Tag Archives: community

October 19, 2026 · 6:43 pm

Show Me the Money (Sermon)

Image: Unknown Detail from Roman Coin, ca. 48-47 BCE via Wikimedia Commons.

The readings for the 20h Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on October 18, 2026.

As we continue with Matthew’s account, Jesus continues to be in grave danger. Remember, this is his last week in Jerusalem. The forces of cosmic darkness are gathering in a last gasp of power. Sin is starting to have a firmer grip on the better angels of humanity’s nature, and underlying conflict is coming to a head. As in politics today, this has resulted in strange partnerships of convenience. A past seminary friend of mine, now a professor himself, rightly noted several years ago in a reflection, “No one [emphasis mine] would have expected the Pharisees and the Herodians to come together on the issue of taxation.”[i] Yet here they are in today’s passage seeking to entrap Jesus together over that issue.

You see, these groups have decided along with other powerbrokers in Jerusalem that Jesus is clearly their enemy and a problem to manage. A decision has been made to see that Jesus die. Due to Jesus’ popularity and fear of the crowds, they want plausible deniability if possible.

Under the yoke of Rome, the Sanhedrin, the supreme legislative and judicial assembly of ancient Israel, has lost the authority to sentence people to death. Thus, the Pharisees, the Priests, the Scribes and other power groups are starting to circle. They need Rome’s help. If they can catch Jesus in heresy and frame him as a social destabilizer, the Military Governor, Pontius Pilate, will likely consent to their requests for Jesus’ death. It is not that Pilate cared so much about the Jewish faith. He didn’t, but Rome as an Empire and culture demanded strict social controls to help establish their famous peace.

The Pharisees were one of the most influential and popular religious groups of that period. They lived and worked among the ordinary people. They led local synagogue worship. They were like a beloved neighborhood priest or pastor, but they thus had power, too. The entire movement came out of a challenge faced long ago as a people during the Babylonian Captivity. The Pharisaical practices and beliefs were an effort to maintain culture, language and faith…ultimately to remain Jews not Babylonians…particularly faithful Jews. Hence, the Pharisees were in opposition to Rome and all its influences including the complicit Jewish King.

Yet next to them stood the Herodians. They were a group who favored the Roman friendly policies of King Herod Antipas. They were Jewish but open collaborators. Like the Romans, they wanted peace and prosperity. They valued the Greco-Roman culture around them, and they were known for more of a “lip service” or performative approach to the religious laws of Israel.

Their leader, King Herod, was one of the three sons of Herod the Great, who himself had become king only because of the Romans. When King Herod the Great died, his territory was split between his three sons. Herod Antipas became the vassal King of Judah with its capital city Jerusalem. When he could not control the political and religious resistance to Rome, Pontius Pilate was sent to town, and everyone feared him. For he already had an incredibly bloody and ruthless reputation. This is documented outside of scripture. He was a bad dude.

And so here they came, representatives from two enemy groups, to entrap Jesus. Both groups ultimately hate taxes and the Romans. They hate one another. They just hate Jesus more.

The coin they present has Caesar’s image on it. You cannot use it in the Temple. Although the Caesar of the time had not declared himself God yet, the Pharisees and other religious authorities decried the coins due to strict religious prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, and the intermingling of the Roman cult with money. The Herodians, whether from personal belief or political advantage, also frowned on those coins officially for those same reasons. And yet, here they just happen to have one in their pocket. “They are all trading in Caesar’s economy, so they are [all] legally obligated to pay the tax.”[ii]

And despite their hypocrisy and reservations over the coin, Roman power, and one another, they ask Jesus if a Jewish person should pay taxes or not. “Is it permissible?” These words sound like a simply religious question…innocent enough…but Jesus realizes his answer could lead to the death of himself (before he is ready), and the death of any followers influenced by his answer. The Herodians, Pharisees, and everyone else in Israel must already pay taxes or they might suffer torture or death.

And so, Jesus focuses on the aspect of “paying.” As Warren Carter has noted, “Paying taxes acknowledges Rome’s political power but not its moral authority to rule. That moral authority belongs to God. Which is why Jesus quickly adds that one must pay to God the things that are due to God.”[iii] The moral authority always belongs to God. And this is why Jesus instructs, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 25:21).

My friends, money remains a challenging topic…for all of us. It’s a worldly necessity, and yet we can abuse it. If it is in short supply or plenty, we can make too much of it; valuing it too highly…even pining for it. It can become an idol for us turning our hearts from God and God’s ways. Many a time in premarital or family counseling or after deaths, money can play an incredibly important part in any discord discovered. Money is deeply interwoven throughout our earthly lives for both good and ill.

And so, you might have already heard from pastors or stewardship chair that money is referred to by Jesus more than any other one subject related to the Kingdom of God. Eleven of his thirty-nine recorded parables are about our relationship with and use of (if not often misuse of) money. That’s because we should not ignore its very real power and influence over us. To do so can lead to our physical death, loss of freedom, and destruction of relationship. Without money, the economy would not go round, and people would be unemployed and starving. It remains true that without money the world would not go round. People would not work, be fed, and more. It is a necessary evil we say, but it is really just a thing. In and of itself, it has no power other than what we give it.

Being human in a fallen world, we might be caught up by the law we hear… “Sell all your things, give to the poor, and come follow me” (Matthew 19:21). We struggle to discern how to use what we have been given to us as “gift.” (And it is all “gift.”) There’s a struggle to balance healthy self-care and spoiling oneself. Jesus’ teachings on money are not the easiest. We can get stuck on guilt if not shame for our own relationship with money, and sometimes that’s false guilt or shame.

In my past driving around the Richmond area as a pastor, I often saw unhoused if not addicted persons begging. In the areas that I have previously served, it wasn’t unusual to encounter someone struggling to keep their home. And in my mission travels, I have seen the poorest of the poor. For example a Native American boy in high school during my time in South Dakota came to our school with all his earthly possessions in a small plastic bag from the grocery store. These kinds of sights and stories can pierce even the hardest of hearts…but sadly, they do not always do so.

Yes, the world is hard and often unfair, and we do…if we are honest…play a part with every monetary investment, purchase, and political decision that we make. Yet I’m not so sure Jesus’ intent is to shame us…to make us feel so bad about the persons God created us to be and the gifts we’ve been given by God that we give up. That might just be too simplistic. For as Lutherans, we understand everything we do is tainted by sin. So, we should get over that.

What if Jesus looks at each of us in the same way he looked at the rich man struggling to perfect himself by selling all his things and give to the poor in Luke 18? “Jesus looked at him and loved him” as he struggled…He didn’t shame him. Jesus didn’t make fun of or condemn the man. Jesus loved the man. In the context of the man’s life, with all his personal practical and assets and liabilities, Jesus wanted him to discover more joy, not the yoke of the Pharisees, impossible perfection.

Indeed, I have known some Christians that have given up much (if not everything) to try to follow Jesus. It is a wonderous testimony of faith. There is nothing wrong with that, but not everyone is called to sell everything and follow Jesus. It was not true in the Bible, and it remains untrue today. Jesus also sent people home to share what he had done for them. Whatever our unique, individual call, we are asked to be part of his Kingdom of justice and peace…with all that we are and have…sharing and nurturing abundant life no matter how much time we have left.

Thus, rather than getting stuck in shame and sadness, we might seek to identify and acknowledge our guilt fearlessly – “Where can I do better?” Trusting that no one is good except God alone, we can examine how we could possibly do better with glad and hopeful hearts. We can commit together as individuals and a community to do better with God’s help.

Yesterday in preparation for this sermon, I was reminded of what a previous Lutheran World Federation President, Bishop Josiah Kibira from Africa once said, “There is no church so big and so rich, that it wouldn’t depend on the gifts of others; there is no church so small and so poor it wouldn’t be able to enrich others.”[iv] I think this applies to individuals as well. We can all challenge ourselves to do and be better together. That’s part of our ongoing Christian repentance we commit to when we confess, “Jesus is Lord!”

Yet in the end, money can come and go. It will not last. It is part of this world’s vanity (as Ecclesiastes might declare) not the new heaven and earth God has coming. We won’t need money or have taxes in the new heaven and earth. But the love of God…a love planted in our hearts through our faith and baptism…is here now and lasts forever. It is trying to wrap itself around us and claim us. It has the power to change us and the world around us in payoffs and dividends that we might never see or fully understand in this life. That might not easily be qualified by human measures. God’s love ultimately gives us our real value. And so, I find the old Christian maxim proves true, “Those who have God already have enough.”[v]

No matter how little we have, no matter how God decides to share daily bread with us, we are promised that we have enough. We might not have as much as we want. It is ok to complain. We are encouraged to ask for more (all our needs)…But trust God.

Yes, our God is powerful enough to fit our sinful selves through the eye of a needle (see Matthew 19:24), and God can help us to live more like true saints when we humbly recognize our true value doesn’t come from money or anything else at all but only from God’s love. Yet as we struggle under the powers of this world, as we fear for our daily bread, as we wonder if we are good and generous enough, we never need slink away from Jesus and his Church in sadness.

You see, Jesus loves us. Rich or poor or anywhere in between, Jesus deeply loves you…He knows each of us can do better and wants to help us do so. Like Jesus on the way to his own death, we might even be blessed to help others on our own way. Rather than just showing him our money (as a famous movie shouted, “Show me the money!), Jesus hopes we show our hearts more each day to a world in need of him and his salvation joy. Amen.

[i] Nadella, R. (October 18, 2020). Commentary on Matthew 22:15-22. Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-29/commentary-on-matthew-2215-22

[ii] Nadella, R. (October 18, 2026). Commentary on Matthew 22:15-22. Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-29/commentary-on-matthew-2215-22-7

[iii] As quoted in Nadella, R. (October 18, 2026). Commentary on Matthew 22:15-22. Working Preacher. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-29/commentary-on-matthew-2215-22-7.

[iv] Former LWF President (1977-1984), Bishop Josiah Kibira was quoted saying this in a Lutheran World Federation Facebook post, October 5, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GnvFDZTdF/

[v] Often attributed to quotes by Teresa of Ávila, Matthew 13:12, the Lord’s Prayer, and many other testimonies speak to this to us.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 32:07 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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October 14, 2026 · 6:38 pm

Happy 100th, you silly, old bear

Image: Disney Fan Club

The first Winnie the Pooh book was published by A.A. Milne on October 14, 2026. E.H. Shepard’s artistic vision shaped Pooh’s earliest, detailed depictions. Yet it wasn’t just a fluke or moment of inspiration. As a Wikipedia post, countless articles, books, and documentaries attest, this childhood tale was inspired by a likely orphaned, black bear cub named, Winnipeg (later nicknamed Winnie) purchased by a Canadian soldier during World War 1, and a stuffed bear belonging to the author’s son, Christopher Robbin. The real Winnie was given to a London zoo before the soldier, Lt. Harry Coleburn, went to France, and there he stayed to become a beloved figure among the children of the city.

Image and article from Canadian Broadcast Corporation.

As far as I recall, Winnie the Pooh first came to my attention as part of the weekly Sunday night show, The Wonderful World of Disney. (It first aired in 1963 when I was about three years old.) Certainly, like other children, I loved it, but than as we can tend to do as we mature, I moved on to new interests, distractions, joys and concerns. I suppose Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood likely next caught my attention through the song, House at Pooh Corner, by Loggins and Messina. Kenny Loggins wrote the song when only seventeen. He was feeling the melancholy sadness of losing his childhood innocence. He rereleased it in the early 1990s to try to reflect his new adult perspectives, particularly as a parent.

Then came my own young adult years. The popular book, The Tao of Pooh popped on the scene in 1992, followed ten year’s later by another companion book, The Te of Piglet. As with what happened with Peanuts and other cartoons and children’s stories during that period, the author used the stories to explore spiritual truths as they understood it.

At that time, as I have written about elsewhere, I had come into police work with a lot of previous wounds before then, and things were not working out so well. Thanks to God reaching out to me through old friends, I reentered the Church, began to understand new things about things I thought settled matters, and I began volunteering at two local college campus ministries. Through one trip, while serving as as a chaperone to the first ever United States ecumenical young adult Taizé gathering (about 8,000 attended at the university of Dayton), I was introduced to Winnie the Pooh in a transformative way.

