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A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
For this Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel of Matthew and follow Jesus’ call to discipleship. We see how people respond to the order to wear face masks during this pandemic. We notice how people treat people who are different than them. Racism raises its […]
For this Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, as we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel of Matthew and follow Jesus’ call to discipleship. The path of discipleship isn’t easy. We question and wrestle with the demands and commandments of being disciples of Jesus. Simultaneously, Jesus offers us mercy and grace as a […]
For this Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel of Matthew and follow the call of discipleship. The path of discipleship isn’t easy. Jesus points out to his disciples that when people welcome them, they welcome Jesus. We’re reminded that the disciple who gives a cup […]
For this Second Sunday after Pentecost, we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is on the road sharing the good news of the kingdom and healing people. Jesus also sends his disciples out to do likewise, very much like laborers into the harvest. In baptism we too […]
For this First Sunday after Pentecost, we remember the ways we experience God as The Holy Trinity. We experience God in many ways and a way describes God’s relationship with us is through the Trinity. More than a doctrine, the Trinity expresses the heart of our faith: we experience the God of creation made known […]
For this Day of Pentecost, we, the church, proclaim the Good News, “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!” Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the Holy Spirit as God’s presence within and among us. So today, we recall the story of the first Pentecost Day, when the Holy Spirit arrived in rushing wind […]
Jesus made a commitment to us. How will we respond? TEXT: Luke 9:51-62. Read it here. Commitment forms the foundation of our relationships with each other. Marriage, employment and other commitments underscore our understanding that we are all in this life together. Through that lens, we read today’s Gospel story of Jesus “setting his face […]
By the time this part of the Pentecost season rolls around we start to hear a fair amount of “Kingdom” language. We are reading those parts of the Jesus story from Jesus’ last days on earth. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, the focus and attention had turned to his own death. Using stories and parables, Jesus paints pictures of a vision for God’s perfect Kingdom and God’s eternal reign.
The Bible is also a panorama of love gained and lost. In fact, most of the story of salvation has to do with God’s enduring fidelity over and against human rejection. God never stops reaching out to those who reject God’s generous faithfulness.
Matthew 15: (10-20) 21-28 Her daughter was trapped by a demon, enslaved in a way that left her alienated from normal life. Why else would her pagan mother cry out to Jesus the Jewish teacher? In fact, there are demonic forces everywhere in the world. Given the story we’ve just heard, I cannot help but think of the ongoing tragedy of the Middle East, particularly of the conflict between Israel and Gaza.