16 Pentecost (Year C)
Luke 16:19-31
St. John’s, West Seneca
Sept. 28, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
As I have said before, Luke is the master storyteller. Many of the events and parables can stand alone as literature. Think of the Magnificat, the Christmas story, the road to Emmaus, the parables of the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son. Today we have the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Here Luke is straightforward and to the point. There is the rich man. Tradition calls him Dives, which is Latin for “rich.” Luke tells us that he wears fine linen that is purple in color, expensive clothing in a poor country. He feasted in luxury every day. Luke stresses every day that this was done, and one scholar points out that that alone is the breaking of the third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” You are to work only six days, and evidently, this feasting constituted “work.” This man is a figure of conspicuous consumption and self-indulgence. In a place and time where people ate simply and worked hard, here he is, tables overloaded with the finest dishes, not working.
Then, there is Lazarus, the only character in a parable who is given a name. He was a beggar, full of sores, and so helpless that he could not even fend off the dogs. What a contrast.
After setting this up, the scene changes. Lazarus dies and is taken away by angels to be with Abraham. Now Lazarus has glory and the rich man is in torment. When the rich man begs Abraham to send a messenger to warn his brothers, who evidently are cut from the same cloth, Abraham replies that they “have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” When the rich man presses his plea that if someone from the dead were to approach them, all would be changed; Abraham is still harsh: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
This parable is the good news in much of the world, giving hope for millions who live in poverty and despair. But here, now, you are probably hoping I choose a different text. Those are equally difficult. The parable quite simply states that, although in this world the rich are powerful and honored, in the next life, those who were poor in this life will be honored. For Jesus, the poor and oppressed were the ones who received his attention.
What was this rich man’s crime that Abraham so severely rebukes him? What was his sin? He had not ordered Lazarus to be removed from his gate. He had made no objections to his receiving whatever crumbs fell from his table. He did not kick him when he walked by; he was not deliberately cruel. No, he just didn’t care. Apathy.
The rich man saw the poor man and knew that Moses and the prophets commanded him to help. But he did not. The rich man fell into a trap set by people who blamed Lazarus for his poverty, insisting that he must be lazy or morally deficient. You can almost hear the conversation: "God rewards goodness and punishes wickedness -- it's always been that way! God desires for us to be wealthy.”
In Hades, the rich man experiences regret. He says to Abraham, "I beg you to send [Lazarus] to my father's house -- for I have five brothers -- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” We see how he cares for his family, so he is not without feelings.
But his concern is too late. Jesus tells this parable so that we won’t have the same regret, so we will get our lives in order and serve God…now.
“A nurse specializing in care of the terminally ill recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and there's no mention of missed business deals. No regrets about skipped bungee jumping opportunities or even about marriage
No, the top five regrets discovered by the nurse include:
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. People admit that they feared change in their lives, so they pretended that they were content. In fact, they wish they had laughed more and allowed themselves to be sillier.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. People feel badly that they were so caught up in their own lives that they let important friendships slip away.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppress their feelings in order to keep peace with others.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. This regret was expressed by every male patient. Every single one of them.
And the number one big regret, discovered by nurse Bronnie Ware and reported in The Guardian (February 1, 2012):
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This is the most common regret of all. ‘Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams, and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.’"
The rich man did not care for those around him. Every day he missed a chance to help Lazarus. One wonders: did he have regrets?
Did he regret that he had not listened to the words of Moses? It appears that he did not love his neighbor as himself. As for the prophets, Isaiah commanded "share your bread with the hungry ... bring the homeless poor into your house" (Isaiah 58:7).
And, even aware of Moses’s teachings, he continued to ignore Lazarus and therefore, did not live a life of integrity, where his beliefs and his actions matched. He just did not walk the talk
The readings today tell us that we too need to take a look around.
- It is not because he is rich that the man wastes away in Hades; it is because he didn’t notice what was around him.
- Timothy is adamant: It is not money that is the root of all evil, it is the love of it that is. And we are commanded not to set our hopes on riches, which are uncertain at best.
- And the Psalmist agrees that it is God who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger.”
- The prophet Amos is not angry because there is wealth, but because the wealth of the Northern Kingdom has become their god and they will not see the sadness, and poverty, and pain that is all around them.
