Last Sunday, June 16, 2013 (full size gallery)
This Sunday was a transition Sunday in several ways. First when Father’s day comes around as it was this Sunday, the summer season appears the next week. Catherine read a prayer for Fathers. The day started out temperate but was getting humid by the end of the service. Cirrus clouds led to a clear day with some heat haze building up. We had a count of 35, below our normal attendance.
Secondly, people move and travel in the summer. We said "hello" to Johnathan and Odessa Davis, Johnny’s son and his wife and three precious children. He will be taking Johnny’s position on the farm and completed the move this week. A house welcoming will be scheduled later.
Lastly we are sorry to see Tierra and Cheyenne move to Illinois. They will be with family members close to St. Louis, an attraction. Both have been active in the Children’s program, have sang with the choir and have been servers. Seeing them grow up over over the last three years has been a delight. We will miss them and hope they will visit us at another time
The Bishop is here next week and there is a transition to that. UTO ends, Affirming our Faith ends, FredCamp procurement for volunteers ends. We are looking ahead with a new survey for Christian ed planning. We have a wine and cheese reception with cakes to prepare. The scene shifts.
We will have the Bishop bless the new handicapped bathroom in process and well as Cookie’s project to display the rectors of St. Peter’s. We salute former priest Karen Woodruff for saving these pictures. We have invited her for the ceremony.
The sermon took the idea of candor and spread it over three of the four lectionary readings. "The lectionary readings today remind us that God speaks to us directly and with candor in various ways, sometimes through other people, and sometimes directly as we pray. "
"The lectionary readings today remind us that God speaks to us directly and with candor in various ways, sometimes through other people, and sometimes directly as we pray. "
The Old Testament lesson from Kings offers consquence of the unrepentent sin, contrary to the woman in the Gospel. Nathan is sent and provides a parable to explain David’s actions – David is implicated in the death of Uriah since David has desires for Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. He has killed a fellow soldier to get his wife.
God explains the sin "God says to David "You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. " It is clear that David’s blindness is one where he can’t see the consquence of his actions.
David marries Uriah’s wife when her mourning is over, and she gives birth to a son. David does not show foregiveness. He does not die but the plaque is invested on the son. Like the Pharisee, David has a sense of entitlement – he has taken whatever he wants and then gone to great lengths to cover up his guilt.
"Then there’s the psalmist. We don’t know exactly what the psalmist has done, but he’s been less than candid and honest with God and now God is speaking to him through his prayers. "
Finally the Gospel. "This particular story is especially valuable because we get to see two different reactions to the candid message regarding sin and forgiveness that Jesus has for two people who have sinned—Simon the Pharisee and the woman who is actually identified as a sinner. "
"She has come uninvited, but prepared for this banquet where she knows she’ll find Jesus—she’s brought her alabaster jar of ointment. I’m sure this woman created quite a stir when she came into the room, cried so hard that her tears wet the feet of Jesus.
The key passages to the Gospel passage about the sinful woman is when Jesus says to Simon the pharisee "Do you see this woman?" Jesus is able to see this woman as God would see her – in a broad sense based on her current actions, not her past life. She demontrates her forgiveness by kissing his feet, anointing them with oil, drying them with her hair.
Jesus claims to forgive sin — he asserts divine authority to set people who are bound by their past free. Simon only sees in a limited way, in a one dimension way "she is a sinner". She was judged once and lumped together with sinners. No forgiveness.
David Lose writes this week about the Gospel "So this story is about forgiveness. And it’s about the gratitude that forgiveness creates. And it’s about the extravagant acts of love and devotion that gratitude prompts. But it’s also about something else: it’s about hardness of heart as opposed to love, about judgment instead of forgiveness, and about a sense of entitlement instead of gratitude."
It is clear the Pharisee is the one about judgment, entitlement and doesn’t know thow to love. He is blind not in a physical sense like Gloucester but can’t see the truth about the women. Jesus can -the woman’s sins are forgiven.
"The thing I love about this candor on the part of Jesus is that he gives Simon a chance to realize that with his lack of hospitality he has sinned against a fellow human being and God. Simon now has the option of asking for forgiveness and amending his way