’s say you have three children. You could raise them exactly the same and provide them the exact same resources, clothing, after school opportunities, etc… But we all know that each of our children are different – they require different things. As a parent, you want to be equitable and provide each child with WHAT they need, WHEN the need it.
          God does the same thing for us. God provides us WHAT we need, WHEN we need it. For Abraham and Sarah, God would provide the skills, the patience and the insight they would need to raise their child, even at their advanced age. For the disciples, Jesus assured them that even though they would face hardship and persecution because of him, the Spirit would there to provide them with what they needed. That might not always be the most comfortable thing in the word if you’re a planner like me – but that what God is going to do.
          God will provide WHAT we need, WHEN we need it, as we improvise along the way.
         And for that, may God be praised. Amen.

 

 

 

1. Adam Pasulka, Everything You Need To Know About Improv, last updated: Sept. 17th 2024, www.backstage.com

06-072026 By Faith

Thomas J Parlette
“By Faith”
Matt. 9:9-13, 18-26
Gen. 12:1-9
6/7/26
          I spend more time in hospitals than your average person. It’s part of the job of being a minister. I am not fully of the hospital, but I’m very familiar with how things work in hospitals and emergency rooms.
          One particular thing I’ve noticed over the past couple of years is the identification system that exists in the Emergency room. I don’t know when it started, but if you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit the emergency room and wait for x-rays and tests to be done, maybe you’ve noticed the screen that runs through what all the different colored scrubs mean. Each department or job has their own color scrub. The doctors have one color, the nurses have another, Physicians assistants have their own color, as do the people who take your blood or take you off to get x-rays or come in to give you anesthesia. They’ve probably had it in place for years, but I never noticed it until it appeared on the screen in the patient rooms. I kinda like it. It’s nice to know who you’re talking to when they come into the room.
          Lots of professions wear uniforms for their jobs, to let you know who they are and what they are there to do. We see a lot of that around town with all the construction going on – all those fluorescent vests are there to guide you around town now that most of our roads seem to be shut down.
          Policemen have their uniforms – for protection and identification. So do firemen. Everyone in the restaurant industry has their own unique uniform to show they are there for service or to work in the kitchen. All these uniforms let people know what your job is, what your role is. They become an extension of who you are and what you do.
          Likewise, a prayer shawl has a similar purpose. We are fortunate to have a prayer shawl group in our church that makes wonderfully warm shawls that we give out to confirmands, graduates, new members, or those who can no longer join us on Sunday mornings. There are nice reminders of the church committee still thinks of them and God is with them always.
          It’s a tradition that goes back a long time. Years ago, women in particular, would don a prayer shawl in order to meditate or spend alone time with God. Jewish men, and today sometimes women as well, wear what’s called a “tallit” – a kind of prayer shawl that indicates that the wearer is in worship or prayer mode while wearing it – kind of like a “Do Not Disturb” sign hung on a hotel room door.
          A tallit usually comes with a kind of fringe called a “tzitzit” (seat-seat). The tzitzit could be sewn onto any piece of clothing, like a shirt or a tunic, but it’s always sewn on the four corners of a tallit. While the tallit itself indicates that the wearer is covering themselves in the presence of God, the tzitzit has an even deeper meaning.
          The threads, knotted and twisted together, remind the wearer of God’s commandments and presence. Just like a workers uniform becomes an extension of who they are, the fringe, the hem of the tallit, along with its accompanying tzitzit threads also represent an extension of its wearer, their person and authority. (1) The tzitzit in essence extends and accents the hem.
          In the case of a priest or a rabbi, which Jesus was, the tallit and tzitzit become vitality important as holy symbols of God’s presence.
          In the book of Malachi we find an interesting reference to the tallit and tzitzit that is especially relevant to our Gospel reading for today. In chapter 4, verse 2, it says, “To you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.” Healing in his wings. The “wings” refers to the tzitzit on the end of the wearer’s tallit, the fringe or the hem of the garment. He who is the messiah was expected to have healing power in the hem of his garment. The tallit and tzitzit were an extension of the personhood and the power of the Messiah and would therefore have the ability to heal anyone who touched it.
          Which makes for a very interesting dinner party here in Matthew. First, Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector to be a disciple. Then he comes to dinner at his house. As he sits eating dinner with him and the other tax collectors, the Pharisees criticize him for eating with sinners. Jesus replies that he has come to the sinner – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, I have come for those who are sick.” So, Jesus clearly sees himself as a spiritual physician, one who heals not only physical ailments, but the sins of the soul.
          While he is saying these things, a leader of the synagogue interrupts the meal. His daughter has just died – but he trusts that if Jesus will lay his hands on her, he can bring her back to life. The grieving father’s faith is overwhelming, and Jesus gets up to go with him.
          On the way to the synagogue leaders house, a woman, hiding in the crowd, who has been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years, sneaks up from behind and touches the fringe, the tzitit of his garment – because she believes that simply by touching of it, she will be healed within.
          The word “fringe” in this passage has an interesting double meaning. The woman who has been plagued with bleeding, she lives on the fringe of society, for two reasons. First – she is a woman. And second – she is considered unclean because of her bleeding. She is a fringe-dweller, who is reaching out to touch the fringe of Jesus’ shawl.
          Jesus feels the power go out from him. He turns and asks, who touched me. And the woman kneels before him, admitting it was her, expecting perhaps to be punished. But Jesus blesses her and simply says, “Your faith has made you well.”
          Then, it’s on to see the synagogue leader’s daughter. Jesus clears the room. He takes the girl by the hand and brings her back to life. Again, by the faith of her father, she is healed.
          Both the leader of the synagogue and the hemorrhaging woman had great faith in God power at work in Jesus as the Messiah. Both events witness to the power of God and the identity of Jesus.
          Faith is what holds our scriptures together this morning. In Genesis, we hear the old, old story of how Abraham followed God’s call to pick and move to a new and unfamiliar land. He did this by faith. We hear very little from him about why he decided to do this – the only thing we know is that Abraham had a deep and abiding trust in God, by faith alone, he obeyed God’s call and a new nation was born.
By faith, Abraham followed.
By faith, the bleeding woman was healed.
By faith, the synagogue leader’s daughter was back to life.
          As the old hymn says – “Trust and obey, there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
          That old spiritual has always had a special place in my heart. That’s the first song I learned to play on the guitar. I learned a simple three chord version using C, F and G, strumming along on my dad’s nylon string guitar.
          He song dates back to 1886 when D. L. Moody was leading a revival meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts. A young man named Daniel Towner was leading the music that day and as he remembers it:
“Mr. Moody was leading a series of meeting in Brockton, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, “I am not quite sure – but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.” I jotted that sentence down, and sent it with the little story to the Rev. J.H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. He wrote the hymn, and I set it to music.”
          Upon receiving Mr. Towner’s request, the first words Rev. Sammis wrote were – “Trust and obey – for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” (2)
          It doesn’t matter if you come from the fringes of society. It doesn’t matter if you come from the most respected circles of the community. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve fallen, or what illness prevails upon you. The key to God’s mercy and healing is faith – if we will but trust and obey.
          By faith, God will lead us to new lands and create a new people.
          By faith, God will heal what ails us.
          By faith, God will raise us up and give us new life.
          And for that, may God be praised. Amen.