This would all be depressing, for how can we live up to this? Luke’s text is clear that a deep chasm exists and even suggests that there is no way to get across it. And yet there is. With Jesus we have been shown the way, and that is by drawing everyone into the circle. Look at us today. We have become tribal, good at drawing lines keeping this one in or out. We have so many boundaries, that it is no wonder that we find ourselves in such a state. But Jesus offers another way. Jesus broke every boundary beginning with his entrance into this world. He preached the Kingdom of God, and taught, always drawing people in. And his death and resurrection showed the depth of God’s love for us, always drawing circles to include all: circles of love, circles of hope, circles of peace.
For us today, our issue is not that we have wealth. It is that we see so little of the world; it is that we can’t seem to speak up; and that really, we’re satisfied with the status quo. After all, I have mine. That is where the rich man went wrong. That is where the people of Israel went wrong as they ignored the poor. That is why Timothy gives his advice.
I see too many people who have too many regrets. Putting our actions in line with our beliefs -- living a life of integrity -- is a change that is made one choice at a time. And we have a God who leads us always. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
15 Pentecost (Year C)
Luke 16:113
St. John’s, West Seneca
September 21,2015
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
“A parable is a small story with a large point….Most of the ones Jesus told have a kind of sad fun about them. The parables of the Crooked Judge, the Sleepy Friend, and the Distraught Father are really jokes in their way, at least part of whose point seems to be that a silly question deserves a silly answer…With parables and jokes both, if you’ve got to have them explained, don’t bother.”
The master in the gospel for today employs a steward – a business manager of sorts – to keep track of his debts and credits owed to his master. Soon the master learns that something is off; an accounting is needed. We know that the dishonest manager is charged with squandering the property of his rich boss – landlords in Jesus’ time were often absentee landlords - and is immediately given his two-weeks’ notice.
“What will I do,” the shady steward says to himself, “now that my master is taking the position away from me?” Now the manager has to quickly assess the situation. He knows he had lost his job. He doesn’t have the capability to work hard – or so he thinks – and he certainly does not want to beg. And so he comes up with a brilliant plan. He goes to the debtors, finds out what they owe, then does some fancy arithmetic, so that they appear to owe much less. And here’s why it works. First of all, the debtors would be grateful to him and secondly, and even more effective; this manager had involved the debtors in his crime and misdemeanors, and if worse came to worse, he could always use a little blackmail.
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes…No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
There is no explanation after this. We are left with this one. Perhaps we need to just sit with this parable or let it sit with us.
“One way to make sense of the parable of the dishonest manager is to see it as a comic tale. Many of Jesus’s parables are shot through with humor — but we often miss hearing the comic tone.
It was common, in wealthy Greco-Roman households, for a highly trained slave to manage the financial books. Stories abounded among the upper classes about sticky-fingered slaves who couldn’t be trusted and clumsily attempted to steal from their masters. It was a familiar comic trope. Clearly, the manager in the parable is just that sort of grifter.
Imagine this story as though it were a silent movie, starring the lovable but disreputable tramp played by Charlie Chaplin. Imagine the herky-jerky motions of the characters, their broadly exaggerated gestures and facial expressions.
See the gleam in Charlie’s eye as he steals banknotes from the office safe to finance his high life — devouring rich food, drinking expensive wine out of the bottle, putting his feet up on the boss’s desk and smoking a big cigar. Imagine his utter consternation as he reads a telegram from his master, informing him he’ll be disembarking from the next train. Imagine, too, his frantic efforts to dash around hiding the evidence. He tosses empty wine bottles out the window. He pulls off the master’s smoking jacket he’s been wearing, tearing off a sleeve. He picks up a sewing needle and tries — but fails — to make it right.
‘Woe is me!’ are the words that appear on the next slide. ‘What am I to do?’ Charlie picks up a shovel. “I’m not strong enough to dig!” He falls on his knees, clasping hands imploringly. ‘I’m too proud to beg!’ He falls face down and bangs fists and feet on the floorboards, like a toddler having a tantrum.
But then he leaps to his feet, looking suddenly hopeful. The next slide says, ‘Aha! I’ve got a plan!’ He waves a victorious finger in the air.
Next, we see him forgiving the debts of his master’s customers, magnanimously tearing up their promissory notes. A poor but beautiful widow with three children in tow is effusive in her thanks. Charlie beams lecherously back at her.
Just then, the master bursts through the door — a comic character with a top hat and monocle, looking for all the world like the Monopoly Guy. Taking in the disastrous state of his office, he starts wagging his figure at the little tramp, chasing him around the room, trying to bean him with his gold-handled walking stick. But then the grateful widow falls on her knees, begging him to pardon this kind man, who has so generously saved her and her little tykes from eviction.