A cluster of the young adult college women attending from my van pool, loved the above books, and they were going through a new phase celebrating their childhood love of Pooh. The meaningful spirituality of Taizé, the simplicity of Pooh, and their joy was infectious. I came to reappreciate how children’s tales don’t necessarily need to stay on the shelf. They can help you remember life lessons and rediscover joy as an adult.

Jokingly at first, and then regularly by some other youth and college students as year’s past, they and others compared me a bit to the character Tigger. In fact, some of them used that as a kind of nickname for a time. Since then, I have gotten many bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun gifts related to that energetic, optimistic tiger named, Tigger. Hopefully, I am still nurturing and growing in the best qualities from him as well.

Celebrating a past Winnie the Pooh anniversary.

Still at the time, this somewhat surprised me. As written about elsewhere, the pain of life had taken it’s toll in many ways, and as a human, I still can struggle to believe that I am always completely free as scripture promises (John 8:36). I had grown cynical as a cop. I can be rough around the edges. Yet these young adults saw that I was more than a few of my characteristics or my wounds. God used their childlike witness (and by connection Winnie the Pooh) to help me find my way not just to the Hundred Acre Woods but spiritually home. I rediscovered joy.

Unfortunately, too many, as I had, forget the lessons of their youth. And yet what we learned in the woods with Pooh and his friends, in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, or on Sesame Street and elsewhere still matters. They help us learn what it means to be a child of God. And if you doubt that value, remember what Jesus taught. To understand and receive his Kingdom, we must be like children letting go of pride, self-reliance, and status concerns while rediscovering wonder, playfulness, empathy and compassion, and more “childlikeness” rather than holding onto selfish expressions of childishness.

Saying that, I know that the world remains a hard place. Workaholism and need for control challenges we modern adults, not unlike Rabbit. Our perceived wisdom can turn into hubris, fall short, or leave us lacking like Owls’ own. I understand a children’s story isn’t the answer to all that ails us. Being so small in a big world beyond our control, we might find ourselves struggling for hope or lost in our sadness and grief like Eeyore.

And as one of our nation’s favorite library kid boosters, Mychal Threets, confesses and struggles with himself, mental illness is a very real thing that can be caused or complicated by biology (even if complicated by choices, family systems or inappropriate medical treatment). You can love books, even the Bible, and know them by heart and still suffer.

Yet our conditions are never who we are. Sometimes all one can do is try day by day. It is ok not to be ok. And in that, Michael echoes what we chaplains teach law enforcement officers. (If you need emotional support, reach out to the national mental health hotline by texting or calling 988.) And with the terrible realities that we all might face, we might even be tempted to waste our time submitting to these negative messages that we hear in our heads as if they were from Job’s wisest advisors. (But, we should not.) Ask for help, for your are worth it. God would not have created you otherwise.

Indeed, God can use the smallest and silliest things, including children’s’ books, to catch our attention and remind us that we are loved. God wants us to be comforted promising and reminding us through Isaiah (66:13a), “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” Scripture often teaches us that we should remember our God while still in our youth to learn and grow straight “before the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them'” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Yet never forget that God created us all to be children of God. There’s the divine trying to call each of us into love. Fun still matters. Joy is a necessity and can be chosen. Allow yourself to be loved and be childlike. Remember the God who created and cares for us out of love is the same one who gifted us with healthier human communities to help sustain us and grow. Even as imperfect as any human community can be (including in the Church and families), God is at work. Find people who will love, support, and accept you as you are and hope with you in all that God can and will make you become.

So no matter who laughs and scoffs at me, no matter how harshly judged, no matter what anyone thinks, I am publicly giving God thanks for my friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. They are now part of who I am and still teaching me.

Happy birthday, Pooh, you silly, old bear!

Quote from the 1997 animated film Pooh’s Grand Adventure: “The Search for Christopher Robin“

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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October 12, 2026 · 8:00 pm

Happy…Columbus Day?

Posted by the US Department of War,
not yet legally an official title by statute, although it is used as an official secondary title across the executive branch.

If interested, here are my thoughts on Columbus Day after seeing the Department of War’s post. (This does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of any of the organizations I am part of. Any errors are mine.) In short, the holiday has historic and ongoing value, but it comes with baggage too. I know that I have written about this before.

The holiday is complicated by Christopher Columbus’ mixed legacy – brave perhaps, benefiting trade and modernization, but it also comes to us stained with the very real harms of colonization, slavery and genocidal acts. Why do Italians hang onto it?

Italians, especially from the South and Sicily, looked different (often dark-skinned), spoke differently, and were of a feared faith, Roman Catholicism. They were often the new working poor and unaccepted. Jobs, housing and education were often denied, and slum living or unofficial villages near rivers became a norm of sorts.

Unfortunately, false accusations and violence came too late. Eleven Italian immigrants became accused of killing the New Orleans police chief. History states that most had been rounded up due to their ethnicity. Accusations arose that organized crime was trying to influence the government. The word “mafia” moved into the US lexicon for reportedly the first time. An angry mob did not accept the judgement of acquittal for several of the men. The largest mass lynching in the history of the United States was the result.

Initially the press was quite supportive of the lynchers. Theodore Roosevelt, I’ve heard, actually sent a private letter to someone commending what happened. Yet as Italian organizations complained and an angry Italian government’s diplomatic responses began to have effect, the xenophobic verbosity lessened.

As you can read in the Wikipedia article about this incident, President Harrison instituted Columbus Day on the 400th Anniversary of his voyage (1892) to help placate both Italy and Italians in the United States. President Harrison even agreed to pay a $25,000 indemnity to the victims’ families. (Which Congress unsuccessfully tried to derail.) Unfortunately, the death of the police chief became a rallying cry to nativists.

As prejudice and racist acts continued, Italians leaned into their faith and cultural celebrations. They welcomed Columbus Day as a hopeful sign. Many of the hated or even toppled statues of Columbus (including in Virginia) were put up as a claim to a new homeland and as a request for respect and recognition as equals. They often were put up despite overt threats and sometimes violent acts including bombings and attacks on Catholic Churches and universities from the KKK and others. The statues went up anyway as paid for through the donations of immigrant families.

The Italian lot did not progress much until WW2 when so many vets came home with an appreciation for Italian food, culture and sometimes wives. New Italian restaurants and Americano coffees became an acceptable thing. Then came Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and others. Like rap music, it caught the imagination of white youth and changed attitudes. (It’s important to note that particularly Sicilians and Southern Italians before this time were not considered white in the South.)

Even in my grandparents period, my and my wife’s relatives faced overt discrimination in education, jobs and housing in the North. Perhaps just changing the name of the holiday to Italian Appreciation Day would be a help, but I hope we don’t forget about this ugly past and learn from it. We need to remember it and Columbus – what he did, certainly, but why he became this icon – as we interact with new immigrants today. This link leads to the history video on Facebook: https://lnkd.in/eqa3KNiR

As for the War Department’s post. Hegseth is using the post to stir the pot with identity politics because he too often acts like a hard hearted child. From my experience and training, people in AA might call him a “dry drunk.” He seems to have many unresolved issues still harming himself, others, and our national security. His denomination is an angry, unhealthy one. He needs to go in order to stop the harm and negativity being caused. These are distractions when there are real dangers to address. I do pray for his repentance and growth toward personal peace with himself and others – although he’d scoff at me for that. He believes empathy is weak and a sin.

People might think this is inappropriate territory for a pastor, but I’m speaking this in love for him and others, not for punishment or degradation. He’s settling for a counterfeit version of the abundant life Jesus offers the entire universal Church, Christian nationalism. This is a stated desire by leaders of his denomination, dangerous to democracy and easily confirmed.

Indigenous People’s Day need not be put in competition with other cultures. That’s suspiciously looking to be the background intention of the War Department’s post even as it remains a Federal Holiday. As a simple Google search identified: “The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) did not issue a dedicated Indigenous Peoples’ Day social media post or public statement for October 12, 2026.” And recently with changes to rules regarding chaplains and faith, “The update removed the distinct “Native American Religion” category (along with 179 other specific faiths), placing service members whose specific beliefs are not individually listed under the “Other Religion” category for dog tags, military records, and chaplain services.”

Indigenous People’s Day meets a real need and stands on its own merits, as it should. I’m more than ok with it superseding my Italian celebration of culture. Italians have come a long way. I’ve benefited from the sacrifices of those that came before me. Now, others need the attention to help them find justice, acceptance and progress. It doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate my ancestors too even if on the same day.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated

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October 12, 2026 · 1:02 pm

Being Properly Dressed (Sermon)

Matthew 22:1: “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,”
[Digital Art]. By Bible.Art.

The readings for the 20h Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on October 12, 2026.

Today’s Parable of the Wedding Banquet is no different than any other parables that you might come across. As discussed before, parables are part of an ancient teaching method where students or disciples are meant to wrestle with the story in community to find answers – hopefully the best or correct answer. This means there might be several interpretations for the parable in question – some better than others, some wrong, and yet all interpretations can be helpful in affirming or growing our understanding. We learn as we wrestle. And with all the things going on in the world, I wrestled a long time this week. What should I say and not say.

For example with this parable of Jesus, you might hear among traditions that require baptism before reception of the Lord’s Supper that the one guest who refused to wear the robe in today’s parable was unbaptized. Recall Galatians 3 where the Apostle Paul writes, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” That imagery of spiritual transformation into a new person is thought to be represented by the wedding garment. And certainly, at least for the first seven centuries of the Church, many Christian catechumens came to the baptismal waters in their regular clothes, stripped naked, and left wrapped in symbolic white garments as they exited. It was only then that they could participate in holy Communion. This would be known to later Christians and might thus hold some truth for them and us (or those who hold this interpretation of value among us), but this was not yet the practice in Jesus’ time. Thus, this might miss the primary mark that Jesus intended.

Another more modern interpretation is from what is called the Womanist tradition. Womanist theology is a religious and ethical lens that attempts to integrate “the lived experiences, survival, and liberation of Black women.” Three days ago, I came across a Roman Catholic article by Emily Sanna asked the question, “What if God isn’t the king in the parable of the wedding feast?”[i] Instead of focusing on the King and the King’s actions, some Womanist theologians invite us to instead focus on the inbreaking of “God’s just and peaceable Kingdom” first. Quoting others, the author unpacks her challenge accepting a God that seemed so judgmental and harsh as in the parable when one considers other teachings about a loving, fatherly, gracious God found in the Gospel of Matthew. And so, the author asks us to consider:

Matthew’s gospel is full of people who quietly resist state power. The magi go home by another way and don’t tell Herod where to find Jesus. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, not on a war horse. When Satan offers worldly power, Jesus outright refuses it. What if this man’s garments are another example of this same [kind of] resistance?[ii]

She ponders whether we sometimes have mistaken empire for God’s table.

And yes, we are indeed in a time of growing Christian Nationalism where one can blur the lines between national identities and practices. We can forget that we are part of a universal community of saints, meant to cross worldly boundaries just as Jesus taught. With such bent thinking, we might be tempted to ignore the suffering and needs of other non-US Christians, brothers and sisters to us, never mind the strangers and enemies we are asked to love by Jesus. Our primary identity is meant to be that of “Christian” above any other. It confirms much as John Chrysostom, a 4th Century Christian Bishop, who wrote to the people of Antioch long ago (alluding to Hebrews 11:10), “If you are a Christian, no earthly city is yours. Even if we control the world, we are still immigrants and foreigners, because our citizenship is in heaven.”[iii]

This attitude might also help explain why so many Christians can easily call others “heretics,” “schismatics,” or “apostates,” looking and treating their brothers and sisters in Christ as unredeemable rather than just lost, wrong or misled. Some Christians prefer offering the “yoke of the pharisees.”[iv] People become easily damned and not worth talking to never mind looking for, as the lost sheep that they might be to Jesus. Yes, in the United States, such folks currently tend to be from Evangelical and Baptist traditions, but liberal traditions, Lutherans and other Christians fall into this judgmental trap often. I can at times do that too if I am honest. Within our hearts, it is too easy for us to throw others who disgust or challenge us into hell…the outer darkness Jesus talks about today.

