Have Salt in Yourselves

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 21 (Year B)

Mark 9.38-50

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 21:35)

 

The disciples really don’t get it. They can’t seem to help obsessing about how great they are, how special they are being Jesus’ disciples. As you recall from last week, the disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. Seeking to disabuse them of their petty, self-centered perspective, Jesus tells them that “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9.35). To illustrate the point, “he took a 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” (Mk 9.36-37).

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Opportunity for Greatness

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 20 (Year B)

Mark 9.30-37

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:45)

 

In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus predicted his suffering, death, and resurrection. The disciples did not get what Jesus was talking about and so misinterpreted what he is saying. Which led to Jesus providing a teaching about discipleship—what it means to truly follow him. Well, we have this same pattern today. And we will have the same pattern again in a few more weeks (October 17).

 

Essentially, what this pattern reveals is that the disciples are so wrapped up in their own stuff that they aren’t fully paying attention to what Jesus is telling them. I mean, both last week and today, Jesus plainly tells 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” (Mk 9.31). Last week, they didn’t seem to get it for good reason. That was the first time Jesus had dropped this bombshell on them. So, they are naturally distraught at the news and taken aback by what Jesus had revealed about his future. As evidenced by the fact that Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him. But today? Come on, guys. You’ve had a chance to absorb what Jesus told you. But they are distracted. Not distracted by the shocking news. They are distracted by their own petty arguments. Because they are arguing with one another about who is the greatest.

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Who Do You Say That You Are?

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 19 (Year B)

Mark 8.27-38

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 22:20)

 

There is no denying that there are those events in our lives which define who we are. Sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small ways. Our experiences shape who we are, one moment at a time. Many of those moments, many of those experiences, are pretty mundane, having little impact on defining who we are. Whether we had cereal or bacon and eggs for breakfast probably will not make a difference on who we are, on how we define yourselves. But some things have a profound impact on who we are, on how we define ourselves. The choice of job or profession. The choice of who to marry. The choice of whether to even marry or not. Having children or not. All those major decisions that we have control over add up to define who we are.

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The Spirit of Ephphatha

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 18 (Year B)

Mark 7.24-37

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:20)

 

In our Gospel reading for today, we find ourselves at a crossroad. Or rather, we find Jesus at a crossroads. At a decision point that will change the trajectory of his mission and ministry. And one that challenges us as we consider our own mission and ministry. This crossroads is not just a theological or a metaphorical one, but is also a physical one. Physical in the sense that Jesus has left his home territory, Jewish territory, and has entered the province of Phoenicia—the Gentile territory to the north of Galilee. Venturing into a different cultural and religious milieu than his own.

 

Today’s reading contains two stories that illustrate this crossroads. One in practice and the other in metaphor. Before I tackle the more challenging first story, which deals with matters of practice, I will touch on the second story, which provides a metaphorical image for what this crossroads is all about. One that can be summed up in one word: “Ephphatha.” Or two words in English: “be opened.”

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