‘I see what’s going on here!’ the master says in the next slide. He’s still wagging his finger, but now there’s an admiring smile on his face. ‘I like your style, little man!’ he says, winking. ‘You’re clever. You’re a genius at P.R. How’d you like to manage our main office?’ All’s well that ends well. Fade to black.
Jesus doesn’t tell the story as a ‘go thou and do likewise’ fable. Far from it. He wants his audience to laugh. He wants the humor to teach them something. He wants them not to think of their own oppressive masters for a change, but of the thoroughly fair economy of God. That economy is so much more generous and just than the antics of these clowns.”
This past week I included this in my FACEBOOK post. A few things to remember about parables.
- “Parables are not journalistic reports. They didn’t really happen. … But that doesn’t mean they aren’t telling a truth. They tell a truth but they tell it slant.”
So, what is tell it slant? It comes from an Emily Dickinson poem: “Tell the truth but tell it slant, the truth in circuit lies. The truth must dazzle gradually or every one be blind.”
I had not heard that phrase before. Tell it slant conveys truth indirectly, approaching it from an angle or through a circuitous path rather than a direct, blunt statement. All in all, this suggests that some truths are too intense to be taken in all at once.
- “Jesus’ parables are stories told at a slant. And we may not know what to make of them right away.”
- “And parables are not tidy little moral tales for us to figure out. Although we tend to work hard saying that they are.”
- “And there isn’t just one way to interpret a parable or even a right way. Although they may lead us to question what we have always assumed is the right way. They don’t tell us what to do. They don’t give us an answer. Or explain themselves. So why the parable? What good can come out of a parable?”
What parables do is what Philip says to Nathaniel in John’s Gospel: come and see. … See from another point of view. From a slant.
And we need to remember that parables … are not about God…Jesus’s parables are not about God, they are about the kingdom of God.”*Marianne Borg, “Parable of the Mustard Seed”
Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God as a sharp contrast to the kingdom of Caesar, the Roman Empire. In God’s kingdom, we are the Good Samaritan, we are the father who forgives all and welcomes his wayward son, we are the seed that falls into good soil. In God’s kingdom, we go to the unjust judge until we see justice. And maybe, we are the manager who is shrewd and sets things right, always considering the poor.
We modern disciples live in two worlds at the same time, the here-and-now world—the undeniable one staring us squarely in the face daily, and the kingdom of God that we are trying to bring to earth. Here, Jesus is calling us to interact and live in the light of what God has promised.
And maybe, just maybe we don’t need explanations. “The writer E.B. White — who, among many other works, wrote the children’s book Charlotte’s Web — once offered this wise observation: ‘Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better, but the frog dies in the process.;”
This is likely true of parables as well.
In the end, we are invited to “come and see.” In the long run, a parable such as this unjust steward invites us to read it and ponder it anew. Who knows what you might find next time? Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
Holy Cross (Year C)
St. John’s, West Seneca
September 14, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is Holy Cross Day, known officially as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is celebrated each year, and because this year it falls on a Sunday, we Lutherans set it apart, as do any number of denominations.
So, how did this come about? If you remember, Emperor Constantine, in the year 312 had won a significant victory and he attributed it to a vision in which he saw the CHI RHO with the words: In this sign, you will conquer. His mother is Saint Helena and in the year 326, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where it is believed she found fragments of the True Cross.
The story goes that the Romans had thrown the cross away near Mount Calvary, and then built a temple to the goddess Venus to discourage the early Christians. When Helena arrived some two centuries later, she ordered an excavation, uncovering three crosses. To identify the true Cross of Christ, Patriarch Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, suggested testing each cross on the body of a recently deceased man. The first two crosses had no effect, but when the third cross was placed on the body, the deceased was revived. St. Helena then elevated this cross above the cave where it had been found and constructed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was consecrated on 13 September, 335. The following day, the Cross was honored by holding a Solemn Mass, marking the beginning of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
The feast serves as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and invites us to commemorate it. Today is the day to set apart a few moments to reflect on the cross and what that means in our lives and in the world.
And, of course, this feast celebrates Christ’s victory over sin and death. The best news ever.
As we all know, the cross is the symbol of our faith. It exists in many forms. A Tau cross, Jerusalem cross. The Catholic church has the crucifix, while most Protestant churches, have the empty cross, celebrating the resurrection.