 

1. Chabad.org, “The Jewish Prayer Shawl – Tallit and Tzitzit.”

2. Kenneth Osbeck, 101 More Hymn Stories, Kregel Publications, 1985, p 291

05-31-2026 How God Treats Us

Thomas J Parlette
“How God Treats Us”
2nd Cor. 13: 11-13
5/31/26
Trinity Sunday is a day filled with metaphor. A quick look through the bulletin this morning would yield at least 14 different ways of describing the Trinity. Everything from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to Lover, Beloved and Love itself to the God who was, the God who is and the God who is to come. I hope all these ways of speaking about God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity, will serve to tease your brain a bit about who God is and how God interacts with humanity.
This morning we look at a passage near the end of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in which he gives us a different approach to how we might think about our Trinitarian God. Paul describes three ways that God acts towards us. In his classic benediction to the Corinthians, Paul writes “May the Grace of Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Paul offers up his own version of the Trinity by focusing on how God treats us – with Grace, Love and an attitude of Fellowship.
First, God acts with grace, the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ – saving us from sin, even though we don’t deserve it. Reminds me of a story I once heard about a football player named Roy Riegels. It happened on New Years Day, 1929. Georgia Tech was playing UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game, a UCLA player named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble, but somehow got confused and started running in the opposite direction. He ran 65 yards before one of his own teammates tackled him just short of the goal line – otherwise Riegels would have scored a 2 point safety for Georgia Tech. UCLA was unable to move the ball, Georgia Tech blocked the punt and ended up scoring a safety anyway.
Riegels was crushed. He might have just cost his team a Rose Bowl win. Everyone in the stadium wondered whether Coach Nibbs Price would put Riegels back in the game or bench him. At halftime, the players filed into the locker room and spread out on the benches and the floors – all except Roy Riegels. He put a towel over his shoulders, hunched down in the far corner of the locker room, put his face in his hands and cried his eyes out.
Now, usually coaches have a lot to say during halftime, but that day, Coach Price was silent. He said nothing. Finally, an official came in and gave the three-minute warning for the second half. Price took a deep breath, looked at his team and said – “The same team that played the first half will start the second. Let’s get out there men.”
The players got up and headed back out onto the field – everyone except Roy Riegels. He didn’t budge. Coach Nibbs went over and sat down next to him. “Did you hear me, Roy? Let’s go, let’s get out there and play.”
Riegels looked up, his eyes red from the tears and said, “Coach, I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve disgraced the University and I’ve embarrassed myself in front of everyone. I can’t go back out there.”
Coach Price put his hand on Riegels shoulder and said, “Roy, get up and get back out on that field – the game’s only half over.” Roy Riegels went back out on that field and those Georgia Tech players would tell you, they have never seen a man play football like Riegels did in that second half.
Roy Riegels didn’t do anything to deserve getting back in that game. He deserved to be benched. But his coach treated him with grace. He didn’t give up on him. He knew that Roy just needed a second chance.
God is like that, too. We don’t deserve God’s gifts, but God gives them anyway. Our God is a God of infinite second chances. God treats us with grace – the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
God also acts with love. Unconditional love, the kind of love that is always there, even when we do mess things up. The kind of love we see between a father and his three old son named Brandon.
One day, Brandon sees his Dad eating chocolate chip cookies in the living room and he says to himself, “Dad loves milk with his chocolate chip cookies. I’m going to get him a big glass of cold milk.” And with that, Brandon goes into the kitchen, drags a chair across the floor, leaving a trail of dark scuff marks behind.
He climbs up on the chair, pulls himself onto the counter and yanks open the cabinet door – “Bam”- it smashes against the adjacent cabinet, leaving a gash where the handle hits. Barndon reaches for a glass, accidentally knocking two others off the shelf – “Crash”. But Brandon doesn’t notice – he is completely absorbed with his mission, “I’m going to get Dad a glass of milk.”
Meanwhile, Brandon’s Dad is watching all this, wondering if he should step in and save the rest of his kitchen, but he decides to wait a little longer as Brandon scrambles off the chair, dodging pieces of broken glass, and heads for the refrigerator.
Pulling hard at the refrigerator door, Brandon flings it open – it stays open of course. He puts the glass on the floor and grabs the galloon container of milk, full and unopened. He rips open the top, pours some milk in the vicinity of the glass, manages to get some in the glass, but most of it goes all over the floor.
Finally done, Brandon grabs the glass of milk and calls out – “Dad, I have a surprise for you.” He runs into the living room, trips and spills the milk everywhere – the floor, the sofa and on his Dad.
Barndon stands up, looks around and sees the disaster he has created. It dawns on him on much trouble he is in, and he starts to cry. He looks up at his Dad with that pained expression that says, “What are you going to do to me?”
