It's Not About Us (Individually); It's About Us (Collectively)

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 21 (Year A)

Exodus 17.1-7; Philippians 2.1-13; Matthew 21.23-32

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 14:15)

 

These days it seems like, no matter where you turn, you are going to find people pitted against each other. Each person, each group wanting things there way. We even see this in Scripture.

 

In our Old Testament reading, we hear part of a larger drama involving the Israelites. Finally free from the tyranny of their Egyptian overlords, they complain against Moses and even against God himself. Why? Because things are not going the way they would like. Things are not going the way they expect. They want to be to their final destination. They want the comforts they once had in Egypt. They want to have food. They want to have water. And they want it all now. They don’t recognize that there is a process. They don’t recognize that what is going on is ultimately for the greater good of the entire community. Being so wrapped up in their own wants and desires, perhaps they don’t want to recognize that it is not about them individually, but about what is best for them collectively.

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How Often Should I Forgive?

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 19 (Year A)

Matthew 18.21-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 14:45)

 

There is something about us humans that we want to know exactly what the limits are. For some, it’s because of concern about crossing that threshold into the unacceptable; so, knowing the limits helps avoid doing so. For some, it is about having as much leeway as possible; so, knowing the limits gives an idea of just how far one can push the envelope. And for some, its about not having to go one inch further than absolutely necessary; so, knowing the limits provides a line in the sand. Which of these is behind Peter wanting to know the limit for forgiving someone?

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Connectedness

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 18 (Year A)

Exodus 12.1-14; Romans 13.8-14; Matthew 18.15-20

St. Gregory's, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 12:00)

 

This past week I watched a panel discussion entitled “Policing and a Just Society,” produced by Washington National Cathedral. One of the speakers was Sharon Pratt, Mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 1995—the first African American woman to hold that position. Actually, the first African American woman to serve as mayor of any major American city. Mayor Pratt is an Episcopalian and a member of the Cathedral congregation. In response to a question about the role of the church in our current social conversation about issues of racial injustice, Mayor Pratt gave voice to something I had been thinking and feeling for the last few months—ever since the murder of George Floyd in May. She said, “You almost have to believe, as horrible as this virus is, it’s almost like the Lord is at work to get our attention.” And while her comment captured my attention, as I said, giving voice to some of my own thoughts, what particularly grabbed me was the lead-in. She said, “With one pathogen . . . suddenly we all recognized we were interconnected . . . what else could have done that?”[i] It is the concept of interconnectedness that spoke to me in Mayor Pratt’s comments. And one that undergirds all our readings for today. Readings in which God is trying to get our attention about what it means to be connected to God and one another.

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