Crosses have always appeared as ornamentation in Christian art, but they were but one image among many until the early Medieval period. It was initially thought that the cross became the central symbol after the time of Constantine, but some argue that this began in the second century. It’s all very hard to prove. The ICHTHUS fish symbol is a notable early symbol, along with wheat and grapes, or the bread and cup. The cross doesn’t seem to have caught on because it was a mode of execution and humiliation. It would be as if today, we wore little electric chairs on chains around our necks, or a syringe, or, if you’re French, a guillotine.
However… a common image in the earliest Christian statuary, is that of Christ the good shepherd: a young man holding a rescued lamb across his shoulders.
If we were celebrating the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, our text would be Luke 15:1-10, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, which is followed by the Lost Coin. So while considering the cross that is prevalent today, let’s go to that early depiction of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Luke writes:
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The good shepherd searches for the one lost, the one who has strayed. The result? And what happens? Joy, more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The same for the lost coin…joy in the presence of the angels of God.
That’s right…
“More joy over the tax collector who repents than over 99 Pharisees… scribes
"More rejoicing over the drug dealer who repents than over 99 clean-and-sober Christians.
"More happiness over the career criminal who repents than over 99 law-abiding Americans.”
This kind of stuff happens only in the gospel. And in the kingdom of God.
John Dominic Crossan, a Bible scholar who specialized in the historical Jesus, made the point that the parables “ask how God would run this world if God sat on Caesar’s throne.” Now that is an interesting question! We live in a world run by secular powers, one in which a succession of human leaders is sitting on Caesar’s throne. Their decisions shape our world and influence our understanding of what is right and what is wrong, what makes sense and what doesn’t.
Crossan asks this: “The question before us is: what if God sat on Caesar’s throne? If he did, how would God run this world?” That is what these parables are about.
But it is also about what gives God pleasure. God would run this world in a way that brought joy.
Have you ever thought about what gives God joy? Or pleasure? Here are a few…
“• When the lost are found;
• when the broken are healed;
• when the alienated are reconciled;
• when the sick are made well;
• when those who are dead are made alive;
• when the oppressed are lifted up;
• when the prisoner is released;
• when the humble have been exalted.”
The religious leaders of Jesus’s day were not into joy. They didn’t understand the things that really gave God joy. They were wrapped up in the law, what to do, and when, and how. A God who rejoices when a lost sheep finds its way back? They could not rejoice in that. They were wrapped in the letter of the law, not the spirit.
We are the same. A colleague recalled this story:
“A friend’s mother lived in a kind of rough neighborhood. Her children worried about her. Drug dealers and prostitutes roamed the street outside her house. When these people would stop by the house after the woman became ill and her children were caring for her, the children would not let them see their mother. However, when the woman died, the drug dealers and prostitutes came to the funeral home and told her children how much their mother had meant to them, how she had cared about them, fed them, and gave them something to drink. They in turn cared about her and would go to the store to get things for her. Were any of the lost found? I do not know, but I do know that they experienced the love of the Shepherd, who was and is looking for them.”
That is the joy of God, watching all of us loving and caring for one another. Just look in the foyer, all those items going out to those who most need them. Or the Burrito Project, bringing food and comfort. This place itself, where groups can meet.
The call to you this day: What has happened to our joy? What has happened to this amazing sense of sharing in the pleasure of God when the brokenhearted are comforted, and when the weak are made whole? Or, are like those Pharisees, grumbling about who is getting what they don’t deserve, or who is eating with sinners? Are we too wrapped up in ourselves, too unwilling to step out of our comfort zone? Are we too busy planning the perfect event or future?
Immediately after this section in Luke comes the Prodigal Son. On a day when we consider the cross, this symbol of our faith that promises joy in this life and in the one to come, let’s think about how to be joyful in a world that desperately needs it. And put that on repeat. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Pentecost 12, 2025 (Year C)
St. John's, West Seneca
August 31, 2025
Humility is often talked about in the Bible and in today’s world. But what is humility?
Per the dictionary – humility is a noun meaning “the state of being humble”. Now when I was in school, we were always told to NOT use a word to define itself so let’s look at what humble means. Humble is an adjective meaning not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive. Taking this definition, we can see that humility is freedom from pride or arrogance. Why is this definition important?
Throughout the Bible we are warned about pride and arrogance. We are warned that pride goes against God, for in our pride we reject God’s wisdom. Our arrogance tells us that we deserve all the good things in our lives because we have earned them. It teaches us that we are somehow better than those that have less than us. We forget that all good things come from God and in God’s eyes we are all sinners.
