5 Pentecost (Year A)
Matthew 10:40-42
St. John’s, West Seneca
June 28, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
This morning I read an article entitled: "5 places Americans mistakenly think are dangerous, but aren’t.” Those countries are: El Salvador, Vietnam, Rwanda, Georgia, and Aruba. In the past, perhaps they were dangerous, but that was decades ago. El Salvador had jailed gang members, and the murder rate dropped 98 percent. It now has the same safety rating as Switzerland and Japan. Rwanda is called the “Singapore of Africa,” and while the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo is unsafe, the interior is safe…and clean. Georgia, not the state, is part of the Caucasus, and was part of the Soviet Union. “But back in 2003, the Georgian government did something radical: they fired the entire, deeply corrupt traffic police force overnight and rebuilt a Western-style law enforcement agency from scratch. Today, Georgia routinely ranks in the top 20 safest countries in the world.” And, the Georgians refer to their visitors as “gifts from God.”**
Today it is all about hospitality, that gift of grace of a welcome. It is all about hospitality as Jesus sends his disciples -- and by extension: us. In the ancient world, hospitality was not just a nice gesture, it could mean the difference between life and death.
Once a guest arrived, there were a number of “niceties” offered:
- offering a drink of water
- washing the feet of the guest
- greeting the guest with a kiss
- anointing or washing the head
- offering the guest something to eat
And even then, some went above and beyond. In II Kings, and featuring the prophet Elisah, there is a lesser known story about hospitality that is a reminder for us.
“ One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. 9 She said to her husband, “Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let us make a small roof chamber with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
11 One day when he came there, he went up to the chamber and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Say to her: Since you have taken all this trouble for us, what may be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” She answered, “I live among my own people.” 14 He said, “What then may be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood at the door. 16 He said, “At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.”
While this story of the Shunammite woman is unfamiliar to many, she served as an important symbol among Christians in the 19th century. In American religious history, there was a tradition known as "Shunammite households" which played a crucial role in the development of the frontier and its faith communities.
“In the days when itinerancy meant moving on every few hours, not every few years, the life of one of these traveling preachers was a difficult one. They endured harsh weather, bad roads and poor food as they traveled endlessly about their ‘circuit.” In response to their needs, and out of a sense of commitment to their community's spiritual health, numerous homes along the preacher's way would be designated ‘Shunammite households.; Each of these would maintain a ‘prophet's chamber’ - a room that was always available on a moment's notice to provide hospitality and warmth to those doing God’s work. Like the Shunammite woman's rooftop chamber, this small space would provide the traveling preacher with warmth and privacy - a place to refresh their bodies with sleep, their minds with study and their souls with prayer.
The Shunammite tradition remained a familiar phenomenon in American culture long after the days when preachers rode horseback. If you know any who grew up on farms during the Depression, they undoubtedly recall that the barn and a pile of fresh hay were offered to down-on-their-luck wanderers, even when their requests for employment couldn't be met.
Likewise, there was an understanding of extended family that meant that if someone's uncle's cousin's nephew's son should appear on your doorstep and - after a bit of genealogical figuring - be welcomed into that spare room downstairs. In fact the whole notion of having more bedrooms than family members to fill them is a Shunammite holdover…” There should be a guest room, but if not, there are sofa sleepers, air mattresses and sleeping bags.
But somewhere along the line this Shunammite tradition has become lost, and now has vanished. Most of us wouldn’t dream of opening our home to a complete stranger, because offering shelter comes with the chance of exposing ourselves and our families to some risk. Even the known are now turned away. Think of the homeless.
Things have changed drastically; we are no longer living on the frontier. Can we even revive such an ancient practice? Turning to the Gospel for this day, Jesus reminds us that whoever welcomes the disciple is also welcoming Jesus and, by extension, God. Those are powerful words that should get our attention. Do we welcome others? Are we welcoming in our greeting, our everyday routine?
Take a look at this Shunammite woman and consider her generosity. This was not a random opening of her home; it was instilled in her and in her society.
