Pentecost 21, Oct. 17, 2021(full size gallery)
We had a small attendance with 12 in the church and 6 outside. The light was beautiful outside on Oct. 17 with a crisp fall day and multi-colored lights coming through the stained glass windows. One of our videos combined the light with a small portion of the sermon.
Sermons tend not to center around the psalms but this one did – around Psalm 91. This Psalm is about protection, comfort, and promises that stretch through eternity.
“In this psalm, God sends guardian angels to accompany us in the ways set before us and to protect us, to carry us so carefully that we don’t trip or fall. Knowing that God’s protection is around us gives us the strength to proceed without worrying about the challenges and dangers that we will encounter in this life…”
“In this age of anxiety, trouble and doubt, Psalm 91 reminds us of God’s care for us. God promises that when we know God intimately, God will answer us and we need never to be afraid.
“God is always our refuge. God always hears. God is present. We are the ones who stray away and forget God. We are the ones who are absent from God, rather than God being absent from us. ”
Commentary
From Scott Gunn, Forward Movement
“This Sunday brings another challenging Gospel reading from Mark. This time, Jesus is talking with his disciples about status and role. Who is called to what role? Who is important? As usual, his disciples don’t get it right.
“I find the ineptness of the disciples strangely comforting. It makes me feel a bit more at ease about my own frequent ineptness as a follower of Jesus, and it also gives some comfort when I see the church so often get it wrong.
“But, also, the Gospel is clearly a summons to do better. Jesus has a clear message to impart, and it’s a message that’s tough for many of us. “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
“Jesus’ disciples have been jockeying for position and prestige, which is exactly the wrong thing to do. Instead, they should be quick to yield position and jettison prestige. After all, the way of Jesus is a servant ministry.
“We live in a culture where the myth of the self-made person dominates. People are told to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The cultural message often says, those who have less simply need to try harder. But that’s all messed up, and it’s certainly not what Jesus teaches and demands of his followers.
“Jesus says we should be quick to give away our power and status. Let someone else have the good seats, the best job, the favorable deal. Point the spotlight at another. Those who have more power and more status need to work harder to give it away.
“Are you a servant? Can you give away power and privilege? How about your church? Are there ways your congregation can be a servant community, offering resources to others without expectation of reward?
“My experience is that it’s easy for us individual Christians to rationalize the power and status we keep. And it’s effortless for churches to do the same. But, like Jesus’ disciples, we sometimes need to listen to the voice of God or the call of a prophet to pay attention.
“I do know this. When I manage to get it right, giving things away feels a lot better than keeping them. The life abundant that Jesus offers all of us paradoxically arrives when we are quick to serve and slow to acquire.