How can we be humble? Looking at the life and teachings of Martin Luther is a great example of humility. Martin was born in 1483 as the eldest son to a prominent town councilman. Martin’s parents encouraged Martin to be a scholar and in 1505 Martin received his master’s degree. Martin’s father wanted Martin to be a lawyer, but Martin picked a different path. He decided to study philosophy and theology. In July of 1505 Martin joined a monastery. In 1507 Martin was ordained as a priest. In 1512 he became a Doctor of Theology. Martin had many achievements that he could have been proud of and that he could have used to exalt himself. Instead, Martin gave glory to God and worked hard to help share God’s love.
Martin’s humbleness was often seen in his writing. In his Small Catechism, Martin wrote about how reason is the enemy of faith, but he also wrote that the possession of reason distinguishes men from beasts. Martin asserted that logic can be applied to worldly things, but it cannot be applied to faith. In his humility Martin professed that scripture teaches us that God is beyond human understanding. Martin calls on all of us to be humble in our confession of faith. He tells us that we are saved because of God’s grace and grace alone. Martin taught that God’s grace can only be obtained by having faith in God’s promise of salvation through Jesus. There is no work we can do and no price that we can pay to be saved. We must humble ourselves before God and accept His divine gift of salvation. Even Martin’s “95 Theses” was written not with aggression or arrogance but rather as an scholarly challenge that was looking to start a discussion.
Martin also shows us how to stand firm in our belief while still being humble. In 1521, Martin was called to recant his teachings. Martin responded by stating:
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”
The first sentence talks about Martin’s humility and willingness to be proven wrong. He does not assert that he knows everything but rather he is willing to listen. He also holds firm that God’s word through Scripture is the true Word of God and that the teachings of the Pope and of the larger Church of the time are not God’s teachings.
Martin teaches much about all aspects of life and salvation; his passion for philosophy and theology is evident throughout his teachings. Martin’s personal life can also teach us a lot about humility. Martin was married in 1525 to Katharina von Bora and together they had 6 children. Martin humbly stated, "My Katie is in all things so obliging and pleasing to me that I would not exchange my poverty for the riches of Croesus." Martin was not a rich man and often struggled financially. Two of Martin’s daughters died before adulthood. One of these daughters died as a teenager in Martin’s arms, the other died before her first birthday. Katharina helped Martin maintain their small farm and boarding house. Martin and Katharina also cared for Katharina’s aunt along with eight orphaned nieces and nephews. They also provided a safe place to stay for various exiled clergymen, escaped nuns, government officials and visitors, university colleagues and many students. There could be over 20 people present in the house at any given time. Through all of this, the Luthers’ home was often described as welcoming, lively, and happy. Martin strived to teach his children to be humble, kind, and fair.
Martin’s life also influenced his hymns, many of which show his grief and hope along with his humility. He professes throughout his songs that God is the one in control. Martin hoped his Hymns would help tell the stories of faith as well as be a meditation on how Lutherans should live. One of the first hymns Martin wrote was “A New Song We Raise” which was written to celebrate and mourn the first Lutheran martyrs. Some of the lyrics that show the humility of the martyrs are; “To God their Father gave they thanks, For He at last had freed them, From all the devil’s masks and pranks” while other lyrics mourn the loss “Like any pious child of God, For His Word have they perished. His martyrs they have become.”
A more popular song, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, states “No strength of ours can match his might. We would be lost, rejected. But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God Himself elected. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God's only Son, adored. He holds the field victorious.”
Throughout Martin’s hymns he sought to praise God, teach about the Bible, encourage virtue, and connect with people. Throughout his hymns he showed humility and compassion.
What is believed to be his last writing was a note that spoke about not being able to understand people or principles without years of study. It ends with the words “We are beggars: this is true”. Martin acknowledged that he did not know everything and that even a lifetime of study would not be enough to fully know God and fully understand the Bible. Instead, we are all beggars that rely on God’s grace through Jesus’ sacrifice for our salvation.
Tonight, as you prepare yourself for bed I challenge you to reflect on Martin Luther’s Evening Prayer and the humility it shows.
“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
Pentecost 11 (Year C)
Luke 13: 10 - 17
St. John's West Seneca
August 24, 2025
Now THAT was a miracle. It is one of those situations where, “If it quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it probably is a duck.” Miracles are unique. But let’s define it. According to Merriam-Webster, a miracle is "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs." And BTW, the definition of manifest is: to make evident, certain, or clear by showing or displaying. Combining these two we get a working definition of miracle for today. It is: “An extraordinary event clearly showing divine intervention in human affairs.”
