By Tracey Leslie
Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 This morning’s gospel story presents us with two characters; they are sisters, Mary and Martha. Now, we do this bible story a disservice if we arrive at the simplistic conclusion that sitting still is automatically better than being busy. In fact, the gospel story that immediately precedes this one is the parable of the Good Samaritan. And the Samaritan is the hero of that parable precisely because he stepped up; he acted in ways that demonstrated the mercy of God.
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By Tracey Leslie
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 Our world is a violent place and we are a violent people. Let’s own it, confess it; we have been violent from the start. Cain could not deal with the fact that his brother’s sacrifice was accepted and his own was not and so he quickly and violently took matters into his own hands and murdered his brother. It was human violence that prompted the great flood. God lamented the actions of humanity, saying to Noah, “the earth is filled with violence because of them.” And while most of us will never murder anyone, we cannot escape our culture’s violence. It seeps into our conversations, our attitudes, our politics, our “entertainment,” even our religion. By Suzanne Clemenz
Scripture: Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20 In the late 1960s, my father-in-law, Lorin Clemenz, early in his career of ministry as a United Methodist pastor, was serving a church in Gary, Indiana, at the height of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements and during an intense period of social and cultural change in the city. My father-in-law, who from now on I’ll just refer to as “Dad,” was trying to listen and understand and respond to the needs of the increasingly diverse community he was serving, and one of the things he chose to do to equip himself was participate in an urban immersive experience called The Plunge that was organized by the community activist Saul Alinsky. Alinsky was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, and he had grown up in poverty in Chicago and become an advocate for racial and economic justice. In a nutshell, Dad, after receiving some preliminary training on how to handle himself during the experience, and having time to grow out his beard so that he could better pass as someone who lived on the streets, was dropped off in Chicago with nothing but the clothes on his back, and he would spend a week on the streets, all on his own. |
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Pastor Tracey
On a lifelong journey of seeking to live out God's call on my life and to reflect His grace. 10 Minute SermonsCategories
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