This was the second week of Morning Prayer. Catherine and the Staten Island Mission team just completed two days of the clothing distribution and they are still there. The weather was unsettled – rain, sun and in between. The bulletin is here, the readings are here.
Only 19 were present but we had almost the entire Long familiy here – it was a Long Sunday. Alex was the officiant and preached, Nancy sang both the prelude and offertory as well as provided the flowers and son Alex was the acolyte. In addition Justin was here with Karen. The whole family was here except for Laura in California.
Alex Long and his family
Future Choir Member!
Jason and Karen
Nancy’s solo on "I Love My Kingdom Lord" and "Be Thou My Vision"
Alex IV as preacher and Alex V as acolyte
Alex’s sermon was on the "Choices We Make". Both the first reading of Joshua and the Gospel call upon us to decide whom we will serve. The decision is based on our knowledge and experience of what God has done for us, and our relationship with Jesus.
In the previous chapter to the one from which our Old Teastament reading is taken, Joshua tells the people of Israel to follow the laws and customs of their covenantal relationship with the Lord. God has been fighting against their enemies and now the land is their own.
In today’s reading, Joshua depicts the Israelites camped on the river Jordan and gives them a choice of following God or the gods of the Amorites where they were living. They chose wisely not to forsake the Lord but in the later book of Kings as Alex pointed out that wasn’t always the case. Although the great battle of Jericho was ahead of them the real battle was within themselves to make the right or wrong choice.
Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians brings out the strengths we should cultivate so that we can make right choices, combatting the evil one. The text is structured so that we hear, first, a rationale for the task ("to stand against the wiles of the devil"), secondly, the needed armor (truth, righteousness, peace, faith), and finally, the requisite spiritual orientation (prayer in the Spirit). The "whole armor of God" is needed for the war gainst the forces of sin, our own separation from God.
Jesus stretches the minds of his followers in the Gospel and asks them to be as open to something even more miraculous, but which goes beyond the information provided by the senses. They choose the path of the “flesh” while Jesus is inviting them to walk the walk in the spirit. They stumble over what they cannot see.
The Gospel reading is the conclusion of the "Bread of Life" series we have been reading since the end of July. Jesus is the bread of life, providing gifts of the spirit which is life and will outlast the physical food. The life is fulfilled when we use our variety of gifts – administration, ministry, music as part of our armor.
Alex brought up the concept of the safety net in the Gospel catching us when we do fall through God’s grade. Sometimes we follow Jesus even without full understanding or complete conviction and the Gospel notes some left him at this time. But, like Peter, we know that there is none other to whom we would rather go.