Luke 10:25-37 / Pentecost 7 (Proper C) / 14 July 2014 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
There was a man who fell among thieves on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a dangerous road. The steady stream of pilgrims made it prime picking grounds for thugs and thieves alike. This man was probably returning home from Jerusalem when he was jumped by robbers who stripped him, beat him bloody, and left him for dead in the ditch at the side of the road.
Luke 10:1-20 / 7 Pentecost (Proper) / 07 July 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)
To be sent with authority is to be sent for certain. Jesus is sent from the Father to the world. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. He in turn sends others to go in His stead and by His command. With His authority. To hear one whom Jesus sends with His authority is to hear Jesus Himself. To reject one whom Jesus sends is to reject Jesus. And to reject Jesus is to reject the Father who sent Him.
Luke 8:26-39 / Pentecost 5 (Proper 7C) / 23 June 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
There is no place Jesus won’t go to save. No crosses He will not bear. No darkness He won’t enter. No hells to which He won’t descend to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 7:36-8:3 / Pentecost 5 (Proper 6C) / 16 June 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
There are two kinds of sinners in the world. Those who recognize their sin and those who don’t. Those who recognize their sin are broken and contrite and confess their sin. Those who don’t recognize their sin are smug, self-righteous, and judgmental of others. Those who recognize their sin, recognize Jesus as the Savior of sinners. Those who don’t recognize their sin do not recognize Jesus and wonder, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” God’s desire is that you recognize your sin and so recognize your Savior and trust Him for your forgiveness. Those who recognize their sin are eager to hear forgiveness. Those who do not recognize their sin have no use for forgiveness. Both are sinners. Both are forgiven in Christ.
Luke 7:11-14 / Pentecost 3 (Proper 5C) / 09 June 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
It’s a rule at funerals - the younger the death, the bigger the crowd, the more grief and weeping there is. There is something deeply and profoundly tragic about death at a young age. No parent expects to bury a child. The grief is compounded at this funeral in Nain because the mother is also a widow. First her husband and now her only son. That meant not only the grief of death but also the uncertainty of the future. Her means of support died with her son. What would she do now?
Genesis 11:1-9 / Pentecost C / 19 May 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
Words. Without words there is no communication, no exchange of information and ideas, no communion, no community, no way to organize and mobilize. Without words we would be unable to reach out to another person, to have any form of meaningful relationship. You’ve probably had this experience, when you are in a foreign land or encounter someone from a foreign land. You don’t speak the same language. Aside from a few gestures and grunts, you can’t express much to each other much less order a ham sandwich and a Coke. Without common language and words we would be isolated individuals, left to ourselves and our thoughts without any way of expressing them.
Revelation 22:1-6, 12-20 / Easter 7C / 12 May 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
We’ve been focused on God’s city during these weeks of Easter. We have heard its liturgy, marveled at its gates of pearl, its streets of translucent gold, its beautiful multi-colored foundations refracting the light of Christ in all the colors of the rainbow. We have delighted in its perfect symmetry, its Israelite gates that are open to the four corners of the world, its endless day in the light of the Lamb.
Today there is one more vision, one more view of the glory to be revealed on the Last Day. A River and a Tree.
Revelation 21:9-27 / Easter 6C / 5 May 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” - Revelation 21:9
In among our wedding day superstitions, it’s considered “bad luck” for the groom to see the bride before she gets to the altar. Some couples still follow this superstition today, even if they’ve seen a lot more of each other before the wedding day. Still, it’s bad luck and all.
John 16:12-22 / Easter 5C / 28 April 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
Present suffering gives way to future joy. Darkness gives way to light. Sadness gives way to joy. Death gives way to life. Weeping remains for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning of the resurrection. Such is the way of life under the cross of Jesus. Now there is suffering and tears and sorrow. But in the end, there is comfort and laughter and joy. Present suffering, future glory.
Revelation 7:9-17 / Easter 4C / 21 April 2013 / Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights, CA
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. - Rev. 7:17
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. - John 10:27-28
Of all the images in the Bible, the most comforting, endearing, and enduring is that of Jesus the Good Shepherd. The image goes back to Psalm 23 and King David the shepherd-king who wrote as one of the Lord’s flock, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays His life down for the sheep, who calls His sheep by name, whose voice His sheep hear and follow to eternal life.