First, as the text states, she was wealthy. She had the resources and with that, she was able to prepare a room for a guest, along with providing food. As for us, we may not be able to do this, but as is often said: kindness doesn’t cost a thing. We can all be gracious with our manners, in the way that we greet others.
Then, her hospitality is seen when Elisha offers intervention. Her answer: “I have a home among my own people.” In other words, she lived knowing that she had a supportive community watching out for her. So, “whoever she welcomed into her home also enjoyed that protection, and yet shared in the responsibility for her well-being. Under these circumstances no stranger would dare harm his hostess, or steal from her household or abuse her hospitality. This woman's neighbors, who were family, were watching out for her.” We have that as well. While our neighborhoods don’t usually foster this, we have this place; we have friends.
And then, most importantly, she recognized “a man of God.” This wandering man kept appearing. “Her response is one of respect and honor. As a ‘holy man’ he must be let in and made comfortable, and offered the very best there was to offer. While the Shunammite woman immediately recognized God's hand upon the man on her doorstep, she was also aware of the tradition of welcoming that was so established. Remember how Abraham greeted his three visitors. And, Abraham and Sarah did have a child, as does this woman.
Jesus was welcomed. Paul writes of staying with those who had heard him preach. Then there is the verse from Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
I am reminded of that daily with all the people I meet. Seeing the face of Christ in the stranger at our door, at our school, or workplace, is going to be a challenge. But a true spirit of hospitality is one that recognizes a child of God within every person we meet.
Jesus is sending his disciples on a mission, adding that as they go, they go with his authority. The verse about offering a cup of water should get our attention. Today, our mission today may be as simple as offering a cup of cold water, the Burrito project, or simply taking a moment to look up from your phone and say Hello. When we do such a thing, Jesus tells us that Jesus, we will be rewarded. Who knows what that means? The important thing is that we do not shirk our calling because a tradition has died, or that we are busy. One pastor wrote: “We have water, don’t we? Then let’s find someone who needs what we have. We have bread, don’t we? Then let’s find someone who needs bread.” The Shunammite woman had food and more to give. So do we. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Help Wanted: Only Shunammites Need Apply
Sunday, July 19, 1992 | 2 Kings 4:8-17
**The post 5 Countries Americans Mistakenly Think Are Dangerous, But Aren't appeared first on Travel Off Path.
Pentecost 4 (Year A)
St. John's, West Seneca
June 21, 2026
In the Gospel message I just read there is a lot to unpack. The most striking sentence from it is:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
And when I describe it as being “striking” or sounding shocking, it is because the words grab our attention; they wake us up to an important lesson. One that the Lord Jesus really wants us to hear.
I am going to re-state the passage for our understanding.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace and unity. I have not. I have come to offer you a choice; one that will divide people, even loved ones, such as members of families.”
And what is that choice? It is the choice to either be obedient to God’s will or not. It is to love God and follow God’s commandments above every and ALL things. Not an easy chore, my friends.
What I am going to say next will seem unrelated, but it is not, so stay with me.
Today is Father’s Day – Can all the fathers please stand up. Yay!
Let me use fathers as an example of perfect obedience to God. For this you can’t beat the example of Abraham. In what can only be considered a supreme test of faith, God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac – the very child Abraham had been promised by God. Abraham laid his son on the altar and had raised the knife in his hand to sacrifice Issac when an angel of the Lord appeared and ordered him to stop.
That trial of Abraham is a pretty stark example of utmost faith; of Abraham’s absolute obedience to the primacy of the authority of God in his life.
What are our priorities? What takes up your time and energy? What do you spend your extra money on? Is it God driven? Is it God’s will for you?
Also, in today’s passage Jesus attacks the idea of peace. This is confusing, for in the Bible, in God’s word, we find many examples of benign peace. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In Galatians we have this, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”
And of course, Jesus is referred to as “The Prince of Peace.” Here again, in speaking of peace Jesus uses stark language to alert us to the reality that in this fallen world there will be others who don’t try, who don’t care, who aren’t interested in following God. Do we compromise our beliefs to “get along” with such people?
