October 13, 2024
21st Sunday after Pentecost – Ted Hackett
Today’s Gospel reading from Mark sounds pretty…
Well…pretty tough. Let’s look at it with some care.
As often happens…Jesus is about to hit the road…
He seems to have pretty much lived on the road with his disciples… stopping at villages along the way to preach and get food and sleep.
So today he and his gang are setting out…
And first thing…a devout young man appears, falls down on his knees in front of Jesus and beseeches him…
“Good Rabbi… “What do I have to do to have eternal life”…
Jesus scolds him:
“Don’t call me good…only God is good!”
Oops! Not a good start!
But then Jesus speaks to him in a kindly way…
“you know the ten commandments…”
And he recites three of them…
Interestingly…the three relate to how we treat each other and don’t mention God.
I’ve never known what to make of that…
But then, Jesus often baffles me…
But anyway…the young man says: “Rabbi…I have kept the Commandments all my life…”
I doubt that anyone of us could make that claim…to have kept all ten commandments all our lives! How about never coveting a possession of a friend?
Even as a kid?
Boy! Did I ever covet Billy White’s new sled!
October 6, 2024
20th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 22, Year B – Bill Harkins
The Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.“Come to me, all you that are weary and 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.”
In the Name of the God of Creation who loves us all, Amen. Good morning, and welcome to each of you on this Feast of St. Francis a day on which we hear a surprisingly challenging Gospel text. And, we prepare for the blessing of the animals today we also give thanks in this season for All the Saints whose lives are intertwined with ours, often in ways we cannot see.
In today’s Gospel from Matthew we are reminded that some forms of wisdom cannot be obtained by working harder and harder for them. Knowledge of God, it seems,
September 29, 2024
19th Sunday after Pentecost – Bill Harkins
Proper 21, Year B
The Collect of the Day
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble,
September 22, 2024
18th Sunday after Pentecost – Bill Harkins
Proper 20, Year B
The Collect of the Day
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel: Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
In the Name of the God of Creation,