Throughout the Bible, miracles affirm God's power, and reveal His character. The Greek word for miracle, due-namis, translates to mean "power" or "strength," highlighting the supernatural nature of these events.
There are examples of miracles in both the old and the new testament. In ancient Jewish culture, miracles were seen as signs of God's favor and presence. They were often viewed as responses to prayer and peoples’ acts of faith. The Israelites witnessed numerous miracles, such as the parting of the Red Sea and manna from heaven…
In the New Testament, the Gospels are replete with accounts of Jesus' miracles. The apostle John states he recorded Jesus' miracles to give evidence so that “you may belief Jesus is the Messiah and in believing you will have eternal life in his name.” So, to John these miracles were pivotal in establishing, and proving his identity as the Messiah. He relates a number of them in detail. But he also states, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be needed.”
Many of Jesus’ miracles alleviated suffering but they also revealed the Kingdom of God. For instance, the feeding of the 5,000 illustrated both physical provision and spiritual nourishment. Jesus’ miracles invited people to believe in Him. In Matthew, Jesus instructs John the Baptist's disciples to report the miracles He – Jesus – performed, emphasizing that they were signs of His messianic identity. The reason for doing this was to reveal the nature of God and His love for humanity.
Sometimes, miracles required a response of faith from those involved. For example, the healing of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark highlights how her faith played a crucial role in her healing. This relationship between faith and miracles reminds believers that God is responsive to their trust in Him.
Miracles reveal key attributes of God, including His compassion, sovereignty, and desire for relationship with us. They show God's active presence in the world and His willingness to intervene in human circumstances. This understanding encourages believers to seek God in times of need, trusting in His ability to help and guide us and even manifest the miraculous.
Let’s break down a few of Christ’s miracles to see how they hold up; to see if we can trust and believe in them. Let’s start with the one we just read.
The woman had been severely crippled for eighteen years. Jesus did not know this woman. But everyone in the synagogue probably did. She was a fixture. I’ll give the woman a name: Ruth, poor Ruth… cursed with this condition for so long. Now the Leader of the synagogue is obviously NOT a fan of Jesus. We are told he was indignant. No doubt he was. But was he indignant because Jesus was “working” on the Sabbath” or was he indignant because he felt utterly impotent in the presence of the divine, as Jesus demonstrated his authority in healing the woman, an act that the leader played absolutely NO part in? It is important to note here, NO ONE present at this event doubts that a miracle has just occurred. Not even the detractors of Jesus. Grasping at straws, the best they can come up with is, “How dare you work on the sabbath!” That is like complaining about the color of the tablecloth in a restaurant after you’ve enjoyed the best meal you can remember.
So, this was not an event where Jesus had a home crowd rooting for him. Just the opposite, they were ready to pounce on him for anything and all they could come with was a minor infraction of Jewish ceremonial law. And, by the way, there were literally 100s of such Mickey Mouse rules. The Jewish hierarchy had made the Sabbath the most bothersome and niggling day of the week with all the rules they had imposed, it was not the day of rest God had ordained.
Let’s look at another miracle: “turning water into wine,” the first miracle Jesus performed. According to Mary, Jesus had not planned on doing any miracles this day. He and five of his new disciples were attending a wedding. But a need arises. They run out of wine. Now this would be a big problem even today, but back then this would have been a catastrophe, for a number of reasons.
Number one, people rarely drank water alone because it was often polluted and couldn’t be trusted. They would add wine to it to make it safe and this also kept the drinker from getting drunk.
Number two, hey, it’s a party, you gotta be able to celebrate.
And number three, the groom would be permanently disgraced for not planning adequately for his and the bride’s big day: something that would be hard to overcome, and never forgotten in a small village like Cana.
So unplanned, the 30-year-old Jesus begins his public ministry with this miracle.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” He doesn’t call her Mother, which we might explore at another time but it is not insulting. Then, seemingly disregarding his response, she turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Again, these are NOT wine containers, just water jugs. Jesus instructs the servants to fill them with water, right up to the brim. There is no room to sneak in even a little wine. They are brimming with plain water. Once they do this, he tells them to, “Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
The servants do so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn it from the water jugs knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
So that is the first miracle. Does anyone here wish they could have tasted THAT wine? Yeow! Had to be the best wine in the history of the world.