In a nutshell, what Jesus is announcing in this passage is that He is laying claim on every human heart. He is also reminding us with the phrase, “to the earth” that he is not of this temporal world. He is the ruler of another Kingdom, an eternal one, and that is the one he is Lord over. We should never forget this. It follows that the temporary, fleeting existence of this world is merely a foretaste of the Heavenly realms. That is the basis for his claim that he should be given greater affection, greater love, greater allegiance than even a member of your family. Remember in the ten commandments we are ordered to “Have no other gods before me.” If all of the members of a family respond to Jesus in this way, you will have peace and harmony. If they don’t then this disagreement, this division will cut right through the relationship like a sword between the family members.
When you think of your own family or some close friend you realize we have all experienced this kind of separation to some extent.
Basically, Jesus is saying you should love me more. He states, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
You know, I have always been struck by the apparent ease in which the original 12 disciples – Yes, even Judas – dropped everything when they first encountered Jesus. He looked at them and said simply, “Follow me.” And they did. They left everything. Talk about re-prioritizing your life in an instant. It obviously created a separation, a division to many of the people in their lives.
The apostle Paul had a similar experience. He was struck down on the road to Damascus and had a vision of Jesus that turned his life around 180 degrees. In the time it took him to fall on his knees he went from being a persecutor of Christians to being a devout believer and the most prolific missionary of the early church. Jesus demands this sort of commitment when he states, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
Of course, we are not worthy of him. Thank God, we can be forgiven for falling short. All we need to do is humbly ask for redemption.
The important point is where do we put our priorities. In today’s passage the emphasis is on families, but the message is much broader; it applies to everything in your life – political parties, your job, the nation, your hobbies, even the Buffalo Bills. God commands that He be our number 1 priority. He is the one who we should strive to please first.
In short, He demands that He have the supreme place in our hearts, always. Amen.
3 Pentecost (Year A)
Matthew 9 and 10
St. John’s, West Seneca
June 14, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
In front of us today is what our marching orders are…and they include preaching and teaching, even healing. And yes, you are expected to be this voice in the world.
But first comes a description of Jesus’s concern for those in need of the good news we bring. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
“Compassion.” Jesus’s experience is not simply a feeling, an “Oh, I am so sorry,” but a physical reaction that happens way down in the pit of his stomach. This is not just an acknowledgement that someone is hurting; it is a bodily connection to what the people are going through. No mere lip service here, but authentic feeling.
The Greek word is “splagcnizomai.” We translate it as “Empathy,” “pity” and “sympathy,” but those words simply do not carry the weight of what this word means. Our best translation is: gut feeling. This word shows up in other passages in the Gospels: in the Feeding of the 5000 narratives, and in the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.
Compassion and empathy are getting bad press, as though it were a weakness. This is not a weakness but a sign of strength. Also, the words do not mean the same. One definition is that empathy is the emotional ability to understand and share the feelings of another, then compassion takes it a step further by actively desiring and taking steps to alleviate that suffering. Empathy is the “heart’s feeling,” and compassion is the “heart’s movement.”
Last year Elon Musk set off a storm when he said that empathy is a fundamental weakness of Western civilization, arguing that it could be exploited. What he meant has been argued over and over. Only he knows. What struck me was that contradicts the Bible, and especially the Gospels. Our God is not weak.
Hannah Arendt, who coined the phrase “the banality of evil,” stated that “the death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.” If you may remember, she wrote about the aftermath of World War II and the Nuremburg trials.
Jesus does not lead us into a fall. Time and time again, we are given the directive to have empathy and compassion, and yes, mercy. Jesus sees all. The passage says that Jesus sees the people as being “harassed” and “helpless.” Again, language has limitations, and those are weak translations. A better translation is that they are “flayed” or “skinned,” or that they have been “cast down” or “prostrated,” somewhat like being wounded. And they are like that because they have no leader. They are sheep without a shepherd. I am reminded of the Old Testament prophetic admonitions against shepherds (the leaders of Israel) who are not properly shepherding their sheep (the people of Israel). This is most pointedly in Ezekiel, wherein God warns that God will do the shepherding if the leaders continue to fail their people.*
Jesus has a deeply visceral response to people portrayed as damaged goods. Just as he sees us now. And so, it is time to move forward and gather up the broken. Here Jesus uses the imagery of the harvest. Where there is a harvest, you need harvesters, people to do just that…laborers, in other words, us.
