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Readings for June 14 2020

 

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)
18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.

18:2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.

18:3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.

18:4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

18:5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on–since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”

18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.”

18:7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.

18:8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

18:9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”

18:10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.

18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?”

18:13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’

18:14 Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”

18:15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

21:1 The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised.

21:2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.

21:3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.

21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

21:5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

21:6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”

21:7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Matthew 9:35-10:8, 
9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.

9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

9:38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

10:4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,

10:6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

10:7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

10:8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

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Significance – disappointment – who are we now?

What does it matter anyway? Have you ever thought that? What does it matter if I don’t make the bed today? What does it matter if the weeds don’t get pulled til tomorrow? or the next day? 

Without using a lot of jargon, I think we’re all going through some ‘growing pains’ or maybe I should call them ‘recalibrating pains’ in our world today.  And the ‘recalibrating minutiae’ is big too. As our worshipping community begins to imagine worshiping in person together again, we could lose ourselves in the ocean of minutiae (not to diminish the importance of detail) about reopening – standing 6 feet apart, keeping the ‘spraying’ of water droplets out of our mouths into the nostrils of others to a minimum.  As important as all these details are, in order to protect the health and safety of our worshipping community as well as visitors – there are global issues swirling about in the mix.

All summer, I hope to focus on our ‘searching for significance’. Sounds kind of simplistic, doesn’t it? Like the theme for a Star Trek episode. But I picked it on purpose having read the old testament passages chosen for the cycle of readings this summer. The book of Genesis is filled with ‘larger than life’ personages – Abraham, father of nations, Isaac – his hope for eternity. But the significant moments in their lives are often unveiled through minutiae – (the making of small cakes of fine flour for 3 holy visitors, the Lord hearing the voice of the boy Ishmael as he is hidden under a tree for safety, and making a great nation of him, along with Isaac).

What are the (seemingly) small things in our lives now from which we can take heart as things change and shift?

I am a person who has always been able to think, and contemplate deep things while my large muscles are busy. Weeding, digging, even cleaning, organizing; let’s go further – hiking, and exercising. Are you like that? I’ve also always been able to worship more fully if I am able to use my body – to lead a congregation in prayer, or singing, or preaching. And so, worshipping in these days of no inperson worship has affected me. Perhaps it has affected you.

This week, I went to a march for George Floyd. We got there early (as we had been asked to) in order to pray for the marchers and all those involved. And very soon, we were asked to ‘take a knee’ together. Well, friends, I tried. And I failed. I have had 3 surgeries on my knees, and the last one seems to have made kneeling impossible – it felt like the skin itself was ripping open as I tried. And so I ‘half knelt’ and felt BAD the whole time! Self talk was going crazy in my head about what a ‘woosie’ I was to not be able to kneel. And by the time, I realized I could ‘kneel in my head’ and have an attitude that matched my neighbors in order to honor the slaughter of a human being – it was over. I spent all my time kicking myself and missed the opportunity to ‘kneel’.

We have lost so much in these past 12 weeks. We missed in person worship for holy week, easter, and pentecost. Folks who aren’t particularly computer savvy have missed even more than those who are watching the videos we record. But, I worry, friends, that we will spend so much emotional energy “missing” what once was, and may never be the same again, that we will miss the opportunity for what God is creating new in our midst.

Holy Cross has been a church of outreach for many years. We do it really well. People show up every week with snacks to take to Washington Elementary on Friday. You all give canned goods and food for Marion Polk Food Share. You volunteer to run movie night for the neighborhood kids. But we haven’t done that much lately. Most of our volunteers are in the bracket of folks who should stay home during the pandemic – and stay away from being infected. So, who are we if we aren’t showing up for outreach every week?

I don’t know yet. It might take a while for us to know what’s next and how we do it. But, I am hopeful we can silence the emotional energy that is ‘missing’ what once was, and lean into the opportunity to learn something new. To be something new.

And so, my friends – lean towards significance, won’t you? Touch the disappointment, and imagine what’s next won’t you? God’s blessings to you all – Pastor Patricia Hughes