Tag Archives: compassion

Enlarging the Circle

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Sixth Sunday after Easter, Year B, May 6, 2018; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 10:44-48 Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people?
1 John 5:1-6 And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is truth.
John 15:9-17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

O God of love, 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.

This morning we are celebrating the baptism of a little boy with a big name. Samuel Dennis Warren, VII, also known as Micah. Maybe you recall that Micah is the name of the Biblical prophet, who famously reminded the people that what is required of us is only to do justice and to love kindness and to walk modestly or humbly with the Holy One. That might be the best description of what it looks like to love one another and love God in all of scripture.
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The Ordering Principle

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Fourth Sunday after Epipany, Year B, January 28, 2018; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Deuteronomy 18:15-20 This is what you requested.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Love builds up.
Mark 1:21-28 They were astounded by his teaching.

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

In our reading from Deuteronomy this morning, we hear a portion of Torah teaching about maintaining the welfare of the community. It comes after this instruction, “If there is among you anyone in need within the land that you inhabit, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand…give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so…open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor.” It’s worth remembering that compassion is one of the hallmark values of Deuteronomy. [1] Compassion is an ordering principle for Torah. Continue reading →

Ready or Not (with audio)

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Third Sunday of Advent, Year B, December 17, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 The present form of this world is passing away.
Mark 1:14-20 And immediately…

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

Our readings this morning, from Jonah’s advice to the great city of Ninevah, to Paul’s advice to the Jesus followers in the city of Corinth, to the Gospel of Mark’s breathless account of Jesus’ move back to Galilee, all convey a sense of urgency and risk. Ninevah has only 40 days to clean up its act (which seems like a very short time). Paul says that time has grown short, that the present form of this world is passing away. Jesus has come out of the wilderness where he was being tempted by Satan for 40 days (which seems like a very long time) to learn that John has been arrested, and has headed to Galilee quoting John directly: repent, that is, change your hearts toward God. A complete re-orientation is what John and Jesus were calling for. Jesus began to teach that the present form of this world is passing away. Continue reading →

Take my hand!

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First Sunday of Advent, Proper 1B, December 3, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Isaiah 64:1-9a O that you would tear open the heavens and come down… .1 Corinthians 1:1-9 As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ… .

Mark 13:24-37 In those days.

O God of grace, 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.

As you may have already gathered, today is the first Sunday of Advent. In much of the Western church, Advent marks the beginning of the new liturgical year, and focuses on the second coming. (Not so in the Eastern church, where the focus of Advent is on fasting in preparation for the Christmas feast without reference to “The Last Day.”) It’s odd and charming that each year, in the Western church, we prepare for the Second Coming for four weeks, and then we get a celebration of the first coming, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. It can feel to me a little bit like the football gag in the Peanuts cartoon series, in which Charlie Brown is ever anticipating that this time, Lucy will not move the football that he is preparing to kick. But our Divine sovereign is not like Lucy Van Pelt. Our Holy One is Love.
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The Great Emergence

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Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25A, 500th Anniversary of Protestant Reformation, October 29, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 I have let you see it with your eyes.1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Entrusted with the message of the Gospel.

Matthew 22:34-46 No one was able to give him an answer…nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

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

About a month ago, toward the end of my sermon, I said something that made the head of one of our beloved young children snap to attention. It’s not what I intended – I did want that response from the rest of you. So I’m going to start today with what I said last month, and if you’re near a young child, cover their ears, but the rest of you, listen up. “The truth is that the world is ending,” We can see that in the deterioration of the Church, social and economic systems stressed beyond the breaking point, financial corruption and abuses of power increasing the already yawning gap between rich and poor, widespread dissatisfaction and discontent resulting in violence. Nationalism on the rise; war and health crises threaten the well-being of the people. Improvements in communication and access to information just amplify and accelerate the process of disintegration because it’s impossible to control messages and figure out what is true.
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Brave, Foolish & Extravagant

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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 10A, July 16, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Genesis 25:19-34 If it is going to be this way, why do I live?
Romans 8:1-11 You are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Matthew 13:1-23 Listen.

