God calls the people of God to do justice in the first lesson for this coming week (Isaiah 56:1, 6-8). This is our task. When inequality and racism and sexism raise their ugly heads, we are to call them out and see that they have no part in our assemblies. Instead, we welcome all to join with us in celebrating the new life God gives to all. In the second half of the Gospel (Matthew 15:21-28), a foreign woman debates Jesus and helps him expand the meaning of who is part of God’s family: it includes everyone whom we would otherwise choose to exclude. In what ways do your thoughts and assumptions exclude others from your community and God’s presence? Confess and repent.

In this week’s first lesson (I Kings 19:9-18), the prophet Elijah was frightened, running from a King who was seeking to kill him because of an accurate prophecy, but one uncomplimentary to the King and the King’s plans. Hiding out in the mountains, God promised to speak to Elijah. Throughout the night, there was a violent, wild storm, with all manner of loud noises, yet none of them contained God’s voice. Instead, it was a still, small voice, of compressed silence, which contained the words of comfort and challenge that Elijah needed to hear. Where and when do you hear God’s voice? Seek to discover and nurture those places and times in your life.

When Jesus asked his followers to feed a huge crowd, they first responded by tallying up what little they had and figured they would have to give up. When one looks at what one lacks, one’s imagination shrinks and the pathways to solutions seem arduous, complex, and tortuous. Instead, Jesus takes what we have – not what we lack – blesses that, and shares it with the world. What is it that you have that you can share with the world today?

I don’t know about you, but far more than once or twice in my life, I have prayed a prayer that went somewhat along the lines of....”Gaaaaa!” This week’s second lesson (Romans 8:26) reminds me that cries of anguish is prayer. Sometimes when I cannot find the words to pray, God’s Holy Spirit intercedes, so that the anguish becomes the prayer. Do not despair. God is here to give us hope. Look for encouragement this week in the speech and thoughts of those nearby.

It is at times tempting to want to remove all evildoers by ourselves. Jesus cautions us in this parable (Matthew 13:24-30) that rooting out evil is not as easy a job as we might think. Where we might want immediate gratification, Jesus asks us for caution and restraint. After all, who among has perfect discernment? When seeking to remove evil from the world, ask God to reveal it first in your own heart, and go from there.

If we are counting seeds, the sower in this parable (Matthew 13:1-9) seems hopelessly wasteful. Our job is – apparently – to sow God’s word often, far and wide, extravagantly, and leave the worry and the gift of growth to God. Our efforts in the Lord can yield unimaginably great results.

In this week’s second lesson (Romans 7:15ff), Paul decries being unable to do or be his very best, even though he knows what that is. How can we get out of a cycle of decline? By forgiving others, and ourselves, as freely as God forgives. Give our burdens over to God, and God will take them and make us whole.

Helping someone in need does not have to be enormous gestures. Justice begins with small actions. Simple things may reverberate wonderfully. Think of something wonderful that you can do this week for someone in need, near or far.

There is little more frightening than being lost. It can make one frantic and prone to panic and lead to poor decisions. When disoriented, all the world looks foreign. Yet when one finds a landmark, one becomes immediately more thoughtful, calmer, better able to move forward. Such it is, when we see Jesus. The fear is gone. What remains is that peace which passes all understanding, able to see us through the very darkest times. Look for Jesus in the people around you. Seek God’s peace.

Jesus gathered his followers, then sent them out with power to heal, cast out demons, and preach the good news of God’s arrival and presence. In what ways do our offerings similarly go out from us, to heal, deliver, and delight? In what ways have you witnessed this kind of power from God? What public or private actions will you undertake to demonstrate God’s power?

The church observes the Sunday after Pentecost as the Day of Holy Trinity, wherein we recognize God as Three-in-One; One-in-Three; that is, God is personally in relationship as creator, redeemer, and the one who makes us holy. Is it any wonder, then, that God chooses a relationship with people? Given social distancing, how can you be in closer relationship with others in your neighborhood this week?