And sadly, as heard recently from Professor Pugh in his presentation at Grace & Glory, some prominent Christians today even argue for what’s called theonomy, a view that the judicial and civil laws of the Old Testament given to ancient Israel still apply and should apply to government. So, if one has participated in adultery, or proves an apostate in their opinion, or is homosexual or is worshipping other Gods (among other laws), you might deserve the death penalty in their minds. They say this out loud! And in the darker corners of the internet through my law enforcement and chaplaincy roles, I have seen these specific desires and threats expressed and planned. It is real. And yet, they somehow call themselves Christian, too.

Then, as this week’s news cycle brings up, many Christians might also forget that every life is sacred even the life of our enemies. (And I am a person who is speaking of this as both a former soldier and police officer, so I have wrestled with this for a long time.) Perhaps someone “deserves death” in a fallen world, but might they not be shown mercy anyway? As Paul argues in Romans 6, we all deserve death. He says that. We all deserve death because no one can fulfill the Law. We are saved by grace through faith alone, not our works. So perhaps we should not rush too quickly to kill others, even when seemingly deserved, or perceived as legal, or thought a just necessary action in our world. For, we ultimately defeat evil with good (Romans 12:21).

Nonetheless, if a government truly deems it a necessity to take a life within our fallen world using our imperfect justice systems – and no matter the country, they remain imperfect because they are made by humans – we might also like to remember our own Savior’s death. He was executed as public spectacle with many martyrs to follow him. Violence as found in the Roman Circus never honored the sanctity of God-given life. It diminished it. That was the intention. And perhaps that’s why totalitarian governments not concerned with Jesus’ teachings are those hosting public executions in modern times – Iran, the Taliban, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. This, too, should give us pause.

So, into this mix, I want to present to you a more ancient view stemming from Jesus’ own context when he first shared it. (It might help, and we can talk more late if you like.) Remember, this parable is offered during Jesus’ last week. He is now in open conflict with those in religious power, and they want to be rid of him. It follows on the heels of The Parable of the Tenants where the son of the landowner is murdered. Jesus explains it more clearly than other parables saying to hypocrites in power around him, “Therefore I tell you [those like the tenants], the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits” – spiritual fruits. Walter Wilson notes the clear imperial nature of Matthew’s framing, “interpreting the invitees as municipal leaders, ‘their refusal to attend the banquet as an expression of political disloyalty toward the royal family,’ and their violent treatment of the palace emissaries as ‘an act of sedition.’”[v] So, this parable might also be intended to target those religious leaders standing before Jesus for their ongoing actions and attitudes toward “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

Although our God is a loving and gracious God, we should not ignore that the Jewish scriptures understood and Jesus taught about a time of eschatological (or End Times) judgement. Judgement Say is real, but this should not frighten us as Lutherans, for we understand and accept that we are still sinners although saved by what Jesus has done…only his works. Professor Carolyn Sharp (Yale Divinity School) rightly reminds us:

“This ‘outer darkness’ [referred to in the passage] occurs also in 8:12 and 25:30 (and not in the Lukan parallels) as the eschatological destination of ‘heirs of the kingdom’ who have proved to be faithless or incompetent stewards of that which has been entrusted to them. The threefold iteration of the motif underscores how serious Matthew is about end-time torment awaiting those who dishonor the invitation of God’s grace.”[vi]

We might also discover the astonishing news that this eschatological banquet serves a bulwark (a protection) against all darkness.[vii] This promised celebration will come to fullness during a time outside time within a new heaven and earth where all tears will be wiped away (Revelation 21:4). Our God is a Mighty Fortress just as we Lutherans so often sing.[viii] Just like Isaiah proclaimed in his writings today. God is a mighty fortress protecting us.

Yet, we cannot become complacent. In our ongoing imperfection, we are to confess our sins and return to the Lord each day…every one of us. Here, Matthew is drawing upon earlier Jewish texts, for “Even those who had accepted the invitation of God but are spiritually unprepared are at risk. In this light, the [witty but truth-filled phrase] ‘Many are called, but few are chosen’” is as it appears in 4 Ezra 8:1, 3 and here in Matthew 22:14. It is meant to be absolutely chilling and challenging to each and every one of us who follow Jesus.[ix] We should look at ourselves and examine our behaviors. Are we loving the least of these well? Are we reflecting the Spirit’s fruits?

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer discovered in the time of World War 2 Germany, the Church becomes too easily filled with people who accept a counterfeit or deformed Gospel; accepting cheap grace with no implications or actions expected in response. We humans can become spiritually lazy rather than striving to be Christ-like with the Spirit’s help.[x] For loving others is hard. No one denies that. It is often against our human nature.

Despite failures, it remains true that in Genesis 3, God made garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve, a sign of God’s grace amidst their own rebellion. There are many instructions and commands regarding the use and care of religious garments in the Jewish scriptures.[xi] Garments were thought to reflect one’s tribe and one’s purpose. In the Psalms, God’s loving activity and light is often compared to a garment. And the prophets speak of putting on the Lord’s splendor like a garment. So, the original listeners could have made many complimentary interpretations.

Thus, I propose to you that the garment is meant to define who we are and who we trust in through faith; faith itself being a gift reflecting that garment worn. One modern Orthodox resource alluded to Baptism, but more so, the author argues we will be examined at the End of Time to see if we have shared in a life of repentance within the Church. (Of course, in his mind, it is only the Orthodox Church alone that’s the Church, but I would suggest this applies to the universal Church.). Did we hunger for God’s mercy? Did we share it with others as we were first loved?

Indeed, Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 12 March 604), a Pope before the breaking of Christendom into East and West, who is commemorated for his Christian life and witness on our ELCA calendar on September 12 each year, argued in a sermon that ultimately the garment is God’s love…God’s transformative love. For, “[Jesus] came as a bridegroom to unite Himself to the Church. There was no other means than God’s love by which the Only-begotten could unite the souls of the elect with Himself. This is why John tells us: God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son (John 3:16). He who came to [humanity] for love’s sake, calls this love the wedding garment.”[xii]

Of utmost importance, to Gregory, echoing Jesus’ teachings on fulfilling the Law (including in Matthew’s Gospel), this garment has two threads: the love of God and love of neighbor. As Jesus taught in Matthew’s account, this is the greatest commandment. This doesn’t necessarily exclude one referencing the Baptism, the Eucharist, or political and social realties that surround us, but that explicit connection seems a bit forced if Gregory the Great’s argument and many other ancient arguments like it hold true.

Matthew’s Gospel was first written for a Jewish Christian community struggling to find their way forward after the Ascension of Jesus and the faith-challenging destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans. They were being thrown out of Synagogues and their families, often persecuted. And yet amidst this uncertainty and perhaps because of it, this time proved perfect to celebrate a foretaste of the feast to come, “the banquest” to come – gathering with the saints to remember Jesus in his appointed Supper, feeding the hungry, healing the wounded, seeking the lost and lonely, visiting those in prison, and offering forgiveness, patience and love to all those trespassing against us, even our enemies.

This is absolutely not the world’s way, but it is the way of the divine Kingdom as Jesus presents it during his first discourse in Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7) with the Beatitudes. And that passage helps us interpret all that follows. We are no longer to be dressed as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), for we have been made new, clothed in Christ’s love. This new garment, Christ’s love, changes our relationship with God and others forever.

Yet know that as with any new clothing, this gifted garment might feel awkward at first as we try to love.[xiii] Growing into it can prove an inside out process to make it fit better supernaturally over time. The Spirit uses our trials, our errors, and our repeated repentance to help perfect us. Rather than offering any perfect, instantaneous holiness, we are invited to participate in this divine movement toward ultimate perfection.[xiv]

Still, we are invited and included to the banquet all the same. We don’t have to give up our seat or fear being cast out because of our struggles with sin. We sinner-saints can celebrate. For as Jesus has taught just shortly before this parable, it is not the will of our Father who is in heaven that one of his little ones should perish (see Matthew 18:14 and 2 Peter 3:9). We can seek to love without fear, as Jesus loved us. Amen.

[i] Sanna, E. (October 8, 2026). “What if God isn’t the king in the parable of the wedding feast?” U.S. Catholic [Digital Edition]. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202610/what-if-god-isnt-the-king-in-the-parable-of-the-wedding-feast/

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] John Chrysostom (c. 387 AD). “Homilies on the Statues” [Homily XVII, section 2 or similar text depending on the translation].

[iv] See Matthew 23.

[v] Sharp, C.J. (October 2026). “Commentary on Matthew 22:1-14.” Working Preacher.  https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28/commentary-on-matthew-221-14-10

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] Consider the lyrics of A Mighty Fortress is Our God based on Psalm 46.

[ix] Ibid. Sharp, C.J.

[x] I suggest one read The Cost of Discipleship for more on this subject.

[xi] Much of the below is adapted from a blog post I wrote in 2020. In discussing Holy Communion, this parable came up. https://2-penny-blog.com/2020/02/11/whose-dressed-properly-for-communion/

[xii] Gregory the Great. “The Wedding Garment: An excerpt from Parables of the Gospel by Pope Saint Gregory the Dialogist.” OrthoChristian.com. https://orthochristian.com/106276.html

[xiii] Taylor, P.S. (June 14, 2015). “From Robes to Skin: When Christ’s Righteousness Becomes Ours.” Seedbed. https://seedbed.com/from-robes-to-skin-when-christs-righteousness-becomes-ours/

[xiv] I suggest a modern classic text by Dr. Larry Crabb, Inside Out, to explore this further.  

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 25:10 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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August 24, 2026 · 11:33 pm

The True Foundation (Sermon)

Image by Kelsey Todd on Unsplash, licensed under CCO.

The readings for the 13th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on August 23, 2026.

Today with the din of recent Jewish faith discussions and debates still echoing in his ears, Jesus pauses to asks his friends, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” That term, “Son of Man,” is steeped in Jewish tradition and theology. In both Jewish and Christian scriptures, the term could indicate the humility of a mere mortal in comparison to God’s glory. It could be used as an address by God speaking to some prophets, or it is used be Jesus roughly seventy-eight times when referring to himself.[i] So, we might assume that term is pretty important.

In using the Son of Man title, Jesus echoes an image from a vision first given to the Prophet Daniel. One “like the Son of Man” would be “given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). Thus, Jesus is subtly embodying and claiming that role for himself. He’s the savior. He’s the Lord.

Then, Jesus further reveals himself through his authentic teaching and preaching. He speaks as if with authority…as if he is God. Jesus embodies this authority as he heals the sick, exorcises demons, calms seas, feeds multitudes in miraculous ways, and resurrects people. Jesus used this title to affirm his authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10 for example) and act as Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). Those with the eyes to see, as empowered by the Spirit, will recognize Jesus as Lord.

Yet, many people misjudge Jesus. Just a few verses before, Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus to challenge him. Normally adversarial factions within Judaism, debating about religious practice, scripture, and authority among the people of Israel, they have now become united in their opposition to Jesus…over their concerns about Jesus.[ii]

And as for the general population, as can happen in our own time under social stress, many people fear the End was near as they look at the state of the world around them. Jerusalem was under Roman rule. The Herodian Dynasty was friendlier to Greek ideals than Jewish ones, and they were vassals to Rome. People longed for freedom and the fulfillment of God’s eschatological, if not apocalyptic, promises.

In such a state, some like the Essenes lived extreme lives in the desert sharing in what we might today label a kind of a cultish, communal life. Other people claimed to be or were wrongly identified as the promised Messiah as they rallied people to fight Rome for liberty. This violence helped lead to the military occupation of Judah and the arrival of Pontius Pilat. And many prophets appeared; not all recorded in scripture. Some of these proved false prophets, much as some are appearing in our own time.

In this mix, John the Baptist served and died. We understand now that he prepared the way for Jesus, but at the time, he was primarily recognized as a great prophet in his own right. Some held out hope that he was the Messiah, so maybe…just maybe…John the Baptist would fulfill God’s past promised and come back to life.

Now, this might sound strange to us, but recall that to this day, a small Gnostic group called the Mandaeans who still view John the Baptist as their greatest and ultimate prophet.[iii] To them, Jesus is a false prophet. And in our own nation, a small sect of Hassidic Jews believes their rabbi who died in 1994 is the Messiah. They await his resurrection to complete their redemption.[iv] They think he is the promised Messiah. Likewise, there was and remains a belief that Elijah or Jeremiah would come back when it came time for God’s promises to Israel to be fulfilled. Throughout time, people have and will wrongly place their hope in figures other than Jesus.

