Tag Archives: Paradise

Love has the last word.

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Last Sunday after Pentecost,  Proper 29C: Christ the King.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Wentz.

Jeremiah 23:1-6. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them!
Colossians 1:11-20. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power…prepared to endure everything with patience.
Luke 23:33-43. Today you will be with me in Paradise.

O God of mercy, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

 On the last Sunday of our liturgical calendar, our lectionary brings us to the foot of the cross in Luke’s Gospel, lest anyone get too sentimental about what it means to follow Jesus. This Gospel lesson is appointed for today because we are celebrating the all-embracing authority of God’s Christ, that is, Love’s redeeming urge, and we sing hymns of gratefulness and praise. While we do that we can always use a reminder that our King of kings and Lord of lords was executed as a criminal with other criminals accused of crimes against the state. He was friends with criminals while he lived; and then he died with them, too. The word that Luke uses for criminal is literally evil doer. Our king, our highest earthly authority was executed for sedition, that is, for inciting resistance or disobedience to the government. Continue reading →

A Garden in Paradise

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Last Sunday after Pentecost (29C)
November 24, 2019

Jeremiah 23:1-6 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!
Colossians 1:11-20 In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Luke 23:33-43 Paradise.

Merciful and generous God, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Today is the Feast of the Reign of Christ (a liturgical observance not yet 100 years old) that has been placed on the last Sunday in the church year – the completion of our lectionary cycle of Bible readings. Although we don’t read our Gospel portions in order, today is the last time we will hear from the Gospel of Luke except for Christmas-time nativity stories until Advent of 2022.
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Possibility Sunday

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Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A, May 7, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 2:42-47 They would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
1 Peter 2:19-25 So that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness… .
John 10:1-10 Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate.

O God of life, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

Today is known in church tradition as Good Shepherd Sunday.  Jesus, of course, is known as the Good Shepherd, son of the Best Shepherd!  Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations known to humankind, so we probably all feel like we understand what a shepherd does, but I’m going to review the job description with you anyway.  The primary responsibility of a shepherd is to ensure that a flock gets adequate food and water.  Once that is taken care of, a good shepherd protects a flock from becoming prey or being stolen, and takes care that they are not overdriven.  Shepherding language for figures of speech when it comes to leading people is found in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and of course, Israel.  It’s worth noting that the metaphor of shepherding is generally used as a political metaphor, [1] although politics and religion weren’t so separate in ancient times (and they’re really not so separate even today). Religion is political just as the personal is political. Not acknowledging that is a form of unexamined privilege. Continue reading →