Those first laborers are named, and you will notice that now they are called “apostles.” After Matthew names those twelve, they are then sent on to the task at hand. And they are sent forth, giving them authority. They are given instructions where to go, how to act, and what to expect.
Beyond what I read today and in the CELEBRATE Jesus continues: “Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
After that, they can expect challenges, even suffering.
And it all begins with empathy and compassion. How can it not? The world is not that much different. Unfortunately, human beings haven’t changed that much. I don’t agree with Elon Musk that empathy is weakness. I find it silly, and so should you. The church is built on Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was never weak.
Attributed to the anthropologist Margaret Mead is the idea that an advanced society is one that includes care for the less fortunate. It was believed that in ancient times, a wounded person would be left behind, of no use to a group.
But as she worked she discovered that, “evidence of the earliest true civilization was a healed femur, a leg bone… She explained that such healings were never found in the remains of competitive, savage societies. There, clues of violence abounded: temples pierced by arrows, skulls crushed by clubs. But the healed femur showed that someone must have cared for the injured person—hunted on his behalf, brought him food, and served him at personal sacrifice.” Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Surgeon Looks at the Human and Spiritual Body” by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey.
That is who we are to be, always looking out for one another and our neighbors. Jesus lays it out for us. Look on the world, see what is broken, feel that and then take action. Because if we as Christians don’t do this, how can we possibly live out our vocations?
“There’s an old story about an American Methodist medical missionary named George Harley. In 1926, after completing medical school, George and his wife Winifred sailed for Liberia to serve as missionaries. He declined an offer to become chief of staff at a hospital in the capital city, Monrovia. Instead, they headed for the bush.
"After walking for 17 days and nights, the two of them established a mission station. They constructed three simple huts: a medical dispensary, a chapel and their residence. In no time at all, they were treating hundreds of patients a day. There, Winifred gave birth to their first child, a boy they named Dickie.
"The medical practice was thriving, but not one of the locals ever set foot in the chapel. ‘They let me doctor their bodies, but they wouldn’t take my gospel,’ George later explained to a friend.
"Then tragedy struck. Their 4-year-old son contracted a tropical fever and died. George constructed a little coffin out of wood and laid Dickie in it. He lifted it onto his shoulders and started down to the clearing where he could bury his boy.
"‘One of the old men in the village saw me and said, ‘Where are you going?’,” George recounted. ‘And I said, ‘My boy, he’s gone away. He died.’ And the man said, ‘Here, let me help you.’
"The man helped George dig the grave and the two of them lowered the small coffin into the ground. After they’d covered up the grave, George recalled, ‘I just couldn’t stand it any longer. I fell on my knees and began to cry my heart out. The old man cocked his head, squatted down beside me, and looked at me so strangely. He sat there for a long time, and then he jumped to his feet and went running back through the jungle, screaming at the top of his voice, ‘White man, white man — he cries like one of us!’
"That night, he and Winifred were in their hut, sitting at the table, quietly grieving. ‘There was a knock at the door. The first knock in five years. I went to the door and there stood the chief. I looked past him, and there stood every man, woman, and child in the village. The next Sunday morning, the whole village was in the chapel, and outside, and looking in the windows. From that time on, I was in.’”
There must be more than just dispensing medications, or advice. We must be empathetic and have compassion, to feel with others, and try to understand.
That story ends with this: After George had told this story, his friend said: “George, to get through, to break in, you had to give your son.’ George said, ‘Yes, but what do you think it cost God?’”**
That is God, the father of Jesus, the one we follow. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
*Homiletics, June 21, 2026
**—Paraphrased from Stephen Seamands, Give Them Christ: Preaching His Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and Return (InterVarsity, 2012), 38-41.