That said, surrounded by Pagan temples to false gods, Jesus asks another important question…perhaps the most important eternally. “But who do you think that I am?” In my mind’s eye, I see the great Apostles hesitate. They might even be visibly hemming and hawing a bit, murmuring among themselves.  They have likely been discerning together this very point for a while as they walked or rested, but now? Now, they must uncomfortably declare what they believe in front of Jesus and one another.

And reflecting his bold personality but also his leadership role in the group, Simon blurts out their shared hope. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Here, Simon has spoken the ultimate truth about Jesus. He has named the proverbial key to it all…the foundation of our faith that rests in Jesus. And as is not unusual in tribal based societies, Jesus gives Simon a new name to reflect this momentous action or moment. He is renamed Peter which means Rock.

Yet interestingly, Jesus does not give him full credit. Flesh and blood have not revealed this to Peter – not any computations in his mind, or words of another apostle or any human. God the Father has revealed this through God’s Spirit. As Lutheran Christians, we understand that only through God’s work can we identify Jesus as Lord. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, it is the Holy Spirit at work in you. You have been called and chosen no matter how small, weak, and imperfect you feel.

Yet, some Christians still overly focus on our personal decision to believe in Jesus…as if faith is a moment in time, a declaration we must make, or something under our power. So much so, people can forget that it isn’t fully our decision after all. It is good to stand up and declare Jesus our Lord. (Lutherans do so at baptisms, and every time we say the Creed, and even when we become adults in the Church through the rite of Confirmation.) God comes to us first…decides to love us and set us apart. Yes, we might read scripture and learn about Jesus, hear of Jesus from others and be invited to follow, but a lot of people have read scripture or heard of Jesus and not come to believe. Yet, the Spirit alone acts within these actions and circumstances to help reveal to us the divine identity of Jesus to us. This is when the time is right for us and the community around us.

 Then, we have the problem of what exactly is the rock that Jesus will build his Church upon. Popes, Patriarchs, pastors and priests, along with self-proclaimed Apostles, Prophets and charlatans, have at times declared they are the arbiters of faith at times. Sometimes this puts Christians at odds as much or even more so then the Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests, Essenes and other sects existing in Jesus’ time.

Yet Christ is our cornerstone, and that statement of faith in Jesus as Messiah, Son of the Living God, proves our shared foundation…nothing else on this earth…no Pope, no denomination, no dogma, no theology, no worship style, no hymnal, not even ourselves. In scripture, the Letter to the Hebrews simply declares, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

If you take the time to review Luther’s writings or even just the ELCA’s website, you will hear that Martin Luther similarly wrote, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace,” a grace that comes to us only through the sacrifice, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, as the Son of God; pointing us in love toward others and the world. Yes, in trying to follow Jesus, Christians can wrongly claim exclusivity. We are right, and others are wrong. We are saved, and they are not. Yet in doing so, as again Luther cautioned, we risk being unbiblical by serving as divine judge and limiting God’s authority to dispense grace as God wills.[v] This echoes the yeast of the Pharisees: hypocrisy, rigid religiosity, and placing obstacles in the way of faith. No, we are not saved by perfect theology or actions…just grace.

Thankfully since the horrors of World War 2 with Christians murdering Christians and many others, there has been a great effort to work towards oneness; remembering that Jesus prayed that his Church may be one as our Triune God is one (John 1722). Even some Roman Catholic resources understand that “In Matthew 16 and [later] Matthew 18, Jesus gives the disciples authority over binding and loosing,” all of them, not just Peter.[vi]  The same authority given to Peter in Matthew 16 is given to all the disciples in Matthew 18. It says “you all” have the power to bind and loose. The Pharisees used that specific term, “binding and loosing,” and Jesus and his first disciples knew what it meant. And that phrase inferred that we are to communally “discern authoritative, doctrinal, and disciplinary decisions.”[vii]

In the end, we who believe in Jesus share the keys to the Kingdom, but Jesus remains Lord of his House. Thus, our declarations regarding faith and life, as well as our ecumenical if not interfaith discussions and disagreements, can prove important. Yet we need to humbly remember that we always can err. Our pronouncements can become a wound to others or distraction from biblical truth. We need to remain humble, not triumphant, continuously reforming in light of the revelation of scripture; repenting as necessary. We are to do so in conversation with one another and the teachings of the historic Church, those that came before us. Yet again, Jesus warns us to proceed with caution, not pride, as did Paul in our letter today. For we and our pronouncements can become a stumbling block to another’s fragile faith through our lack of patience, wrongheaded attitudes, blind arguments, lack of compassion, empathy, or love.[viii] Because that is the yeast of the Pharisees.

Echoing the Lutheran theologian (from the late 1800s to early 1900s), Ernst Troeltsch, we discover that we should not confuse sect with Church. To him, a sect is a small, voluntary, and exclusive group that rejects the secular world and demands intense personal devotion from its members and a conscious, adult conversion. Meanwhile, a healthy Church aims to include all of society, even infants through Baptism. It accepts secular authority, reflecting Luther’s own belief in Two Kingdoms. Imperfect as they can be, god can use them. The Church is a place where grace is mediated through sacraments.[ix] We understand that to be Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Still, even then, Jesus says that he came to draw all people to himself through his sacrifice (John 12:32). The Spirit might yet widen our definition and understanding of the eternal “Church” in surprising ways beyond our imagination…but that’s God’s judgement.

Most simply, faith remains trust in Jesus as the Son of the Living God. Faith in him ultimately makes us saints despite our sins, and creates one holy, catholic (meaning universal) Church despite our denominational divisions or blindness. Thus, Christ’s Church is not any building, singular polity or religious practice, but a spiritual, imperfect communion of those in the flesh that trust in Jesus as Lord…sinner-saints all…in need of ongoing repentance and grace. I’ve often said to friends, my faith is in God, not my denomination.

Remember, it was Jesus who established and continues to build his Church for our sake. He is here with us when two or three gathers in his name to heal our wounds, to forgive our sin, to move us toward reconciliation, and through God’s Spirit seeks to draw us closer to God’s self and make us more holy…transforming us as Paul says. It is he who called each of us here today…or drew you to watch online…and asks us to love others as we are loved. We can come without fear with open hearts declaring Jesus as our Lord. For our faith is in Jesus, the Son of the Living God, who has come to love and save us. Our faith will be used to connect us to him and one another under his roof, the Church, forever…because he loves us, and he is our God. Amen.

[i] “Son of Man,” Harper Collins Bible Dictionary and Harper Collins Commentary.

[ii] At least as a whole, this proves true. Some will come to believe in Jesus despite the animosity of the religious groups or classes they belong to.

[iii] See “Mandaeans” on Wikipedia. Numbered from around 60,000 to 100,000 believers today. “They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives.” Based in Iraq, they have been persecuted and spread out due to the Iraq War.

[iv] See “Menachem Mendel Schneerson” on Wikipedia. “During his lifetime, many of his adherents believed that he was the Messiah, though not all Chabadniks subscribe to this belief. His own attitude to the subject, and whether he proclaimed it, is hotly debated among academics and scholars of Judaism.”

[v] The Augsburg Confession indicates that we wanted to remain in relationship among differences, but as time went on, Lutherans also condemned many, including other Lutherans, sometimes killing or persecuting them. And we were and are condemned in turn by others.

[vi] See for example https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/blog/whatever-you-bind-and-loose. In addition, the Catholic Catechism and Canon Law indicates the Pope only has infallible authority when making rare, dogmatic declaration on faith and morals. As noted by Catholic Answers at https://www.catholic.com/tract/papal-infallibility, infallibility means protection from teaching doctrinal error. It does not mean the pope is free from personal sin or bad decisions. Martin Luther argued that Councils could err along with the pope. Papal infallibility was not claimed until the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).

[vii] Catholic Productions. https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/blog/whatever-you-bind-and-loose.

[viii] See, for example, Mathew 18:6 or Matthew 19:14.  

[ix] Troeltsch, E. (1931). The social teaching of the Christian churches (O. Wyon, Trans.). Macmillan. (Original work published 1912). The Lutheran Confessions indicate that the Church is made of “congregations of saints [believers] in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered.” This is from Article VII (Of the Church) in The Augsburg Confession. His argument draws from this basic Lutheran understanding.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 33:15 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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August 6, 2026 · 12:57 am

Serving More Than Bread (Sermon)

The Feeding of the 5000, from Das Plenarium, woodcut print (1517), by Hans Schäufelein. Available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

The readings for the 10th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21, Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on August 2, 2026.

As a former youth pastor, I know well that when the Church considers the Feeding of the Five Thousand, we often do so in the context of Vacation Bible School or Sunday School. It is kind of a “kid friendly” story, because kids understand bread. They eat it every day. It is something they can experience through their senses. Jesus, the Bread of Life, can be revealed to them through something as simple as bread. And if we bake it with our children or youth? Oh, that’s always an exciting activity – and likely a messy one to boot. This, of course, only helps with the story’s popularity.

Yet, this ancient story isn’t just a children’s tale. Baked into it, we find connections to the earliest scriptures, the circumstances surrounding Jesus and his ministry, and even a pinch of End Times eschatology. As a participant in our Bible study astutely pointed out, there’s a connection to the parables we’ve been hearing from most recently. Jesus has been teaching about the growing expanding nature of the Kingdom of God. Then further, Jesus who was born in Bethlehem (meaning House of Bread”) also identified himself as the Bread of Life. He said, “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” We rightly anticipate that there’s a lot going on here…something more than charity.

Oh yes, Jesus is not just serving up bread this morning. He’s not just feeding hungry people. And as fun as it might be to try to explain away or understand the “how” of what is done, as humans looking back, we cannot truly know. We must accept a mystery of this miracle, for that search can become a distraction or even an impediment to faith. One might better consider why did Jesus do this in the way he did? And why did all the Gospel writers include this story? The earliest Church understood this event as something critical to Jesus’ mission and identity.

And thus, Matthew goes out of his way to specifically explain that Jesus was exhausted by the demands of the crowd. Indeed, Jesus had tried to escape them. He’s probably also grieving the loss of his cousin, John the Baptist. And thus far, his efforts in ministry has been toward healing including exorcisms. These are therefore called “therapeutic miracles.”[i] They tend to meet the concrete needs of the persons touched by them…Jesus often literally touches the person in need as the miracle happens but not necessarily so. In these instances of healing, Jesus is embodying promises related to God’s love and the promised Messiah. He echoes the behaviors of some of the previous prophets. His activity roots him in the shared faith and hope of the Jewish people…but it also attracts many people to him. People who are hungry for something more than bread.

As Professor Matt Skinner rightly points out, “The crowds know [Jesus] as a healer, so they come to him for healing, not conversion. In the passage in front of us, he is not forgiving sins or teaching about finding belonging within a new kinship group. These crowds of Jews who seek him don’t appear to be religiously marginalized or dissatisfied in any way.”[ii] This is true as far as we can tell from the text. Certainly, we cannot know everyone’s motivation, yet regardless of how and why they were there, no matter how tired he was, Jesus sees them in their need. More than that, he has compassion upon them…all of them. It doesn’t matter if they believe in him or not. Jesus had compassion for them.

In the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus to be sure is acting in a way fulfilling Isaiah 55 (which we heard today) along with other texts. There’s an invitation to faith, but it is not forced. Jesus demonstrated a provision and care for all, even as more than food was being offered. In his actions, Jesus embodied how God fed the Israelites with Manna in the desert. And just as Elijah performed a miracle with flour and oil to feed a widow and her son for days (1 Kings 17), and his successor Elisha went further by multiplying bread to feed 100 men using only 20 small barley loaves and some fresh grain (2 Kings 4), Jesus here goes further. He feeds more than five thousand people. Jesus wants people to believe in him as not just a prophet or miracle worker, but as the Son of our Living God, the promised Messiah. Jesus reveals himself and his power through this meal.

Yet unlike the garish meal of King Herod Antipas a few verses earlier which would lead to sin and death, particularly death for John the Baptist, this meal that Jesus offers to the crowd is quite different. It speaks of community, provision, and life. Yet it would not be Jesus final word on the matter. Echoing promises in Isaiah, just a few verses after the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus will again feed a large crowd. A mass feeding happens twice in Matthew. Note that only Matthew records both meals. So, why?

