Greetings from the Rector’s Study at St. Mark’s on the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost as Southern Oregon summer tries to return before fall.
We gathered with a remembrance that Jesus power joins us to bring glory to God and to propel us to ministry in community. Our first lesson from Exodus details the birth of Moses and his adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter against long odds. The Psalmist sings a song to give reminds us that unless we realize God is on our side the world can be overwhelming to us. The reading from the letter to the Romans is Paul’s reminder that our relationship with God is our sacrifice which empowers others for their ministry. Matthew’s gospel contains Jesus’ questions to the disciples about who the Son of Man is and who the disciples say Jesus is – and how that understanding of Jesus in their midst is the motive force for their community.
We are reminded that, in God all things are new and that Jesus is the one who propels us into communities to bring an awareness of God’s grace. While we are correct describing Jesus as prophetic or a savior, that isn’t everything. As believers, we are invited to tell the amazing truth of Christ at work in our lives – not hypothetical or academic, but real and, at times, messy. As followers of the Promise we can’t simply retell the old stories as they were because we are different than when the journey with Christ began. Our relationship with community and Jesus propels us outward, bringing the truth of God at work in our lives with us into new communities and with a new perspective. The rock we are built on, Peter, is not stable and certain; the rock we are built upon is battle-tried and a little worn for the wear. This is the reality of life which brings hope to the hopeless.
How will you stand upon the foundation of our faith and move yourself forward into the future God has in mind for us? To whom has God led you to help all of us find God’s grace present? I invite your comments,
Les+
Lessons: Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-21
Sermon link: https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/pentecost-13-sermon-1