But his Dad just smiles, and then starts to laugh. He doesn’t see a kid who has just destroyed the house – no, he sees his son who he loves very much. It doesn’t matter what he has done. Brandon’s dad stretches out his arms to hold his little boy tight and says – “Thanks for the milk son.”
That is the love of God, an unconditional love that is always there, no matter what, even when we do make a mess of things. God sent Jesus to show us that love – to live it for us as an example to follow. As we have heard, that was Jesus’ challenge to us – “Love each other as I have loved you. If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” We are not left alone to meet that challenge. We have help. We have the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us.
We all like to try to do things on our own. It’s the American way. We like to be self-sufficient and stand on our own two feet – independent. The same attitude can leak into our spiritual lives. It’s tempting to think that we can grow in our relationship to God all by ourselves. But that’s not what God intends. God knows that we all need people around us for support and guidance as we journey through life. That’s why God created the church. That’s why God gave us the Spirit that Jesus promised – so that we might have fellowship and support from one another. I’m fond of saying that when we come to church, we aren’t necessarily coming to get something from God for ourselves, to meet our own needs. There are times when we come to church because someone else needs us to be here. We may never know it, but sometimes we are supporting each other just by showing up, so that we might have fellowship with one another. There are no Lone Rangers in the family of God. We need each other. We are a community, a family of faith – and when we work together, we can accomplish great things.
Grace, Love and Fellowship – not a bad way to explain the Trinity. But Paul’s words are not just a good Trinitarian metaphor for how God treats us – they are also a good model for how we should treat each other. Grace, Love and Fellowship is a good model for how we should strive to live together as the Church.
Consider the story that M. Scott Peck tells about an old monestary that had fallen on hard times. Centuries earlier, it had been a thriving, bustling place where many dedicated monks lived and worked and had great influence over the surrounding area. But now, only 5 monks lived there and they were all over 70 years old. Clearly, the monastery was dying.
A few miles away lived an old hermit, who was widely believed to be a prophet. One day, the monks decided to visit the hermit and see if he had any advice for them – maybe he knew how they could save their dying monestary.
The hermit welcomed the 5 monks, but when they explained the purpose of their visit, the hermit could only nod his head. “Yes, I understand how it is. The Spirit has gone out of the people. Hardly anyone cares much for the old ways anymore.”
“Is there anything you can tell us,” asked the abbot, the leader of the order. “Anything at all that could help us save the monastery?”
“No, I’m sorry,” said the hermit. “I don’t know how your monastery can be saved. The only thing that I can tell you is that one of you is an apostle of God.”
The monks were both disappointed and confused by the hermit’s cryptic statement. In the way back, they wondered what the hermit could have meant – “One of you is an apostle of God.”
Who was it – who was the Apostle? We’re all so old, we’re all unimportant, too insignificant. But on the other hand – what if it’s true. Was the Abbot an Apostle p he had been the leader for 40 years. It could be brother Thomas – he was certainly a man of wisdom and compassion. He couldn’t have meant brother Eldred – he was crotchety at times and he could be difficult to get along with. On the hand, he was almost always right about things, it could be him. Probably not brother Phillip either – he was much too passive and shy, no backbone, no fire at all. But then again – Phillip was very dependable, he was always there when you needed him, very trustworthy and loyal – could be Phillip. Then each monk wondered – maybe the Hermit meant me. NO – he couldn’t have meant me, I’m just an ordinary person. But, who knows. Why not me.
As the monks contemplated about who might be the Apostle of God among them, they began to treat each other with enormous respect, on the off chance that what the Hermit said might be true. And on the off, off chance that it might be himself – each monk began treating  himself with enormous respect as well.
Now, because the monestary was situated in a beautiful forest, many people came there to picnic on it’s lawn and walk it’s grounds, and every now and then, they wander into the chapel to admire it’s beauty, enjoy the silence and engage in a few minutes of meditation. As they did so, without being conscious of it, they sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that now began to surround the 5 old monks, seeming to radiate from them, permeating the atmosphere of the monastery. There was something strangely attractive, even compelling, about it. Hardly knowing why, people began to come back to the monastery more frequently, to picnic, play, relax and pray. They began to bring their friends to show them this special place. And their friends brought their friends.
As more and more visitors came, some younger men started to talk with the old monks. After awhile, one asked if he could join them. Then another. And another. Within a few years, the monastery once again became a thriving order, and thanks to what that Hermit had said, a vibrant center of light and spirituality.
Grace, Love and Fellowship – that’s good way to explain the Trinity. Grace, Love and Fellowship – that’s how God treats us, and that’s how we should treat one another and our ourselves.
May God be praised. Amen.