In the Feeding of the Five Thousand, we see twelve baskets of food remain. This parallels the twelve Apostles certainly, but before them, it reminds us of the twelve tribes of Israel and God’s promises to them. In ancient Jewish numerology, the number came to represent divine governance and completeness as well. So, symbolically with the numbers, those familiar might understand God’s promises are involved in what Jesus is doing.

Similarly in the Feeding of the Four Thousand, seven large baskets remain. Seven came to represent completeness and perfection. In Jewish mysticism, it speaks of the integration of the spiritual into the physical world which is what is happening through Jesus. It is interesting that the Hebrew word for seven, שֶׁבַע (pronounced sheh-BAH), shares a linguistic root with שָׁבַע (pronounced shah-VAH) meaning to swear an oath or covenant, as well as שָׂבַע (pronounced sah-VAH), meaning fullness or satisfaction. With the seven loaves, we are reminded symbolically that Jesus is perfectly fulfilling God’s earlier promises or oaths to satiate those he loves.

In both meals, Jesus embodies and symbolizes the fulfillment of earlier promises through the food that is left over. Yet perhaps the most significant aspect of these two accounts is that where the crowd of five thousand was filled with Jewish people, the feeding of four thousand addressed the needs of primarily gentile people. Again, God’s loving kindness is expanding to become more inclusive as always promised. People are coming to the Jewish people and ultimately God through Jesus. We are reminded again that salvation is not just the Jews. From the start, God intended to call Gentiles. Indeed, Jesus says he came to call all people to himself (John 12:32).

Therefore, these meals are anything but ordinary. Jesus is serving up salvation. The Kingdom is bring made manifest. We are witnessing what is called a nontheraputic miracle.[iii] In the midst of “little faith,” Jesus reveals his awesome authority.[iv] By exercising power over wind and wave, walking on water, or multiplying the food before him, those of us with the eyes to see are meant to discover that he is indeed the Son of the Living God who has come to find, care for, and save his sheep…all of them…fulfilling God’s most ancient promises. Jesus has come to satisfy us fully.

And this Jesus, Son of God, could have fed everyone with the snap of his fingers or just a thought. Yet what does Jesus do? Foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper and a foretaste of the ultimate feast yet to come, Jesus takes the bread and blesses it. Then, Jesus gives it to the disciples. From there, it is to be passed out and shared with the crowd. Jesus uses his followers as he will use his future Church. We are sent to preach, teach, and baptize. We are sent to heal.

Even today in modern times, we are gathered and we are sent to others each and every week. We take a collection of money, food and other items in order to share. We are offered grace, so that we can bless others. We come hungry, but we leave full for a divine purpose. We are forgiven, not just for our own sake, but so that we can forgive others and call others to Jesus so they too can have an abundant, eternal life. We love because Jesus loved us first (1 John 4:19).

In these verses, not only might we discover who Jesus is, we catch a glimpse of what we as Church are meant to be. What we do or give to others is not just about charity even as it helps others. Any nonprofit or person outside of Christianity can give to others. (See Matthew 5:46-48, for example, where Jesus says just that.) Through our service, charity, and all aspects of our daily life done in the name of Jesus, we are used by God to reveal the values of his Kingdom which is not of this world. These are values reflecting generosity beyond rational belief; ultimately pointing to Jesus and our salvation. Through our love given freely, we are to become a witness – a witness to all the peoples (Isaiah 55:4).

Previously, I’ve told you that all that happens in Matthew relates back to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapter 5-7). This teaching that I just referred to was first revealed in Matthew while Jesus shared the Beatitudes. As a children’s curriculum simply puts it, “The Beatitudes includes nine sayings from Jesus about the hearts and actions of people living out his Kingdom reality.”[v] The “Big Idea” about the Sermon on the Mount and the Kingdom of Heaven described, they say, is, “a new kind of society where generosity, justice, and peace reign. It’s a world where love is the final word.”[vi] It is a world where our God who is love intends to work through us. Jesus’ Kingdom is one in which suffering, hunger, loneliness, grief, selfishness, and so much more that troubles us will ultimately be defeated, even death itself.

And thus, Jesus taught at the same time as the Beatitudes about the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6). We are asked to ask God for all our needs, “our daily bread,” “extending through all conditions on Earth,”[vii] trusting that God’s will is to indeed meet all our needs for food and beyond. Martin Luther in his Large Catechism says, “that all our shelter and protection rest in prayer alone. For we are far too feeble to cope with the Devil and all his power and adherents that set themselves against us, and they might easily crush us under their feet.”[viii]

Simply, we cannot save ourselves. We rely on God’s grace for everything. And so, we rightly trust in God and so we rightly turn to the God who has promised to love and care for us for all good things, our daily bread…not because we deserve it but because of who God is and the promises God has made to us.  We ask trusting that we are embraced within God’s gracious, expanding, overflowing will to provide for us now and eternally.

For this reason, as Jesus feeds the crowds through the foreshadowing of the Church and the sacrament (the Lord’s Supper particularly), as Jesus reveals himself to us and his great love for us through his compassion, we also learn a bit about our own part in this mysterious, inbreaking Kingdom of God. We are called to similar compassion reflecting his love for us. We are asked to seek to be like Jesus in our daily walk with God’s help; unashamed to point to Jesus all the while.

Yes, hunger will be persistent until the Kingdom comes to fullness. While we wait, “God summons the church to mercy, generosity, and problem-solving,” writes Professor Skinner.[ix] Still, just as many prophets of old were resisted, abused or killed, or John was rejected and killed, and Jesus is condemned to the cross, we might need to carry our own crosses as well; potentially sacrificing all that we hold dear.  Yet the promised Kingdom is coming nonetheless. It is already at work around us and in us.

In the meal we heard about today, in the meal we are about to share, in the way we share all that we are as bread for a hungry world, we become living signs of the Kingdom. We reflect and reveal Jesus, the Bread of Life, who is here with us and working though us.

Seeing others in their need, having compassion upon them, we have the capacity to perform miracles through the smallest acts of love. In a world that tends to reject Jesus, or that too often laughs at compassion, we are set aside as witnesses of the Risen Christ. We aren’t just meeting needs. We are to remember that each loving action done in faith is meant to reveal Jesus as our Savior to a hungry world. Amen.

[i] Card, M. (2013). Matthew: The Gospel of Identity. Lisle, IL: InterVarsity Press. p. 70.

[ii] Skinner, M. (July 2026). Commentary on Matthew 14:13-21. Working Preacher. As downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18/commentary-on-matthew-1413-21-7 on July 31, 2026.

[iii] Card, M. (2013). p. 77.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Bible Project. “Bible Project Guide: The Beatitudes.” As downloaded at https://bibleproject.com/guides/the-beatitudes on July 31, 2026.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Luther, M. (1529). Large Catechism. Part 3, Paragraph 76.

[viii] Luther, M. (1529). Large Catechism. Part 3, Paragraph 30.

[ix] Skinner, M. (July 2026)

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 21:57 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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July 13, 2026 · 4:41 pm

Made fruitful (Sermon)

Photo credit: Selma_Explores on Facebook, 2/16/2026 Public Post

The readings for the 7th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Isaiah 55:10-13; Psalm 65:1-13, Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on July 12, 2026.

While living in the high desert of Arizona, I would be amazed time and again at where and when I could observe signs of new life. There would be so little rain over several weeks (if rain at all), temperatures reached nearly 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and still, I would see plants clinging with all their might to rocky cliffs. Other plants would break through the hardest soil. These plants in turn would help support even more life.

And when it rained, the desert could sometimes literally burst forth into a symphony of colors where (at least as a believer) one could not help but give glory to God. As the Creator of all things, God has a purpose for everything under the sun…even when the sun burns at its brightest, water is scarce, and life seems nearly impossible. God is still there at work; creating, nurturing, and transforming life.

 Jesus and his contemporaries understood nature perhaps better than we modern people do. Certainly, they lived in an age of empire with many new technologies compared to the past. Great cities sprang up improving the quality of life and changing the idea of what it means to be a people beyond tribal affiliations. Indeed, even the early Church would first flourish fastest in urban centers. And yet, the region for the most part remained an agricultural one. The people themselves stayed rooted in the land around them and aware of all the challenges and risks of farming.

And so here in the third large block of Jesus’ teachings found in Matthew’s Gospel, as in many other parts of the Gospel of Matthew, we encounter an allusion to nature and the agrarian culture of Jesus. And why not? During his life on earth, Jesus likely ate what he helped grow, assisted in the harvest, and made things out of local plant life as most of the rural poor of first century Galilee would do daily.[i] With this intimate familiarity, Jesus would understandably use agrarian images to help people comprehend a very difficult, other worldly concept…the Kingdom of Heaven…These images helped demonstrate to his disciples and the crowds how this spiritual kingdom was breaking into and blooming amidst the dryness and thorns of their very real world.

Thus, today’s parable is not an interactive parable (as Jesus so often used) asking us to identify with a particular character or situation. No, instead, this parable is uniquely and purely illustrative of the Kingdom of God at work. Particularly if we look to the episode which comes just before with the Pharisees rejecting Jesus’ teaching, and the one to come soon after where even the people of his hometown reject him, we should be able to identify that this parable is specifically about Jesus and his mission. Jesus is the Sower, scattering his invitation to faith; trying to call all people to himself and facing rejection by too many.

Without being first-century people or perhaps with our not being farmers or gardeners, our minds might at first focus on the Sower alone. Yet, the soil is important too. The Sower casts his seeds amply, perhaps one might say graciously, all about. You might already know that where the seed lands in farming and in this story is important …critically important. It is true some ancient farmers did cast their seed…over seeded…tossing seed generously here and there in the hope that something would grow.

Yet, the Jewish people in Jesus’ day had also been adapting new techniques and technologies. With attentive nurturing and care, crops could grow more abundantly and in unlikely places. Indeed, the true nature of the soil would be revealed as one plowed and cared for it. Sometimes the ultimate value of the soil could surprise one.

This story, my friends, is ultimately about God and the Kingdom of Heaven breaking into our lives through Jesus – trying to grow in and through our hearts to stretch his branches out into the world. Along with recognizing Jesus, we are invited to ask, “Will our lives prove productive or unproductive soil in response?” It is a parable, a common teaching method of Jesus’ day, and as students, we are meant to wrestle with its meaning – and there can be more than one for any parable. It is through wrestling that we come to new understandings. Or better yet, Jesus reveals himself and God’s kingdom to us in new ways. As humans, we often learn better through struggle than if an answer was simply provided to us. And in Jesus’ parables, we need God’s help to understand…particularly understand who Jesus is or how the Kingdom of God operates differently than the world around us.  

You see, in reading the full passage (rather than just the appointed lectionary reading for this Sunday which skips a few verses)[ii], we learn that Jesus identifies his intended interpretive lens. It is specifically Isaiah 6. That passage reveals why Jesus uses so many parables to teach in the first place. According to Isaiah, some people will listen and listen yet never understand. They will look and look and never perceive.

This is not God’s doing though. The Spirit of Wisdom is reaching out to them. Yet, they have let their hearts grow cold, closed their ears and eyes, or chosen otherwise poorly…or perhaps the world or sin has gotten the better of them; blinding them to the truth before them. If only they would turn back, God would cure them, Isaiah promises.

Indeed, scripture teaches elsewhere that we cannot identify Jesus as Son of the Living God without the Spirit’s help. Still at some level, no matter how rocky and cold our hearts have become, even when we have let our doubts and darkness speak to us, we still have reason to hope.

With the help of the Spirit who plants faith, hope, and love in our lives, things can grow clearer…faith stronger…in time. Some of us might even go through what some Christians call the “Dark Night of the Soul,”[iii] where we experience painful situations or an existential crisis that seem to strip our lives of meaning and purpose. These can be times that make us wonder if there is a God that loves us or any God at all.

Yet, Jesus promises through faith we will come to understand. We will grow in love if we simply trust in him. That trust includes our efforts to cooperate with the grace offered us…to intentionally seek openness to the Spirit…a response to God’s call. You see, the Holy Spirit will never force its way upon us, but desires that we welcome it…that we invite the Spirit in and help clear a way for it much as Mary, the Mother of God, did (Luke 1:38).