In John’s Gospel, the disciples were worried that the authorities might be out to get them, too. (John 20:19-23). The disciples were wrong. They were no threat to authority, yet. On the night of Jesus’ resurrection, they were still a scared bunch of people, afraid of being caught knowing Jesus. What they didn’t know was that merely knowing Jesus is no threat to the powers that be. What threatens the principalities and powers of the world is a group of believers who, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, go out into the world and effect the kingdom of God...opening their hearts to the poor and powerless, so that all may know God’s love and be changed. How can we carry out God’s mission to change the world?

On the 7th Sunday of Easter each year, we read a portion of Jesus’ intercessory prayer from the Gospel of John. This year, we read the introduction, which describes the fervent love that Jesus has for others. How hove you discerned God’s love in your own life over the past few weeks? In what ways will you demonstrate that love to others this week?

Jesus will not leave us orphaned, abandoned. I vividly remember a time when I hid from my mom who was visiting a friend and it was time to go home. I stayed very still and let her get in the car. Then, to my astonishment, she drove off! I jumped down from the swing set where I was hiding and started to run after our car, watching the rear licence plate and the back of our car get smaller and smaller, until I sat down on the curb crying. I had lost all hope. Within a few minutes, Mom was at my side. After getting me in the car and driving off together, she explained how she thought I was hiding under a blanket on the floor of the rear seat – something one could do in 1950's cars, before seatbelt laws. When she discovered I was not there, she made all haste to find me. God is like that. Going to all lengths to ensure that we found and together with the Lord. At times, we can feel alone and abandoned, especially when we are not allowed to get together. What ways do you have to connect with others even when we must be socially distant? Who might be neglected, and how can we seek those people out? If we are lonely, to whom will we reach out this week?

At a time when most of us live in multi-room homes, and are getting more than a little tired of the limits of the boundaries of our houses, it does not seem to be a big deal personally, that Jesus would go to prepare a place for us. Still, it is true that Jesus provides a place for every one: all the homeless and lost of the world; all the overcrowded masses whom we would rather ignore; all the faceless crowds of the largest cities: these are they for whom Jesus provides room, and to spare, inviting us all to live in cooperative harmony. What can we do this week to provide more and better room for those who have nowhere to lay their head? Who have we kept out of our thoughts and prayers? How do we include others?

The 4th Sunday of Easter of every year is Good Shepherd Sunday. This day reminds us that Jesus is looking out for us. Even when things seem their darkest and hardest, we are not alone. We are also called to be on the lookout for those who might need our aid. Which of your neighbors could most benefit from help at this time of year? Plan a surprise for one or more of them.

There is something mischievous about the risen Lord, who walks with this couple, distraught about the death of Jesus, and asks, “What things?” referring to his own death. What he knows very well and the other two don’t, is that he’s alive again. What evidence of new, resurrected life do you see in your life and that of your community these days?

We usually rag on Thomas for doubting (John 20:19-31). I think he just wanted to be there when Jesus showed up to the rest of his friends. We can’t always be present in the community we prefer. Still, we should expect God’s presence in each and every community and be grateful whenever that presence is so distinct even we can sense it. The disciples were huddled in a locked room, out of fear. We are isolated, waiting out an unprecedented virus. In the midst of our waiting, open our eyes, Lord, to the gift of your wonder and love.

The resurrected Jesus appeared first to women. It was women who remained closest to Jesus during his crucifixion and were the first to venture out that first Sunday to the grave where Jesus no longer was. “Every morning is Easter morning,” goes the Avery-Marsh song. “Every day’s resurrection day, the past is over and gone.” Woman or man, may you find ways to live life anew this week and always.

Reading through St. Matthew’s Passion narrative (Matthew 26:14-27:66) reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. One term of endearment that Jesus used for God was the Hebrew word “Abba,” a child’s term for one’s parent, much like our Dada. And the Hebrew word for son of is Bar. So it was ironic that when Pilate gave the people a choice between freeing “bar Abba,” the son of an intimately close God or a notorious terrorist, Barabbas, they chose the latter. Even though their names were so close in spelling, their personalities and life-purposes were worlds apart. The people chose the person of violence over the prince of peace. Still, God loves us and is for us.