05-25-2026 All About the Spirit

Thomas J Parlette
“All About the Spirit”
Acts 2: 1-21
5/24/26, Pentecost

          What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say “Pentecostal?” Maybe it’s an image of worshippers dancing around with their hands in the air. Maybe there is some snake-handling involved. And maybe you see a room full of people mumbling gibberish and speaking in tongues. I would say – accurate or not- that’s probably what comes to mind for most mainline Christians when you say the word “Pentecostal.”
          The well-known preacher and author Fred Craddock tells the story about a lecture he once gave. He was on the west coast, speaking at a seminary, and just before the lecture was to begin, one of the students stood up and said, “Before you speak, Dr. Craddock, I need to know if you are Pentecostal.”
          The room grew silent. Being the good mainline Christian that he was, Craddock was taken aback and looked around for some assistance from the Dean of the Seminary, but he was nowhere to be found.
          The student asked again – “Dr. Craddock, are you Pentecostal?”
        Craddock didn’t know quite how to respond, so he said, “Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal church?”
          “No – I mean are you Pentecostal?
          Craddock responded, “Are you asking me if I am charismatic?”
          “I am asking if you are Pentecostal.”
          Craddock said, “I don’t understand, do you want to know if I speak in tongues?”
          The student said, “I want to know if you are Pentecostal.”
          A bit flummoxed, Craddock said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what your question is.”
          The student started packing up his things, “Obviously, you are not Pentecostal.” And he left. (1)
          Not too surprising, anytime you bring up the word Pentecostal, it can make mainline Christians a little uncomfortable, including us Presbyterians. The word is filled with images of exuberant worshippers with hands raised above their heads shouting “Amen” – very uncomfortable for we who bear the nickname “Frozen Chosen.”
          But we shouldn’t be embarrassed about calling ourselves Pentecostal – for it simply means “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which is a good thing. Maybe we should look at Pentecost as an adjective instead of a noun.
          As Christians, we are called to be Pentecostal, as in, filled with the Holy Spirit. All the lectionary passages for today share this in common – they are all about the Spirit.
          In the Book of Numbers, we hear about the forgotten Pentecost, when the Lord sends the Spirit to the elders of Israel and they prophesy.
          In Psalm 104, the Lord of creation sends the Spirit to renew the earth.
          In 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, we hear that in the body of Christ there are a variety of gifts, but one Spirit.
          In our Gospel reading assigned for today, John 7 tells of how Jesus promises the Spirit as living water from the believer’s heart.
          Today, on Pentecost, it’s all about the Spirit.
          This passage from Acts 2 that tells the story of the first Pentecost, is one of the few passages that is assigned all three years of our lectionary cycle. It really is part of Luke/Acts, which many scholars are increasingly looking at as one story, told in two parts, with Luke being Part 1, and Acts being Part 2. Pentecost stands at the middle of the story of the Church, founded by Jesus, and continued by his disciples.
          Some interpreters have seen the Pentecost story as a sort of reversal of what happened at the Tower of Babel. In Genesis, the people decided to build a tower to put themselves on equal footing with God. Well, we know from the Garden of Eden story that that’s not a good idea, God doesn’t like that – so God destroys the Tower and scatters the people, giving them all different languages and cultures. Some say Pentecost reversed that story and brought all people back together.
          But perhaps it’s better to look at this story as one that enables the diversity of the world’s cultures and languages to be seen and experienced and appreciated – rather than something to be overturned and reversed. If we look at it like that, Pentecost is the beginning of universal evangelism. (2)
          Last week we noted that in Jesus’ prayer for us before he ascended to heaven, he prayed that we would have a sense of unity in our common purpose – to lead people into God’s presence so they can experience God’s love and forgiveness, mercy and grace.
          In the Pentecost event, we receive more than a prayer, we receive the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to forth and share the good news Jesus has entrusted to us.
          God confirms the coming of the Spirit with three signs:
-         A sound, like the rush of a violent wind,
-         Divided tongues, like fire,
-         And the ability to speak in other languages.
When these signs first occurred, the devout Jews who were gathered there didn’t know what to make of them. They asked, “What does this mean?”
Peter, with his typical boldness, stands to give an answer:
“This is a prophecy from God. Remember Joel, he said, “God declares, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…” After running through a list of rather dire events to take place, he continues, “All these things will be a sign of the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. The day when everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
          On this occasion, tongues – different languages – serve as a sign explaining what this outpouring on Pentecost is all about. It’s all about God’s Spirit empowering God’s servants to speak God’s message across all barriers. (3)
          So what are some of these barriers?
          Language is certainly one of them. It’s hard to share the good news if we do not share a common language.
          Cultural barriers are certainly another. Missionaries spend a great deal of time learning the culture of the place where they are stationed.
          Trust is perhaps the biggest barrier of all. If you are trying to share the good news, you need to earn trust first.
          Language, culture and trust, just a couple of the significant barriers that can stand in the way of our common purpose – leading people into God’s presence to experience God’s love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. But with the power of the Holy Spirit blowing at our backs – all the barriers we face can be overcome.
          I think of the people of our congregation who have been so faithful in reaching out to the people of B’decan. For the last 15 years, a group from this church have gone to lead a vacation bible school and get to know the people of the B’decan Church. It would be presumptuous to say we are ‘evangelizing them’ – we’re not, our people learn as much from them as they do from us, they already know Jesus. But what we are doing is showing our Christian unity in being a part of their ministry alongside them. Together, we are partners, united in our common purpose of leading people into God’s presence to experience God’s love and forgiveness, mercy and grace. That is the Holy Spirit at work.
          I heard one of the frequent travelers to B’decan say something interesting. She was talking about asking the people there if something we were saying was offensive to them – and one of the B’decan people said, “We know you, we trust you. You’re one of us.”
          That’s the Spirit of Pentecost in action, breaking down barriers of language, culture and trust. By virtue of a lot of shared time, and the gift of the Holy Spirit – they know us, they trust us and we’re one of them. That’s when we can proudly call ourselves “Pentecostal” – a people filled with the holy spirit.

          May God be praised. Amen.

 

1. “Are You Pentecostal?”, sermons.com.