Holy Trinity Sunday (Year A)
St. John’s, West Seneca
May 31, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
It is the Sunday set aside to think on the Holy Trinity, the great mystery of the Christian Church. It is a feast that was not formally set until the 14th century, making it almost a teenager when compared to Easter, Pentecost and Christmas. Today is the day designated to honor this mystery of the church that usually evokes some serious head scratching, even from theologians who have studied it for years. And yet, it is the central belief for Christians: one God in three persons.
We Christians believe in God, but we also affirm the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Sounds like three gods to most people. And yet, as the Athanasian Creed says over and over, there is but one God. Luther says it best.
“It is a mystery in the strict sense, in that it can neither be known by reason apart from revelation, nor demonstrated by reason after it has been revealed, but it is not incompatible with the principles of rational thought”.
All that means is this: unless God helps you understand it, you won’t; and even once God helps reveal it to you, you are going to have a tough time explaining it to someone else, and to add to that, it does line up with philosophical principles.
Not that we haven’t tried to make it concrete. Over the centuries, many have tried to explain this concept that the Bible itself does not lay out with clear definitions. Many of us remember the illustration of the Trinity as water, which can be as steam, tap water, or ice, yet still maintains it’s molecular designation H- 2 – 0. Some have used the analogy of the egg, which is one thing, yet has distinctive parts: shell, yolk and white. Or perhaps, you think of St. Patrick and the cloverleaf, or the French, and the fleur de lis. I’ve used the image of a braid, which is made up of three sections, and even mercury, which can be divided but always comes together.
There have been mathematical models, geometric models, and still, we stumble to explain it, or even to grasp it. Human language has limitations, and so instead of trying to nail down a sound definition of God – one theologian compared that to nailing Jello to a tree – maybe we should consider the relationship of the Trinity and how it enters into our lives.
For those who believe, for those who have come to know God, the doctrine makes sense, for we come to know God in many ways. We know God as Father. We know God as Son. We know God as Holy Spirit.
God is the Father, the Creator of all that is. So, I chose this first slide. It is called: the Pillars of Creation. To me, I imagine the hand of God. These “pillars” are 6500 light years away and was captured by the James Webb telescope. These pillars are clouds of gas and dust covering several light-years within what is called the Eagle Nebula. The pillars are made from strong stellar winds and high-energy radiation from hot, newly formed stars in a star cluster. And while we see this photo, they most probably have changed as the creation goes on.
God continues to create from the farthest reaches of the universe to us in our daily lives. We know God as Father in his role as Creator, as the first reading in Genesis so richly reveals. We know that God sustains all things. Consider the seasons. Spring follows winter, the trees leaf out, the plants grow throughout the summer. Then comes fall with the harvest, then a dormant winter. And the cycle continues. Is it ever the same? We do know God – not just as the creator described in Genesis – but as a God who continues to create, a God who is always at work in all places and time. I see that creation of new life and possibilities all the time. God creates in us new ideas that truly benefit all, whether in science or history or literature. God the Father, Creator, sustainer of life, renews creation, restores creation, and maintains the creation.
We know God as Son, perhaps better. This image shows the cross, with God reaching towards us. God the Son, who became incarnate in Jesus, who lived among us, doing human things like cooking fish and eating with people of all stripes. He was compassionate, but could get tired and even angry, who became sad and frustrated, who wept, who suffered pain, died, and was raised. We know God the Son as a teacher, a healer, a passionate preacher, and as redeemer, always reaching for us to save us from ourselves.
We know God as Holy Spirit, but that is perhaps the most difficult to pin down. As we heard last week, the Spirits comes with fire, but the Bible also speaks of the Spirit as a dove. The Spirit of God hovers over the chaos in Genesis. The Spirit is the one who sustains and sanctifies. Sometimes this may be a feeling of peace and joy, for others, as on Pentecost, it may be more dramatic.
And so I come to the Trinity with this well-known icon. There are three seated at a table. But if you notice, there is one side which is open, with room for one more. There is even a cup waiting, an invitation, if you will, to join into this divine mystery.
It was John of Damascus – who lived in the early 8th century, who perhaps understood the Trinity best. John came up with a definition for the Trinity that threw out the normal attitudes and definitions. His word for the oneness and the threeness of God: perichoresis, loosely translated, means circle dance.