It will be that Spirit who uncovers our place and purpose in life over time and reveals the ultimate value of the soil that lies beneath the surface – our true value. Such meaning and purpose lie often quite deep underneath our surface identities. We are children of God, and despite our struggles and sin, we are declared by Jesus to be good ground. What grows might even surprise us if we dare follow him.

Nonetheless, the “good ground” Jesus speaks of isn’t necessarily perfect ground…In fact, the yield might vary 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown…Yet always, openness to Jesus and his Good News is where real growth and change begin. We must dare to trust. The gift of faith connects us to Jesus and the work of the Kingdom. It helps us to be more resilient and grow despite drought or storm. And as one gardener noted while reflecting upon this passage, “Good soil can also be the work of gardeners, who tend the soil as carefully as they tend the plants.”[iv] The soil matters to the Sower. Despite all we might do or fail to do, Jesus yearns for us to understand and desires to help us.

Thus, throughout our lives…not just when we come to believe or are baptized…throughout our entire life until our last breath…God reaches out to us again and again through people, circumstances, and Holy Scripture, to draw us closer, open us up to grace, and bless us. God can use those times of drought, flood, or whatever would normally kill a crop to reveal God’s faithful, steadfast love for us. The worship, Bible study, service, and fellowship we share is all part of it. The sacraments we participate in are part of it. The love and forgiveness we offer our neighbor is part of it. The good and the bad of life, that, too, remains part of it.

Yes, Jesus told those who first trusted in him that even though they didn’t fully understand and would encounter tests of their trust in him, “blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” It is not our efforts that ultimately bear fruit. We are made fruitful by surrendering to the care of the Sower and responding to his loving attention and care.

Of course, I certainly understand that we are going through difficult times right now…times of conflict, challenge and fear for many of us…times that might seem depressing or lacking signs of hope. Yet, Jesus promised these are the time his disciples would face. More is going on in and through us and these times than others might see or than we ourselves might recognize. God has claimed us and loves us. It is God’s will for us to survive, grow, and live abundantly in Jesus.

In our lives, our spiritual seasons vary. Some are more fruitful than others. Some are necessarily difficult although we cannot understand why or how the Sower can use it for our benefit. We might have started off as rocky soil or gone back and forth in our openness to Jesus. The weeds of life might try to choke faith out of us, or the thorns of life might threaten us. But we are declared good soil by the one who watered us with his own blood and the waters of our baptism. It is our Triune God who will make us fruitful.

Some claim that Jesus never clearly called himself our Messiah, Savior, or the Son of God. How sad that they prove to be such rocky soil, blind to the truth. For through Jesus’ authentic teaching and preaching, through his healings, exorcisms, and calming of storms, even in how he taught in parables, Jesus embodies all that has been promised before in scripture. Then through his death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus declared those promises fulfilled and promises to come again to make all things new.

As one commentator notes, “Just as God alone ultimately brings about the kingdom of heaven, so too does the capacity to receive the kingdom depend on divine agency.”[v] We might struggle to believe. We might be tempted to give up. We might wilt in our grief. Still, we are not without hope. For if a desert flower can bloom after a storm, how much more might we who are loved by Jesus burst forth in a symphony of colors when our struggles are done. Amen.  

[i] Tipps, R. (December 11, 2025). Jesus the Farmer: Could his be a life rooted in agriculture? AgDaily. As downloaded at https://www.agdaily.com/lifestyle/jesus-the-farmer-could-his-be-a-life-rooted-in-agriculture on July 11, 2026.

[ii] Sometimes, lectionaries leave out sections of scripture for time or better clarity on a Sunday morning. Yet, those sections can prove quite helpful to deciphering the fuller meaning of the text. So, don’t fully ignore them!

[iii] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul.

[iv] Hearon, M. (July 12, 2020). Commentary on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. Working Preacher. Downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15/commentary-on-matthew-131-9-18-23 on July 11, 2026.

[v] Pietz, J.V. (July 12, 2026). Commentary on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. Working Preacher. Downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15/commentary-on-matthew-131-9-18-23-7 on July 11, 2026.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 35:48 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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July 9, 2026 · 8:13 pm

The Hands of God (Sermon)

“Christ Risen from the Tomb” (Detail), by Bergognone, c. 1490

The readings for the 6th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-14, Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on July 5, 2026.

As we celebrate our 250th Anniversary as a nation, particularly the Declaration of Independence, I hope we are thinking about our history and world in relationship to our understanding of God, as imperfect as that might be. In our Lutheran tradition, Martin Luther similarly looked at the world in his time, and with his barely post-medieval mind, he explained our world as being influenced by Two Kingdoms. God seemed to rule the world in “two distinct yet overlapping ways.”[i]

On one hand, some say with the right hand although Luther did not specify, God rules over the spiritual realm. On the other hand, again not Luther’s description but reflecting the bias of the world (at least as I see it as a lefty myself), God rules over the temporal realm. After all, God created it all, so God uses both the spiritual and the temporal to ensure God’s will is done.  That’s a pithy explanation of a somewhat complicated relationship, and most certainly, Martin Luther spoke and wrote more on the subject (as well as those after him). Yet even Luther understood that as perfect as God was, is, and will be, both the Church and the State fail…always fail!

And yet, this isn’t God’s fault. We humans prove the weak link. Our hands, our heart, each and every itty-bitty part of us are fallible. Thus, we find ourselves always wrestling with temptation and often giving into sin. Even when saved, remember that term sinner-saint. We still struggle with sin although saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Even the great Saint Paul did not do the good that he wished. He did the evil that he wished not to do. He could not always help himself…Paul sinned! “For,” as he wrote in Romans 7:18, “the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability.”

Yes, my friends, we live in a fallen world, not a perfect one, where despite what some denominations or secular gurus might tell us, there is not enough self-help manuals in the world to set us free from Sin, Death, and the Devil. Not even the Bible, as helpful as it is, given to us by God, cannot save us. No, we don’t say that the Bible saves us, we say that only Jesus can save us. We must cast all our cares, doubts, and darkness into his loving hands, because it is those pierced hands calling us to faith, inviting us to follow, and embracing us through the gifts of both faith and our baptism.

Who will rescue us from our body of death? Paul said, and Luther agreed, only Jesus can save us, nothing we do. Spiritual disciplines can be used by God to help us grow in love. Cooperating with grace can be used by God to help shape us. Laws can remain helpful to us, and any subsequent confession and repentance is good for the soul. Yet, that comes only with God’s help too. Yes, we are only saved through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who stretched out his hands and died for us on the cross for all of our sin – that which is baked into us as fallen humans, that which we have done, that sin that we are struggling with, and yes, even the sin that we have not done as of yet, but we certainly will do. Jesus died for all our sin…your sin…not just some of them.

And when we surrender ourselves into Christ’s hands, when we seek to trust in him even when it might not make sense, that’s when his hands begin to change and transform our hearts through faith and the presence of his Holy Spirit.  “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope, and today I declare that I will restore to you double,” so spoke Zechariah (9:11-12) to the exiled Israelites. They had chased false gods of this world. They had failed to love God with all that they were and love their neighbor as themselves. They were languishing as a result. Their government had failed them horribly. And yet, God promised to restore them double the suffering they were experienced as his gift…pure grace. God offers this to us as well.

The Israelites certainly did not deserve this restorative salvation, for them, a return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple. And so, early Christians saw this as God also speaking to us about Jesus and our own eternal salvation. We don’t deserve to be saved, but we are. Trust in that…receive God’s gift through Christ’s body given for you and his blood shed for you. Doctor Stephen Reid points out, “Gospel writers each echo [Zecchariah’s] imagery in their accounts of Palm Sunday: Matthew 21:5; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30; and John 12:14–15.”[ii] The Jewish rescue from Babylon foreshadows our rescue from Sin, Death, and the Devil.

And yet even the best of us can still doubt or wonder. John the Baptist, the greatest of all prophets according to Jesus, seems to be struggling with uncertainty when facing death. He dares sends his own disciples to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3). John’s doubt and the doubt of others is the context of our Gospel today. Things aren’t playing out as John expected. He’s facing his own beheading. And perhaps Jesus’ message just seems too good to be true, because it doesn’t seem to be moving mountains from his cell.

Yet, an immediate change, for whatever God’s reasoning, is not the divine plan. No, Jesus’ ministry is relational and built on trust not fireworks or magic. It spreads through one person to another, “one act of mercy at a time.”[iii] Jesus was changing the world when one has the eyes of faith to recognize his saving ministry for what it is – always miraculous no matter the timing. And yet plenty of people who should have known better were joining John in questioning and doubting. Jesus was fulfilling prophesy. Still, Jesus was failing to meet the expectations of John and other faithful people, and he is resisted in Jewish communities like Bethsaida and even his base of operation, his hometown of Capernaum. The way he is operating is becoming a stumbling stone as recorded in Isaiah 8:14-15.

I often enjoy the incites of Bible scholar and singer, Michael Card, who puts it aptly. “Jesus has failed to meet John’s expectations – yes, even John’s expectations! And if Jesus failed to meet John’s expectations, certainly he is likely to fail ours. There is nothing wrong with Jesus; it is our expectations that are patently wrong.”[iv] And so, we get back to where we started. Because we get Jesus wrong, we often get wrong how we should interact in the world whether Church or state or creation itself. Yet, Jesus did not give up on John, nor will Jesus give up on us. He loves us, but we are like children.

“What should I compare,” that phrase, was a typical formula to begin a rabbinic parable,”[v] and Jesus compares his accusers and doubters to children that always find fault. John practiced asceticism but his detractors called him demonic, and while Jesus conducted “his ministry with joy and inclusion, yet his detractors label him vulgar, unserious, and soft on sin.”[vi] Whomever God sends, including sending you or me, people will tend not to listen, but guess what? We aren’t so good at listening either. We need God’s help even to listen…even to believe. Yet even as Jesus might speak of judgement, note that he also has “an unrelenting desire to see mercy spread to every corner of society.”[vii]

Despite our doubts and darkness, we always remain in the loving hands of God. The hands that created us are the hands that in Jesus spread out to die for us in order to share with us eternal life. Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). What Jesus is promising is that God will reveal God’s love to us through him. In the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, God will use all things to make God known to us and help us in our unbelief, because God wants us to believe. (See for example Mark 9:24.)

Yet even as Jesus wishes to put his yoke on us, we are encouraged not to be afraid. His yoke is easy and his burden light – even when times are hard, when the government might seem unfair, when violence is all too common, when those who should love us betray us, or when our own expectations about life or about Jesus prove wrong and thus become a heavy weight. His hands will work through ours and our entire being as we comfort, heal, serve, or speak in his name to make his Church and world a better, if still imperfect, place.

And when our hands cannot do it and all seems lost, when living into the Law and perfection leaves us still falling short, Jesus extends his hands to us to help us carry the crosses that we face…even death itself. Grace abounds.

Consider this in closing. “The yoke” Jesus spoke of, to the Jewish ear of Matthew’s time, meant one thing – the Law of Moses, the Torah. The Mishna, the first written collection of Rabbinic oral traditions, states (with some explanation added):

He that takes on the yoke of the law,
From him shall be taken away the yoke of the kingdom,
[They mean the yoke of repressive worldly empires, people will
find freedom from living out the Mosaic Law.]
and [from him shall be taken away] the yoke of worldly care;
but he that throws off the yoke of the law [those who ignore it],
upon him shall be laid the yoke of the kingdom
and the yoke of worldly care.[viii]
[In effect, those who ignore the Law will suffer from the choices
made to ignore it.]

Yet, Jesus says something a bit different as a corrective…to extend that understanding. Learn from Jesus. Make him our only rabbi. Unlike the burdensome law, he is manifestly gentle and humble. Unlike the 613 burdensome commands of the Law of Moses which we never can fulfill, Jesus promises rest for our soul.[ix] Jesus vows to hand us our salvation and fulfill the Law which we can never do. It is only Jesus that can rescue us from our plight and establish a new heaven and new earth where tears and strife will be wiped away forever.