2. L. Shannon Jung, Connections, Year A, Vol. 2, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p 334.

3. Craig Keener, Connections, Year A, Vol. 2, Westminster John Knox Press, p 336

05-10-2026 God's Offspring

Thomas J Parlette
“God’s Offspring”
Acts 17: 22-31
5/10/26, Mother’s Day
          Eugene Peterson is a long-time pastor, probably best known for his paraphrase of the Bible called The Message. He’s actually written a number of books over the years. In 2011, he wrote a book called The Pastor: A Memoir, a very personal account of his time in the ministry dealing with the questions that all pastors face.
          In that book, he tells a story about a couple he knew from one of the churches he served – Charles and Betty. Peterson had gone to visit them because they used to be regular attenders, but then they dropped off significantly, and Peterson went to find out why. He writes: “Early in our conversation in their living room, Charles put it like this: “You know, pastor, I think I am as surprised as you are that I am not in church these Sundays. All my life I have attended church. I don’t think there have been more than 15 or 20 Sundays in the last 40 years that I have not been in church. I always liked being in church – there is something centering and stabilizing about it – a protected time to reflect and stay in touch with the way I was brought up.”
          “And then a few weeks ago on a whim that seemed totally spontaneous – I didn’t plan it, certainly didn’t think about it much – I said to Betty, “I think I’ll go fishing today.” She was surprised as I was. It was a beautiful spring day. The wildflowers were in bloom, and the warbler migration was under way. I got my fly rod and fishing gear together, she packed a picnic lunch and put her watercolors and sketch pad in a tote bag. We drove to the Big Gunpowder River, and while you preached, I fished and Betty caught the emerging bloodroot and round-lobed hepatica blossoms with her watercolors. It was a lovely three hours. When we got home we were both astonished that we felt like we always felt on Sundays – easy, calm, rested. We had abruptly, even casually, interrupted a 40-year routine of Sunday worship and nothing happened. We didn’t feel guilty. We didn’t miss it. Lighting didn’t strike us down. Everything was just the way it had always been. We didn’t intend to make a habit of it, but I guess we have. We aren’t quitting the church. We still want you as our pastor. But don’t expect us to be there every Sunday – at least not while the fish are biting and the wildflowers are in bloom.” (1)
          That kind of story is getting more and more common. Seems like everywhere we turn there are stories about the decline of traditional Christian faith and the rise of secularism in our culture. Perhaps you’ve heard of the term “Nones” – N,O,N,E,S. These are people who claim no religious faith or affiliation. Nones now represent approximately 28 percent of the US population – up from 21.6 in 2016. Almost 40% of young adults age 18-29 claim to be Nones. That puts them at the top of the list of the largest religious – or in this case, non-religious – groups in the country.
 A writer named David Dark defines religion as “a controlling story,” or “The question of how we dispose our energies, how we see fit to organize our own lives and, in many cases, the lives of others.” (2) One’s religion is the factor that sets priorities, focuses desire and informs how we look at the rest of the world.
When I was serving a church in Western Pennsylvania, we founded a CROP Walk to raise money for local food pantries and other hunger-relief projects. We always held our CROP Walk sometime in October – but we never finalized a date until we checked the Steelers schedule. We looked for a Sunday evening game, or a late afternoon game – or even better, a bye week or a Monday Night game, so we could catch all those people who approached football as a religion and organized their lives around it.
          Well, this morning, Paul is dealing with secularism in his own day. So, it’s helpful to consider what we can learn from him.
          Paul arrives in Athens after having caused an uproar in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. He is taking a bit of a cooling off period while he waits for his partners Silas and Timothy to join him.
          So Paul takes a walk around the city of Athens, a smaller city than we know today, one that may have resembled a bustling little liberal arts college town in New England. He visits the Synagogue, he chats with the esteemed philosophers debating in the streets, he sees the curiosity of the average citizens who are genuinely interested in new ideas. As he visits with the local people, city leaders take note of what he has to say, and they bring him to the Aeropagus to share his message.