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

In the Gospel of Matthew, we’ve gone from the weeds to the water. Jesus began his third course of instruction in the Gospel of Matthew, by getting into a boat and speaking to the crowds from the edge of the Sea of Galilee, which is really a small lake, using the hills behind the crowd for natural amplification (surround sound).  I’m sorry that our lectionary doesn’t include reading chapter 12 of Matthew, because it is all about Jesus reminding his colleagues in leadership about God’s strong desire for mercy, God’s character of tenderness, God’s deep concern for all who are oppressed, and God’s hopefulness that people will turn and return to Love and to loving. Quoting material from the prophets Hosea, Isaiah, and Jonah, Jesus was reminding his colleagues about God’s extravagant faith in people, God’s great faithfulness. That is the literary mixer or equalizer for this next course of instruction, the way Matthew has composed his Gospel. (I’ve got sound systems on my mind because we’re trying out an extra speaker in Lindsey Chapel today.) Continue reading →

The Mighty Power of Love

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Third Sunday of Easter Year A, April 30, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Acts 2:14a, 36-47 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away.
1 Peter 1:17-23 Love one another deeply from the heart.
Luke 24:13-35 Were not our hearts burning within us?

O God of our aching and burning hearts, 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.

This morning we hear the Easter story of two on the road to Emmaus – one named Cleopas and the other is unnamed, which gives me room to understand that the other was a woman. It’s a beautiful account of the art of resurrection, about how, even when we don’t understand it, we can’t imagine it, and we certainly are not looking for it, we can come to recognize that the Risen Lord can be walking along with us; the Risen Lord can be right in front of us without our knowing it. But before I go further down this Road to Emmaus, I must go back to our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Continue reading →

The Art of Resurrection

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Easter Year A, April 16, 2017; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 31:1-6 I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Colossians 3:1-4, 5-15 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Matthew 28:1-10 Go and tell.

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

I love the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus. But before I get to it, I need to say something briefly about our readings from Jeremiah and Colossians. Many of you know that promoting Biblical literacy is one of my life projects, and so I don’t want to miss the opportunity to draw your attention to the God of Love represented in our First Testament (also known as the Old Testament) reading. In Jeremiah, God is saying to Jeremiah “In the days to come, I will be their God and they will be my people. [Remember] the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness when they were returning homeward.” Then God says to those who are living in exile as captives of the Babylonian Empire, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you…I will build you up again and you’ll make music and dance, you will plant long-term crops and live to enjoy the fruit.” Continue reading →

We will grow in love. (with audio)

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Last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King, Proper 29C, November 20, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Jeremiah 23:1-6 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them!
Colossians 1:11-20 Making peace through the blood of his cross.
Luke 23:33-43 Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

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.

Perhaps you are wondering what a crucifixion story is doing being read this far away from Holy Week. Today marks the end of our liturgical year. This Gospel lesson is appointed for today because, while 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, we can always use a reminder that our King of kings and Lord of lords was executed as a criminal with other criminals. 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.
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The Missing Letter

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Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22C, October 2, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Lamentations 1:1-6 How lonely…her priests groan, her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter.
2 Timothy 1:1-11 Recalling your tears…I am reminded of…a faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice…rekindle the gift of God that is within you.
Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

O God of our weary years and silent tears, 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.

Our first reading this morning was taken from the book of Lamentations, and I want to linger there a while because we so seldom read anything from this book of the Bible. Only once every three years do we hear any passage from Lamentations during our Sunday worship. It doesn’t surprise me that we don’t read from this book more often, because it’s a collection of five dirges, five poems of deep pain and suffering, of outrage and grief, of complaint and protest, in response to political calamity, social and economic devastation, and utter theological collapse. The poetry of Lamentations challenges the notion that religious life should somehow be spiritual but not political. I often think that anyone who believes that hasn’t read very much of the Bible, but the lectionary colludes by not scheduling many overtly political readings. Continue reading →