Greetings from the Rector’s Study at St. Mark’s on the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Southern Oregon summer begins to turn toward fall.
We gathered with a remembrance that Jesus sacrificed himself to show us how to live a godly life and redeem us from the condition of sin. Our first lesson from Genesis was the story of Joseph welcoming his brothers to Egypt after they had sold him into slavery there. The Psalmist sings a song to give reminds us that God’s presence is good and pleasant when everyone lives and works together. The reading from the letter to the Romans is Paul’s reminder that God does not stop offering grace to us, but we can reject God’s grace. Matthew’s gospel is two stories which speak to helping identify who is in and who is out, the Pharisees and washing hands after market, and the Canaanite woman’s possessed daughter.
Our reflection on God’s grace might lead us to say that God’s grace is radical (it is) and that believers merit God’s unmerited grace. But Jesus reminds the Pharisees that ritual is not what saves us, rather it is God’s grace alone. In the latter story in today’s Gospel, Jesus approaches the distribution of God’s grace in a way which his community didn’t care for. The Canaanite woman pleaded for healing and application of God’s grace, even when society said she didn’t warrant that grace. Yet she pushed forward and realized the grace she was looking for – God’s grace – in ways which insiders didn’t. God’s grace is unmerited and fully sufficient for every single person who comes looking for God’s grace.
We need to remember that we don’t need to protect God from humanity. God’s grace is available for all who believe that God is gracious. To whom has God led you to help all of us find God’s grace present? I invite your comments,
Les+
Lessons: Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:10-28
Sermon link: https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/pentecost-12-sermon-2
