Sermons from October 2023

22 Pentecost, Proper 25 – October 29, 2023 Matthew 22:34-46          The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing was a large group of English Quakers that would come to be called Shakers. They were called Shakers because of their distinctive movement during worship. And the Shakers are also known for their style of furniture. The minimalist style of Shaker furniture is governed by the guiding principles of honesty, utility, and simplicity. Every item was designed to work well…

21 Pentecost, Proper 24 – October 22, 2023 Matthew 22:15-22          So this morning, we are hearing about some of the Pharisees and Herodians plotting to entrap Jesus. They first use flattery and then ask him a question designed to make him look bad. The Pharisees of Jesus’s day saw the tribute tax as a heretical and antinationalist capitulation to a pagan emperor, while the Herodi­ans viewed refusing to pay the tax as sedition.  Jesus understands that answering either way…

20 Pentecost, Proper 23 – October 15, 2023 Matthew 22:1-14          So, this morning we hear another uncomfortable parable from Jesus. And I needed to remind myself that parables were designed to make us uncomfortable. If we read them and find ourselves unprovoked, then we aren’t really seeing them.  Jesus was no teller of cozy bedtime stories; his parables are designed to show us things we don’t really want to see. And this week’s parable of a wedding banquet gone…

18 Pentecost, Proper 21 – October 1, 2023 Matthew 21:23-32          Let me start by giving you some context for our story this morning: Jesus has just spent the weekend entering Jerusalem on a stolen donkey, receiving the adoration of the crowds, cursing a fig tree, and slinging a whip around the temple to cleanse it of corruption.  In other words, he has just spent the weekend making holy trouble, and the religious establishment is furious with him.  They can’t…