In other words, the Trinity is not defined by three distinctive things, of one substance, but as a circle – seen so often in nature – a community defined by love. To see one is to see all – to dance with one is to dance with all, being invited into the circle and into a relationship where we see God face to face.
Richard Rohr writes about this in The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation. It was published in 2016 and is widely read. Many have described it as transformative. Rohr explores this doctrine of the Trinity, but like John of Damascus, does not see it as an abstract mathematical puzzle or a rigid doctrine, “Rohr reimagines the Trinity as a dynamic, relational flow of love and community that humanity is warmly invited to join.
"Rohr challenges us to think of God not as distant or static, but one who is in a relationship with us. 'The Holy Trinity is what flows under, around, and through all things – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divinely dancing. The Holy Trinity is what we enter into as God's beloved creation; our participation in the flow and divine dance enables us to be generous, serve others, and experience connection, harmony, and love.'”*
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the blessed Trinity, we celebrate this day as both a mystery and a reality. The truth is we will never probably understand the Trinity by trying to define it. Our task is to jump in and join the dance.
And so I say, enjoy the mystery, and remember that the best way to get the Trinity is to accept the invitation, join the circle and live the relationship. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
*Cross of Grace.org
7 Easter (Year A)
Acts 1:6-14
St. John’s, West Seneca
May 17, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
Some of you may remember the graduation speech from nearly 30 years ago by a woman named Mary Schmich. It was published all over and in the days before FACEBOOK, that was something. It became so popular that the Australian movie director Baz Luhrman put it with a downtempo beat with spoken vocals: Everybody’s Free to (Wear Sunscreen).
“Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.
I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt. Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.”
Where am I going with this, you may ask? Ascension Day was Thursday and the day commemorates the ascension of Christ into Heaven. Observed by most Christians, and with specific actions by Catholics and Anglicans, Ascension Day, also known as the Feast of Ascension, occurs 40 days after Easter, so it is always on a Thursday.
According to the accounts in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus appeared to many of his disciples during the 40 days following his resurrection. On the 40th day, he came again to the Apostles and led them out to the Mount of Olives where he instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Then, as they were watching, he ascended into the clouds. As they continued to watch, two angels appeared and declared to them that, just as he ascended, Jesus would return in glory.
This is one of the oldest feast days in the church. According to St. Augustine, one of the early church fathers, the Feast of Ascension originated with the Apostles. John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa, contemporaries of Augustine, refer to it as being one of the oldest feasts practiced by the Church, possibly going as far back as AD 68. There is no written evidence, however, of the Church honoring Ascension Day until Augustine's time in the fourth century.
For all the glory and the traditions associated with Ascension, however, one thing we cannot forget. And Luke records it for us:
“While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?'"
That is the question. Since the beginning of the church year, we have waited for Jesus’s birth in Advent and Christmas, seen who he is in Epiphany, walked with him to the cross, witnessed his resurrection and his forty days on earth. In any ways, this is our graduation from followers of Jesus to His disciples. So, class of 2026, as we come to Pentecost, here is my guide for all of us.
- Stop gazing at the heavens, unless of course, you are an astronomer. Or if you have caught sight of a sunrise or sunset that is too breathtaking, making it difficult to look away.
- Listen for the call of Jesus in all aspects of life. Don’t search for it; allow it to come to you. It often comes in unexpected times and places, often, on an idle Tuesday afternoon.
- Pray.
- Read the Bible. Who is Obadiah? What does Jude have to say to us?
- Go to church regularly. Hear the Word. Receive forgiveness. Join in what Luther calls the “Mutual Conversation and Consolation of the Saints” meaning that we are to take the Word to comfort, encourage, and forgive each other. Believe it or not, that happens when you stay for coffee.
- Pray again.
- Listen to the hymns and songs we sing, and if it is not your favorite, read the lyrics. That is often a good story there. God has not stopped inspiring musicians
- Ask a few questions about why we do things the way we do. Or better, pick up a hymnal and read through the service, notice what “is” done and what “may” be done.