This is so because, despite our faults and failures, Jesus loves us and wants more for us than we can accomplish on our own. Oh, yes, laws (including Biblical laws) can still benefit us as Church, a society, or individuals, but Jesus? Jesus came to save us. And because of that we live as prisoners of hope (Zechariah 9:12). Amen.

[i] Google AI

[ii] Reid, S.B. (July 2026). Commentary on Zechariah 9:9-12. Working Preacher. As downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-zechariah-99-12-7 on July 1, 2026.

[iii] Skinner, M. (July 2026). Commentary on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. Working Preacher. As downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14/commentary-on-matthew-1116-19-25-30-7.

[iv] Card, M. (2013). Matthew: The Gospel of Identity. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. p. 108

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Skinner, M. (July 2026). Commentary on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] Mishnah ‘Abot 3.5 in Danby, Mishnah, p. 450 as cited in Card, M. (2013). Matthew: The Gospel of Identity.

[ix] Card, M (2013). Matthew: The Gospel of Identity.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 24:40 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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July 1, 2026 · 5:54 pm

Welcoming Jesus (Sermon)

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

The readings for the 5th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18, Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on June 28, 2026.

In the mornings, I like to scan for breaking news using social media. This morning, I came across a lay person who I know to be active in the Anglican tradition say that if she were preaching, she would focus on our text from Romans. She said people just don’t hear enough about our need for salvation from sin.

Well, that’s true. That can happen. People can sometimes focus solely on the good stuff. Martin Luther called that the Theology of Glory. People skip the need for the cross and go right to the resurrection. Yet, we are Theologians of the Cross as Lutherans. We should be thinking about Law and Gospel always going together.

So in the comments that followed, several people indicated that they would indeed preach on Romans, but one person went so far as to say that if pastors did not preach on Romans they are cowards. Whoa! I thought, “Wow, that’s some Law for you right there.” Yeah…I am not speaking of Romans today. For one thing, we are Lutheran, and Romans is a critical piece of Luther’s on transformation. And so, we speak of that a lot as Lutheran because of its historic importance to our “Lutheran lens.” Also, I think we need to hear about these three short verses in the Gospel. We need to consider how our sin plays into that…how our acceptance of others and offerings to them is something done in effect to Jesus.

So, let me explain. We use what is called the Revised Common Lectionary to guide what texts are covered in our worship services, we do so with many other denominations and individual congregations.  These groups and other people use this lectionary (or list) because we wish to focus on the same texts during worship. It is a sign of our ultimately universal or catholic unity of faith. More than that, it helps us live into our unity more concretely. The Spirit working through scripture seeks to shape the Church and call all to Jesus. Yet, any lectionary is ultimately an arbitrary list discerned by scholars and pastors with the help (hopefully) of that Spirit.

And so sometimes, we have passages that are very difficult that might not otherwise be chosen by pastors and worship committees. Or, this lectionary might break up the sections of scripture a bit differently than your Bible editors might to help better fit the scriptures to the season or echo themes between the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel texts. And then like today, one can presented with an extremely short passage and wonder why.

These short sections of scripture might seem easier to digest or quickly understand, but I would suggest that we might be fooling ourselves. We possibly will not be discerning properly in our rush toward understanding. Remember that each book of the Bible, section, paragraph or verse is incredibly rich. As a Puritan reminds us, “God is still speaking,” through those words. We might need to slow down and listen better for the Spirit. Don’t assume it is easily understood because it is short.

For today’s three lines, varied translations of scripture (ultimately the boards that created the NIV, NRSV, and other translations) provide us with headings to help us focus on an understanding of what comes next. The headings you find are not scripture, nor are the verse numbers (the original Greek and Hebrew have no verse numbers), but additions. Yet supplying us with these headings, each can do so a bit differently. For example, in the Evangelical centered Amplified Version and Roman Catholic favored New American Standard Bible, their heading for today’s section of scripture is “The Reward of Service”…which might make sense considering the groups that like it tend to lean into work’s righteousness. The Common English Bible, the English Standard Version, and the NRSV used by the ELCA just say, “Rewards,” which might seem to indicate all kinds of benefits received through grace.  The work of “service” is removed. Meanwhile, the New King James Version used by Episcopalians and others offers the heading, “A Cup of Cold Water,” reminding us perhaps that the smallest efforts offered in love by us to others fulfills Jesus’ teaching. It is a sacred act.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I looked at numerous translations, and I was surprised that not one offered the heading, “Welcoming Jesus.” And yet, in my study and our conversation during Bible study, the word “receiving” truly popped out to capture my attention this time around. The Greek word used by Matthew only appears three times in the Gospels, and it is in this short passage. Like another recent Sunday’s Gospel lesson (from earlier in this chapter), there is an element of our being received or welcomed in Jesus’ name. As Paul reminds us, we are his ambassadors.

And so, recall that Jesus is one with us. We represent his name and authority. And like an emissary or ambassador, if we are rejected or mistreated as we come to others in his holy name, Jesus, too, is being rejected. Thus, he says, “Those who receive you [as disciples] are also receiving me, and those who receive me are receiving the one who sent me.” We are connected intimately with Jesus and his divine mission.

Then, Jesus indicates that those people who receive a prophet or righteous person in his name…people who represent well the faith, hope, and love that Jesus came to share and make concrete in our lives particularly through his Church…they receive the reward of those who have come to them in Jesus’ name. If a prophet, those welcoming him or her receive a prophet’s reward…Those welcoming a righteous person (and in Matthew’s use of “righteous” that is a person who who’s life demonstrates an active, internal relationship with God, characterized by mercy, compassion, and inward purity), well, the welcomer receives that reward. The great reward of these awesome followers of Jesus (the prophets and righteous ones) is graced upon those who receive them – just for the welcome! Their honor is shared with those who receive them.

We’ve heard earlier in the chapter that those who reject the servants of Jesus also reject him. Now, we hear that the persons who “receive,” “welcome,” or “accept hospitably” (that same word is used in the Greek for these meanings) the followers of Jesus receive the follower’s reward. In short, by welcoming people representing Jesus’ grace that is reaching out to them through these followers, the welcomer is welcoming Jesus.

As one commentator writes, “This discourse as a whole makes clear that God’s power is now at work not only in Jesus, but in and through his disciples.”[i] So, if you or I believe in Jesus and seek to share him through our words and actions, guess what? We are one with Jesus. We despite all our imperfections and sin, no matter our status, are in a spiritual sense Jesus going to others.

Yet, this passage is not just about sharing in and benefitting from God’s saving grace through our welcome of others. We share the faith that we receive through them. Yes, Jesus does speak about reward, but let’s unpack things further. What about our welcome of still others – the little ones? What about when Jesus sends us the people that need his love…has us cross paths with them…so that we can share what we ourselves have received? Well, we are to receive, accept, welcome, and be hospitable to them too. Jesus says, “…whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” So, if we are to take what we experience, learn and receive from other disciples…a lifesaving and nurturing drink of any kind…it is well with us. We are receiving and helping Jesus.

Yet, those “little ones” who Jesus identifies elsewhere as his  children proves to lie beyond his current disciples. His children or little ones include those marginalized by society, the sick and lame, those struggling with sin, the hungry, the imprisoned, the naked, the lonely, and more. About fifteen chapters later in the Gospel According to Matthew (remember it is one cogent whole, and scripture needs to interprets scripture), Jesus teaches, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”

So clearly, it isn’t just the prophets, righteous ones, or imperfect ones, the children among us…all those Jesus loves need to be received, accepted, welcomed, and treated with hospitality…for Jesus came to draw all people to himself…He loves all people. Thus, this is why Martin Luther in a letter to his sick friend (the Elector Frederick of Saxony, in 1521) writes, “I cannot pretend that I do not hear the voice of Christ crying out to me from Your Lordship’s body and flesh saying, ‘Behold, I am sick.’” Our sufferings are shared by and born by Christ, thus he is in the suffering and one with them.

And if that’s not enough, oh boy, let’s really challenge ourselves. Let’s stretch our minds and hearts further. I am going to share one of my favorite quotes from an Orthodox saint, a nun known for her care of the poor and sick, Mother Gavrilia. Get ready…it is a dozy! …”If you don’t like somebody, remember that you are looking at Christ in the face.” Christ is in those we don’t like calling us to forgive and love our enemies…asking us to forgive and love him. So, for those Republicans or Democrats we judge harshly? Those who, for whatever reason, we think are a lost cause, or too hard to love, or a waste of time? Oh, man…Jesus is in them too…And you thought Elvis was everywhere…

No, Jesus, our Lord, one with our Creator, one with the Spirit that animates us, fully one with our humanity even as he remains fully divine…Jesus is here…God is with Us. In those who go to others in his name…in those who receive his servants…in his children, the little ones, who have so much left to learn or far to go, even all those we greet this afternoon…Christ is in them…calling all of us to accept and love him. Not only that, we are to grow deeper and more intimate in our love.

This truly ancient understanding that comes out of this was encapsulated and shared well by my spiritual mentor of sorts, Br. Roger of Taizé, in his writings. For example, he wrote, praying to Jesus, “Before we even knew you, you loved us.” And so, when we feel overcome by the world or our own struggles with sin, thinking our fire is going out…Br. Roger urged us to remember that we were not the one who lit the fire. Jesus is still there. And when we, the Church, seek to listen, heal, and reconcile, “it becomes what it is at its most luminous—a communion of love, of compassion, of consolation, a clear reflection of the Risen Christ.” 

In this ancient understanding of the Christian mystics, or Martin Luther’s understanding, or the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, or Orthodox belief…although sometimes regrettably forgotten or ignored by us as modern people…Br. Roger prays a prayer that we all can share in no matter how long we’ve been Christian, whether an inquirer or deeply intimate with Jesus, or just the person without faith yet first suspecting the there is a god calling them to rise out of their tomb…In doing so, he prays for us all:

Jesus Christ, Love of all loving, you were always in me and I did not know it.  You were there, and I kept on forgetting you. You were in my heart of hearts and I was looking elsewhere. Even when I remained far from you, you kept on waiting for me. And the day is coming when I can tell you:  Risen Christ, you are my life:  I belong to Christ, I am Christ’s.

Today, as we welcome people of all kinds and faith experiences to our installation service, or tomorrow as we serve others in our greater community, it is not just us being Jesus going out to love others. We are welcoming the Jesus in them. It is his presence alone that makes it possible to understand and love all life as sacred, and his presence that works through others to help save us.

Amen.

[i] S. Saunders. (June 2026). “Commentary on Matthew 10:40-42.” WorkingPreacher.org. Downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-13/commentary-on-matthew-1040-42-7 on June 26, 2026.

Post Script: After the service, a few people came up to me to talk about how hard it is to forgive some people who in our view have committed grave wrongs. For example, what does one do about Hitler? Well, nothing I said above means that in the world there cannot be consequences. Lutheran theology has always recognized what Martin Luther called Two Kingdoms, “two simultaneous, overlapping realms through which God rules the world,” (Google AI), in effect the State and the Church. We also talk about three uses of the Law:

  1. The Mirror or Pedagogical Use points to our sin and need of saving, ultimately pointing us to Christ.
  2. The Civil Use restrains evil in society. It basically echoes the much later, scholarly Deterrence Theory. Threat of punishment can restrain sin.
  3. The Guide Use suggests that laws can help us as believers how to live a holy life and express their love for God. One might think of this as “spiritual disciplines,” but always remember that Lutherans do not believe we get “extra credit” for salvation or any saving benefit. Only Jesus saves in the Lutheran view.

So in the world, there can be consequences, and certainly the Bible teaches there is a Judgement Day. We know, as Luther argued that those who trust in Jesus are saved. Beyond that, we risk being unscriptural. On that day, God judges, not us. I am not a universalist, even as I hope those who are lost will experience the mercy of God as I have in my own salvation. The Bible does teach about judgement, and we can not ignore it. Yet, God is more than fair. God is gracious. God is love. So, be ready for surprises.

Yet as we interact with those who have offended and meet out human justice, we seek to always remember a desire for repentance and redemption in that person’s life. We want to protect the community, but we also want to try to remember that there is no justice without mercy. We strive to forgive and want the best for them which includes a relationship with Jesus. If force is necessary, we use the least amount to stop the behavior.