          We’re not certain exactly what the Aeropagus was, it could have been as simple as a gathering place on a hilltop where people met for the 1st century equivalent of coffee to listen to new speakers with fresh ideas. We DO know that there were many statues and monuments to a variety of Gods there – and indeed all over the city.
          Paul seems to have learned some things during this cooling off period, because he employs an ingenious strategy in his public speaking. Instead of attacking the multiple gods represented in the Aeropagus, Paul acknowledges the deep reverence of the Athenians – “I see how extremely religious you are. I see you have even included an altar dedicated to an Unknown God. Let me tell you about this unknown God you honor.
          Then, Paul quotes one of their own, a local poet named Epimenides, who said in his work Cretica, referring to the god Zeus – “In him we live and move and have our being.”
          Paul builds on that and says, “Since we are God’s offspring, we shouldn’t think that the deity is like gold or silver or stone…” And Paul gives one of the most well-documented sermons that we have from him.
          It’s a brilliant move, adapting his message to the secular environment around him. He doesn’t change the message, he finds a suitable entry point to meet the Athenians where they are. We can learn some things from Paul as we navigate our way through our own public square filled with a multitude of gods.
          First, Paul listened carefully. He listened to what the Athenian culture had to say – what was important to them, what did they need, what did they long for, what guided their decisions? He acknowledged that clearly they were religious – after all, they had an altar dedicated to an Unknown God. So, an interest and respect for spirituality and the Divine is a source of common ground.
          Beginning with Augustine, who said of God, “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you,” and continuing through Blaise Pascal who described an “infinite abyss within the soul of every person reserved for God alone,” (3) human beings have been aware of the need for God, even if they can’t put their finger on it. Paul listened carefully, and he saw their need.
          After listening carefully, Paul then looks for openings, he thinks to himself, “How can the God made known in Jesus Christ fill the needs of the people here in Athens?”
          William Willimon once suggested that “the church, rather than standing back from pagan religiousity, pointing our fingers in righteous indignation, should, like Paul in Athens, minister to their searching.” (4)
          Listen carefully, and look for openings.
          Then, we must be prepared to speak boldly – as Paul does here. “Here is my truth,” says Paul. “God made everything there is – in him we live and move and have our being, as Epimenides said. Therefore, we are all his offspring. The God I speak of calls all people to repent, judgment is coming, through a man God has appointed, one whom God has raised from the dead.”
          Certainly a bold proclamation, but as theologian Gerhard Krodel once said about this passage, “There comes a point when the Christian witness must speak of Christ’s resurrection and its consequences and take the risk of being switched off by the partner in dialogue.” (5)
          And that happened to Paul. Some switched him off. But others did not. Some listened. The seeds were planted. That’s all we can ask. God will give the growth.
          Paul had no desire to add Jesus to the Pantheon of Gods honored in Athens. No – Paul uses this opportunity to share about the God he knows. Jesus showed us that the only way to truly know this unknown God was by looking at him, by following Jesus’ way and living his example.
          Even though we live in a world dominated by secular Gods and people who are not willing to claim any religious affiliation – there is hope.
          The well-known preacher Fred Craddock, now retired and living in Georgia, tells the story of walking down the sidewalk in Decatur, on the way to the church where he was to preach. He says, “I met an acquaintance sitting at an outdoor coffee shop. We chatted and she asked me to join her, but I said that I needed to get to church. I invited her to join me, but she held up her Sunday paper and said, “This is my Bible”, and then he coffee cup, “This is my communion.”
          He goes on, “I think the days of that nonsense are ending. I believe that our traditions are going to return with strength, carefully crafted sermons that will demand to be published and reread after they are heard.” He knows that coffee and the Sunday Times are not sufficient. He also knows that the church has work to do. “The question,” Craddock has often said, “is not whether the church is dying, but whether it is giving its life for the world.” (6)
          If we follow Paul’s example – listen carefully, look for openings and speak boldly about the God we know through Jesus Christ – we can do just that, give our life for the world God loves.