You notice this miracle just happened. No friend of Jesus set this up. Nothing was pre-arranged. Servants he didn’t know participated in and saw the miracle first hand. They added the water to the empty jugs; they knew nothing was switched. There was no trick. The master of the banquet sampled the wine; he didn’t know where this wine had come from. My point is it is hard to debunk this miracle as something other than what it is.
Let’s look at another, in fact, let’s explore the events following the resurrection. There are a string of miracles. According to the apostle Paul, Christ died for our sins – He was buried, and he was raised on the third day. A miracle. He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Another miracle. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive.” Another miracle. And Paul suggests if you want you can go ask those who are still alive about this experience. Then Paul writes, “He appeared to James, his brother, then to all the apostles.” Miracles. “Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me, also.” Paul laments, “though I am unworthy to even be called an apostle, because I had persecuted the church of God.” Paul had been a vocal and aggressive enemy of Christians following the crucifixion of Jesus, yet he did a 180 because of what he experienced on the Road to Damascus, when the Jesus appeared to him. A miracle. John, the brother of Jesus, was NOT a believer until the resurrection miracles. Those experiences changed him utterly and completely.
You know, it is widely known that people are willing to die for their beliefs. In World War II, Japanese pilots went on suicide missions as kamikaze flyers. More recently, radical Islamists would strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in a crowd of innocent people because of the mistaken belief that this would earn them a front row seat in heaven as a martyr. These are examples of people who have been brainwashed to belief in something that is NOT true. Sadly, believing in something you were told was true, even though it was a lie, has led to many such acts of self-sacrifice.
Now, compare that to the experience of the apostles. What if they had conspired to cook up stories about miracles and the resurrection to further their movement. In other words, if they had knowingly lied about their experiences, why would they die for lies they knew to be untrue? They wouldn’t have. No one would. As soon as the Romans began torturing them, as soon as the pressure was on, they would have recanted and said, “Hey, we made it up.” They would not have lived lives of want, discouragement, and suffering just to continue a falsehood. So, people are not willing to sacrifice themselves for what they know to be a lie. Yet from the evidence we have on the lives of the early apostles, every one of them, except for John who was imprisoned, for their unflinching faith they all suffered horrible punishment and deaths at the hands of disbelievers.
We could go through ALL of Jesus’ miracles. Even in the miracles where Jesus’ accusers are present and are trying to discredit him, THEY were there. They all knew what he did was not normal or possible by human means ‘cuz the results were undeniable.
So, I am going to end with this. There are 3 groups and we all are in one or another of them. Here they are:
Group 1: Do you believe in the miracles of Jesus? Are you convinced these acts demonstrate his divinity? If you do believe then you are part of group 1.
Group 2: You don’t believe. Jesus was maybe, the smartest philosopher ever, but “miracles” didn’t occur as part of his ministry.
Or Group 3: You DO believe but you don’t want to risk the disapproval of others by announcing your faith. You aren’t ready to take that next step and give yourself to Christ, to unequivocally accept him and place your faith in him for eternal life.
Please think about these choices… Amen.
10 Pentecost (Year C)
Hebrews 11:29-2:2
St. John’s, West Seneca
August17, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
From Jon Winokur's wonderful collection of wisdom called The Portable Curmudgeon (New York: Plume, 1992) come the following observations about what makes life wonderful:
* Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. --Oscar Wilde
* All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why. --James Thurber
* Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes. --Lewis Grizzard
* Life is too short to balance a checkbook. --Howard Ogden
* Life is what you do when you can't get to sleep. --Fran Lebowitz
* There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
--Albert Einstein
* Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We're unrehearsed . --Mel Brooks
How many of us think about wonder? We use the word “wonderful” for almost anything. This is an odd way to start your day, but think on it for a moment. Wonder, by its very nature, cannot be programmed into our busy schedules. And genuine wonder quickens your heartbeat – or stop it. Wonder may leave you speechless, or it might freeze you in your tracks. Genuine wonder strikes you without warning.
Fourteenth-century mystic Julian of Norwich wrote about the wonder of it all, that ... ”As the body is clothed in cloth and the muscles in the skin and the bones in the muscles and the heart in the chest, so we are, body and soul, clothed in the Goodness of God…” Meditations With Julian of Norwich, Introduction and Versions by Brendan Doyle (Santa Fe, N. M.: Bear & Company, Inc., 1983), 29.