- At the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus simply says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It is that simple.
- Don’t wait for an illness or financial setback to see the light. Every week I meet people who know Jesus, and even in the midst of bad news and the poorest health, they give thanks to God for all that they have been blessed with. They want to get well so they can get back into that game for one more inning; that is the very definition of discipleship.
- Jesus taught us to live in the present, with an eye to the future. The goal is to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. In other words, get into the game, get involved and things will happen.
- Take seriously what Jesus took seriously. Love God. Love your neighbor. And yes, it can be that simple.
- And continue to pray that the church will be the church. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
4 Easter (Year A)
John 10
St. John’s, West Seneca
April 26, 2026
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is set aside -yearly- as Good Shepherd Sunday. Always in the lectionary is the 23rd Psalm, and this year, John 10: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
The voice of God is present throughout the Bible. The Psalmist tells us that
Psalm 29:4–5 : "The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars."
1 Kings 19:12: "...and after the fire a still small voice," or the sound of sheer silence.
God’s voice can be overpowering to some as in the Transfiguration, when God speaks "...a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!'"
God’s voice is powerful, yet gentle. It is not noise.
God’s voice brings peace.
It calls for obedience.
And that’s where we are today. We are constantly getting into trouble, largely because we too tend to wander off, and in doing so, miss God’s voice, the voice of Jesus, the Good shepherd. We have way too much noise and far too many distractions, and just as sheep seem to be afraid of everything, we too often use distraction as a way to not face our fears.
- We get distracted because we don’t believe that we can relate to another’s cultural or ethnic background, and we become irritated with an accent or custom that we don’t understand, and so we turn away to something else.
- We get distracted when the room temperature is off; it’s hot and stuffy, and our minds start to wander.
- We get distracted when we so strongly disagree with another that we refuse to listen.
- And we are so stressed out because of issues at home, at school, at work that we feel there is just no point.
And let’s face it, there are so many other interesting and seductive voices out there, telling us exactly what we need and why we need it.
Paying attention to God's voice, really listening to what is being said, is difficult when we are so distracted. And yes, we do tend to follow the rest of the flock. Virtually everybody and anybody can hear God's voice, but few choose to listen. After all, who has the time, or even the temperament? And yet, for those who hear and who are willing to train their hearts and minds, Jesus has good news.
William Barclay, whose commentaries I have read, writes of coming across a shepherd in his travels.
“Sometimes the shepherd talks to them in a loud sing-song voice, using a weird language unlike anything I have ever heard in my life. The first time I hear this sheep… language I was on the hills at the back of Jericho. A (Shepherd) had descended into a valley and was mounting the slope of any opposite hill, when turning round, he saw his (flock) had remained behind… Lifting his voice, he spoke…in a language that Pan must have spoken on the mountains of Greece. It was uncanny because there was nothing human about it. The words were animal sounds arranged in a kind of order. No sooner had he spoken than an answer in bleat shivered through the herd, and one or two of the animals turned their heads in his direction. But they did not obey him. (He) then called out one word, and gave a laughing kind of whinny. Immediately, one with a bell round his neck stopped eating, and leaving the heard, trotted down the hill, across the valley, and up the opposite slopes. The man, accompanied by this animal, walked on and disappeared round a ledge of rock. Very soon a panic spread amount the herd. They forgot to eat. They looked up for the shepherd. He was not to be seen. They became conscious that the leader with the bell at his neck was no longer with them. From the distance came the strange laughing call of the shepherd, and at the sound of it the entire herd stampeded into the hollow and leapt up the hill after him.”
Is that us, or what? But there Jesus is, always calling us back, cutting through all the distractions, over and over. God had given the law, and sent the prophets, but it was not enough. And so the great shepherd comes, lives and breathes and engages us, so that even over all the noise, His voice is heard. And we, as the sheep, fearful, do hear and follow.
Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus engages us and beckons us on to eternal life with him. Jesus encourages us to put away all that extraneous distraction and listen. Jesus asks us to hear and follow, and that, as sheep know the voice of the shepherd, we too will always know his voice. Truly, the LORD is our shepherd. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
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