          May God be praised. Amen.

 

 

 

1. Eugene Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir (Harper Collins, 2011).

2. Homileticsonline, retrieved 5/4/26.

3. Sean A White, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 2, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 474.

4. Randle R. Mixon, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 2, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 474.

5. Sean A White, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 2, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 476.

6. Wiiliam Brosend, “The people’s preaching class: Fred Craddock in retirement,” The Christian Century, February 19, 2015.

04-26-2026 The Gate

Thomas J Parlette
“The Gate”
John 10: 1-10
4/26/26
          I am old enough to remember the day when we had three TV channels. No streaming services, no cable, no movie channels – just NBC, CBS and ABC. Now I love all the choices of our modern media platforms, don’t get me wrong – but there were some advantages to just three networks. For one thing, the whole country consumed basically the same media. For the most part, we were watching the same programs and the next day we had something to talk about in school our around the water cooler, when those still existed. In a way, it was kind of unifying.
          I remember that every evening at 6:00 Eastern time, the evening news came on. There was no 24 hour news cycle with talking heads covering the same story all day – no, you had to wait until 6:00 o’clock to get your news. When I was a kid, our house always tuned in to Walter Cronkite on CBS News. He was the guy. You knew something was the true because Walter Cronkite said so. For a time his nickname was “the trusted man in America.” His famous tagline said it best. He used to sign off every broadcast saying – “And that’s the way it is…” Walter Cronkite represented truth to America for almost 20 years.
          Well, times have changed. We have so many news outlets, so many talking heads, experts and pundits telling us their version of the truth that it’s hard to know what’s true anymore.
          According to Newsguard, an organization that tracks fake news sites, the number of AI-enabled fake news sites increased tenfold in 2023. These sites are operated by little or no human supervision.
          This doesn’t mean that we are defenseless. Researchers, tech companies and governments agencies are collaborating to fight AI-powered misinformation with AI-powered technology. Platform companies partner with professional fact-checkers and content moderators to tag fake information and use it to detect misinformation early in the process before it can be widely disseminated. (1)
          Sometimes I miss the days of the news delivered by the “most trusted man in America.”
          Knowing which voice is trustworthy and which voice is not is exactly what Jesus is taking about this morning.
          Today is what is unofficially known as Shepherd Sunday. This is one of a couple of Sundays where we focus on the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The first passage we read this morning was the well-known 23rd Psalm, in which the Lord is compared to a shepherd, making us lie down in green pastures, leading us beside still waters and restoring our souls as we are led in paths of righteousness. A lovely image that even most known Christians are familiar with.
          The second passage is from John and talks to us about what a good shepherd is and is not. The good shepherd comes in to the sheep in the proper way – through the gate, knows the gatekeeper personally, and gets to know the sheep by name. But, Jesus doesn’t call himself the Good Shepherd – not yet. In today’s passage, Jesus says, “I am the gate.”
          In reality, if we look closely at the text, we actually have two separate passages. In the first passage, Jesus talks about the true shepherd, the trustworthy shepherd and emphasizes that the true shepherds voice is known to his sheep and they follow him. But unfortunately, the disciples do not understand the metaphor.
          This leads us to the second part of the passage. Jesus sounds a bit frustrated with his disciples as he says, “OK, I see I’ve lost you. Let me be clear – “I am the gate. Me. I’m the gate.”
          Still, his disciples look confused, so he goes on. “Everyone who came before me, thieves and bandits. Don’t listen to them. I am the gate.”
          Later, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd – but not yet.
          We know that’s what he’s GOING to say – but he doesn’t say it here, not yet.
          For now, Jesus says – “I am the gate.” Twice.
          So, what’s he getting at, why a gate?
          Well, let’s consider the life of a first century shepherd for just a moment. Typically, sheep pens in Jesus’ day were simple structures, high rock walls with only one entrance. In the morning, the shepherd would gather his sheep from among the multiple flocks that would often be penned together for the night, and lead them out to a pasture with good grass for them to graze. Each shepherd would have their unique “call” to gather his sheep – a whistle, a phrase, something that would be distinct, that his sheep would recognize.