However, the last century with all of its scientific breakthroughs, has left us with cynicism and our sense of wonder lacking. We have been content to relegate wonderment to the experiences of the young and naive. It is true that in youth we are much more alive to the wonders that surrounded us. I remember taking my three year old nephew for a walk. It was not a brisk walk, but one with everything being pointed out for the first time. A stick, a leaf, the color of a car. Everything for him was new and wonder-ful.
But we were not always this unaware.
“In the 16th and 17th centuries, among the most prized pieces of furniture well-off families maintained were "wonder cabinets." These were simply knickknack shelves, but dedicated to displaying collections of natural wonders. Our ancestors used to go what they called "marveling" in the world. They would go "marveling" and come back with unique butterflies. They would go "marveling" and come back with four-leaf clovers. They would go "marveling" and come back with shimmering seashells. They would put the triumphs of their "marvelings" in their wonder cabinets.”
Our ancestors also went "marveling" in the for items created by humans that caused wonder. The "wonders" of nature sat in the wonder cabinets alongside human curiosities such as Egyptian hieroglyphs, maybe an arrowhead…Wonder cabinets were like momentary museums to the miraculous, giving their owners the chance for a daily dose of wonderment and marveling.
What's in your wonder cabinet? Most of us don’t have such a thing, but ask yourself: when is the last time you went "marveling"? Nature is a good place to start. Antique shops and flea markets are the best. My dad once found a medal for his watch fob for the election of 1904: Teddy Roosevelt and Alton Parker. I have found at various places a device that weighs eggs, a darning egg. On Ebay, I found a piece of Spanish pottery made specifically for serving olives.
“A genuine sense of wonder is born when we cultivate an openness to all that cannot be understood, which can scarcely be believed. Bernal Diaz, who accompanied Cortés on the conquest of Mexico and subsequently recorded the adventure in his The Conquest of New Spain, at one point similarly recalls the Spaniards' first spellbound vision of the Aztec capital: "Gazing on such wonderful sights, we did not know what to say, or whether what appeared before us was real" (Lawrence Weschler, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder [New York: Pantheon, 1995], 80-81).
I remember that line from the movie Gladiator, when the one gladiator says upon seeing the coliseum: I did not know men could build such things.
I thought that the first time I ever saw the cathedral in Chartres, then again when I saw Notre Dame.
So can we recover this sense of wonder and awe? Can our minds be blown by God's beauty? By the gifts that God endows upon us?
In today’s Hebrews text, we are asked to remember the spiritual wonderment of our ancestors. We first see the wonderful works God did with the parting of the Red Sea and the Walls of Jericho that collapsed. We read of the faith of Moses, Joshua and Rahab. The writer goes on mentioning the judges and others: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. But then stops, probably when he realized the list is extensive.
And so the writer of Hebrews continues the faithfulness of those who were persecuted, tortured and martyred. Such steadfast faithfulness is as awe-inspiring as the parting of the Red Sea, the collapsing walls of Jericho, or the deliverance of the land of Canaan. A martyr's faith is indeed a wonder. Who cannot be amazed at what men and women can accomplish, can endure, can turn to triumph, when they live by faith and not by sight?
Did you know that:
“In the 16th century, Bibles were "chained" books -- literally chained to church walls and posts so that over-zealous parishioners would not make off with them. They were often chained together with Fox's Book of Martyrs -- a grisly, gory, gruesome retelling in print and pictures, words and woodcuts of some of the most horrific tales of Christian martyrdom. (If the truth be told, it was actually Fox's sensational book more than the Bible that was in danger of being ripped off by eager readers.) Fox's work was known as "Acts and Monuments," i.e., "Wonders of God," reminding readers that it was the enduring faith of martyrs, not the singular fate they suffered, which was the reason they were remembered and honored by the church.”
The writer does not brag about the persecution and deaths suffered by the martyrs he speaks of. Instead, he lists them so we may wonder at their faithfulness. The question is whether we can cultivate that wonder at the supernatural? And then, of course, ask ourselves:
Could we have such courage in the face of persecution?
Could we testify and stand for God when so many are straying?
Can we fully embrace "the assurance of things hoped for" and "the conviction of things not seen.”?
Do we realize that generations past, like a "great cloud of witnesses," surround us at all times with the testimony of their faithfulness?
There is wonder all around us. But even though we are surrounded by this great cloud, too often we are blind to its beauty and power, just like we are so often blind to the wonders around us
When was the last time you went marveling? When was the last time you “wondered” about the great people of faith that brought us here today. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
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