One of the differences between shepherds in the middle east and other shepherds in other areas is that shepherds in the middle east would lead the sheep – they would be out front and the sheep would follow. In other areas, the shepherd would follow behind the sheep and poke and push them in the right direction.
          At the end of the day, the shepherd would take the sheep back to the pen, often with a bunch of other sheep. So there would often be more than one flock staying in the same pen overnight. As the sheep entered the pen, the shepherd would check them for little injuries, or bugs that might cause discomfort in the night. Author Phillip Keller, who has spent some time as a sheep rancher in Africa has written a couple of books relating his experience as a shepherd to his faith in Jesus Christ. He says that four conditions have to be met in order for sheep to lie down for the night.
1. They must be free of fear.
2. They must be free from friction with others in the flock.
3. They must be free from injury or parasites,
4. And they must be free from hunger. (2)
          Meet all these criteria, and your flock would sleep well. As the sheep were asleep, the shepherd, or shepherds would take turns on guard duty, watching out for predators or poachers. One of their methods was to lie down in front of the opening in the walls and physically act as a gate, both to keep the sheep from wandering and to keep them safe from intruders.
          Considering those details of the life of a first-century shepherd, I hope you can see how Jesus’ words and comparison’s might have communicated something about God’s care. At first though, the disciples don’t get it. So Jesus gets very specific and says – twice- “I am the gate.” Meaning, coming in and out of God’s presence is through me. In addition, I am the one who offers protection and assurance in the face of the threats and hardships you face. I am the gate. Come and go through me, and you will be safe, you will be looked after, you will be cared for.
          One other fact about shepherding in the first-century, and really any century – taking care of a flock of sheep requires an investment. Nothing comes for free, and that goes for taking care of sheep as well. A quick Google search tells me that taking care of a flock of 50 sheep will cost 6,250 – 12,500 a year – that works out to 125-250 dollars per sheep, per year. That’s a real investment.
          Rob Fuquay is the pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, and he has written a book called The God We Can Know: Exploring the “I Am” Sayings of Jesus. In that book he writes about Jesus as the Good Shepherd and Jesus as The Gate. He says, “If it is true that we are not only made BY God, but OUT of God, then God has invested godly qualities in all of us. Jesus comes to protect that investment.” (3)
          In the 1980’s movie Trading Places, Dan Akroyd plays a snobbish investor who gets scammed by his bosses. They make a bet that their protégé’ couldn’t survive if they took away everything he had – kind of the same thing that happened to Job. They cancel his credit cards, take his identity, remove him from his prestigious club, pay his butler to pretend not to recognize him and have him literally thrown out onto the street.
          But then he meets Jamie Lee Curtiss in prison. She believes in who he is, and Akroyd convinces her to invest her life savings with him so he can make her a fortune in the stock market.
          There is one particular scene where Curtis is nursing Akroyd back to health while he is sick. He asks her – “Why are doing this, why are you helping me?” And she says – “I’m protecting my investment.”
          That’s what Jesus does – Jesus comes to protect God’s investment in us. God believes in who we really are, God believes in our true identity, and Jesus comes to protect that investment.
          God says, “I gave you a sense of humor; you can make people smile. I have put something of myself in you. I believe in you.”
          God says, “I gave you the ability to inspire people. You have a way of bringing out the best in people. I believe in you.”
          God says, “I gave you sensitivity to others. I gave you my compassion. I believe in you.”
          God says, “I gave you wit and intellect. I gave you the ability to lead others in my name. People depend on you. I believe in you.” (4)
          That is the investment that God makes in each of us – and Jesus comes to protect that investment.
          When Jesus says, “I am the gate,” he is pointing out that he is the way into God’s presence. His is the voice we can trust, for He is the way into God’s assurance of love, forgiveness and grace. And Jesus is reminding us that He comes as the Good Shepherd to protect the investment that God has made in each one of us.
          May God be praised. Amen.

 

 

 

1. Jieun Shin, “AI and Misinformation,” College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, 2024 Dean’s Report, homileticsonline.com.

2. Rob Fuquay, The God We Can Know: Exploring the “I AM Sayings of Jesus, Upper Room Books, Nashville, 2014, p 62.

3. Ibid… p 60.

4. Ibid… p 60-61.

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