Offering forgiveness is something that also blesses us freeing us from anger which can lead to sin. And if we struggle to do so? Remember that anger is not a sin, but we can be tempted to sin through it. If we do, confess your sin and try to sin no more. Pray for your enemy, the people you are struggling to love. I find that helps free me. Go to a trusted friend, pastor, counselor, or spiritual director to confess your struggles. Yet know, forgiveness might not come fully in some cases. Some offenses are so toxic or harmful they can continue through your life – at least at times. Still, your willingness to work toward forgiveness will result in more peace in your life. Last but not least, some people will never repent or do better. It is ok to shake off your sandals and move on as a last resort, but try to remain open to reconciliation. Ask God to help you.

This is a difficult teaching, but that is exactly why I wanted to speak to it during this sermon. When we sense we are resisting to love someone, it is Jesus who we are ultimately hurting. What we do for or to the least of these, we do for or to him.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 19:05 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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June 27, 2026 · 1:58 am

Valued More than Swallows (Sermon)

The readings for the 4th Sunday After Pentecost, Yr. A were: Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 69:7-18, Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39. This sermon was preached at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church in Palmyra, VA on June 21, 2026. Without any children present, I still wanted to share some of my intended talk with the adults, the “older children of God, as I suspected it would be of interest and a help. So, this sermon is longer than my normal length due to integration of my children’s material.

I was hoping some of the younger children of God would be here with us today, because I was going to show them something…a picture…a picture that was taken for our Office Administrator’s, Cindy’s, seat. Out the office window, there is a lovely bush (a butterfly bush), and there must have been five to six beautiful Goldfinches in that bush. And then one day when I was driving home last week, I was passing the bridge over Lake Anna, and I saw this big, majestic Bald Eagle swoop down, hit the water, and fly off with its prey. Very cool! And then this morning driving to church with my wife, we are driving in and this Turkey Vulture flies up from the side of the road and almost gets hit by our car. That’s not the best ending to the week if that was to happen, but I think it is ironic or some kind of synchronicity that I encounter all these birds, and in the Gospel, we encounter Jesus speaking about two Sparrows.

When we think of God, we often think of Eagles, those majestic birds. Yet, Jesus often speaks about the smallest of birds. We can walk through our day, hear them singing, and we don’t even notice them! They are just part of our background. Yet, Jesus sees them all.

Recall, that just five chapters before in his Sermon on the Mount, the first of five discourses recorded in Matthew, Jesus presents the Beatitudes. As part of that gathering on that mountaintop, he tells the crowd, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26). And today in chapter 10, what does he do?  He tells us that we are of more value than two sparrows. It is very similar.

Jesus uses this very common imagery of small birds to reassure us of God’s great love for us. Today, he wants to reassure his Apostles (for that is who is talking to) that they are loved despite the bumpy road ahead. Certainly, God loves all of God’s creation, but God loves us more. This repetition or echo of teachings found in chapter five and chapter ten might just be a flag calling us to pay closer attention…to look deeper into this passage today.

You might recall that Moses received tablets with ten sayings on a mountain top. Centuries after Moses, Jesus gives sayings to a crowd on a mountain. Notice, Moses receives from God ten sayings as a prophet, but Jesus speaks or gives sayings to the crowd as God. He does so to help people start to realize with this echoing of the past his authoritative, prophetic status, and to help build a foundation for his new community that’s going to be called Church. The way Matthew tells his story, he hopes that people will start to understand the divine import of Jesus by seeing such parallels.

Yet, the beatitudes, this gift that Jesus presents to the crowd and to us, his Church, aren’t about what we do as the Law of Moses was. (“Thou shall or shall not…”) They are about what God does to bless us by grace through faith within even the most difficult of situations. Jesus wants us to reflect God’s blessings at all times. At the communion table, we often pray, “It is good at all times and every place to offer our thanks to God,” right? Jesus wants us to live into God’s blessings…as his Children…because that’s what we are now. In Matthew’s Gospel chapters five and six prove the lens we need to better understand what comes after in his account.

So as Jesus continues his discourse to expand upon these all important sayings, he says that we should not worry about how we might succeed or even survive. Worry about the future? No! Avoid that. Try to pull yourself back from that ledge. Don’t let fear hold you back. Yet, don’t fear guilt because you are afraid. God gave us that emotion to help us interact with and process our world. Certainly, fear too can be a gift helping us to preserve our life or the lives of other…Fear can save our behind…It is fear shouting, “Look! Danger! Do something!” Nevertheless, fear should never stop us from following God’s will. For we are loved and provided for by God, just like those vulnerable, almost powerless birds and lilies of the field.

So, my flock, vulnerable as we are, we need to listen closely to Jesus’ words today. If we have faith in Jesus…if we dare to follow him…he warns that there will be consequences. Oh, there’s already consequences living in a fallen world…everyone, everyone faces consequences of living in this fallen world…but just as the world rejects Jesus, don’t be surprised when it rejects us.

Using a rabbinical teaching style of his day, Jesus is saying we are his slaves – his emissaries, his ambassadors, or messengers if you prefer. We serve Jesus, and we represent Jesus in the world. And we are being sent in his name. Thus hen we go out into the world (whether to the golf course, work, or school), in that ancient mindset, we fully represent him. In that honor-based society, if we, as his representatives, if we are dishonored by others, it is as if someone is doing something to him.

In the face of this, Jesus says, “Expect it.” It is going to happen sometimes. Expect dishonor. Expect family rejection, and religious persecution, or scorn, being made fun of, being gossiped about…expect it. Expect that in following Jesus, people might misunderstand us enough or hate us enough to even kill us. And we are lucky enough to live in the United States that the threat of death is not always before us, but our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world still do. In trying to love in a world that so easily rejects love…rejects Jesus…there will be costs…The costs might vary, but there will be sacrifices that we have to face.

And just as in the Sermon on the Mount, in chapter 10, Jesus responds to the fear that we might rightly feel as humans. “Do not worry,” he says. For we who follow Jesus…who are his slaves…belong to Jesus. More than that, we are one with him…one with Jesus! And that’s exactly what Saint Paul describes to us. In some passages Paul calls us slaves to sin, but in others slave to God. In faith, we are to be totally dedicated and seeking to follow divine direction as we love those who Christ has entrusted to us, for we belong to Jesus. We represent him in the world. Yet as slaves to Jesus, we are also one with him. And if we die to ourselves or die as martyrs, it is ok. Paul writes, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” We are now dead to sin and are alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are something different, fully the Children of God…and thus ultimately free to live, love and serve as called.

We who are called by Jesus to follow him are deeply and intimately loved, for he is one with us. And God chose to create us and call us out of love and delight to accomplish God’s will in the world. So, to help mitigate our justifiable fears, Jesus compares us to sparrows. In those days, sparrows were considered insignificant. As many as they can be, they are small and vulnerable to the environment, carnivores, and other birds. In addition, in Jesus’ time, they were common food for the poorest of the poor. Thus, sparrows have been called “the Poultry of the Poor.”

Additionally in the Torah, the Law of Moses, sparrows could be the poor person’s offering at the Temple, instead of more costly animals. According to Leviticus 14, sparrows were particularly prescribed for sacrifice by lepers…the feared, homeless, isolated, and poor as lepers. As one commentator writes, “The most remarkable thing about sparrows is probably how unimpressive they are. Although you may have seen thirty of them today, you may not have noticed a single one.”[i] Still as with the other birds of the air, or lilies in the field, and now just two small sparrows, God notices. God sees. God cares. More than that, God saves. Yes, “not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” They are caught within God’s loving gaze, attention, and care…And that’s exactly what Jesus promises for those that believe…who trust in him. And that’s exactly what Jesus promises for those who believe in him.

In the Hebrew scriptures, one of the names we hear for God is el roi (pronounced el raw-EE) which means “the God who sees.” Hagar, the concubine of Abraham who was cast out from the tribe due to Sarah’s jealousy, alone and unseen in the wilderness, uses those words to name God.[ii] At risk of death, alone and afraid, she was rescued by the intervention of an angel who also announced she would give birth to Abraham’s other son, Ishmael. In her suffering, without hope and alone, she understands after this experience that she was seen by God in her suffering all along. And so, she calls him el-roi (the God Who Sees) in her prayers of thanksgiving.

And el-roi sees us, too, even within our doubt, darkness, and suffering…even when we try to run away in our sin like Adam and Eve in Paradise in their shame after eating forbidden fruit. Even when we just feel small and powerless, God sees us and loves us. God seeks for us. More than that, Jesus promises that we who follow Jesus…who serve as his ambassadors and share in his death…We belong to Jesus. He will never let us fall beyond his love’s reach. Never! We are intimately loved and cared for…even when we think we are alone and God has abandoned us…whatever wilderness we find ourselves in. Yes, “even the hairs of your head are all counted” (Matthew 10:30). We are precious to God and loved as if by a perfect mother or father.

Yet since we believe and trust in Jesus, the world naturally rejects us to…For, we are in the world but not of it (John 17:16). We are Jesus’ flock. (Whether you prefer bird or sheep imagery, we are his flock.)…We are no longer slaves but God’s children (Galatians 4:7)…We are claimed as his family. Jesus said, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Saved through our faith and baptism, that’s who we are now! We are saved, sent, and ultimately safe because of Jesus’s steadfast love for us on Judgement Day…whatever we have done or failed to do.

Yet at the time that Matthew’s Gospel was first received, faith in Jesus meant people could be cast out of the family of faith (the Synagogues), their genetic family (as a friend of mine in Africa was), or even their greater community. To be one with Jesus, set one apart and often in opposition to others of this world. So, Jesus encourages us to hang on. We aren’t being called to conflict, but it will come to us since we represent Jesus. In faith, trust him with everything that we have. Don’t let any familial or other loss keep you from Jesus or what he calls you to do. Chose following Jesus first, even if it means facing death, even if dying to oneself as we sacrifice things to fulfill our mission assigned to us…Because as Jesus explains, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Look also at the prophet Jeremiah, heard from today as well. He was often criticized for suggesting the powers that be were in error. He shouted against the people of his time turning against one another and God. Doing so, he became a distraction that eventually led him to be viewed as an enemy. Until finally, he was cast in a pit to die, and once rescued, later jailed. When Jeremiah finally is released, he is not freed by his people. No, Jeremiah is liberated by the conquering Babylonians, and all those he loves are now in exile and the Temple and Jerusalem are in ruins.

As a human being turning to God, we often hear Jeremiah outline how he feels let down and in need. That’s why he wrote Lamentations. God has enticed and overpowered him, he says. Jeremiah could not resist following God, yet when he does? I can hear him saying, “What kind of trick is this, God?” He has become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks him. The powers that be and his people think he’s a joke – his family, friends…it seems that everyone has turned against him…And still then, likely through tears, he decides to trust God.

As Jesus warns us, that kind of rejection and dissension can happen when we try to follow God’s will for us…when we bear the name of “Christian.” Yet, it’s not the name per se. It is more than that. When reflect Jesus in what we do and say we will find the world against us at times. There are a lot of people that will cry out Lord, Lord! And not be saved.

Yet when all was said and done in Jeremiah’s story, we learn that God is big enough to use our enemies, even our imperial enemies, in his case the Babylonians, to do God’s will.[iii] God sees Jeremiah and his stiff-necked people and will save both of them. This is not because they deserve it, but God freely loves them. It takes some time…70 years!

Yet even then, God remains at work. The exiled Jewish people could not make sacrifices at the Temple which no longer existed. The Emperor intended to wipe out their religion and culture to fully integrate them. Many of that time wondered if there really was a God at all. “We are God’s chosen people, so how is this happening to us?” And, then the Rabbinical system began, and Synagogues were established in exile, to help the Jewish people remember their culture, language, and God’s love for them. They heard during their suffering God’s promises, and they hung on…with everything they had. And through that suffering and their faithful response to it, God made them more unified than ever before…more steeped in their faith…more faithful than they had been.

This is just the way God is…God has a steadfast love for us….never ending. We hear this promise throughout scripture. Before time began, at Creation, in Christ’s ministry, and in the world since Pentecost…God is love, and God freely chooses to love us. When Jesus has called us through his Spirit…we might struggle in faith…We might suffer for the sake of righteousness or in this Fallen World…but we are always seen and never alone.

As common as we are…as worthless we feel…or as sinful as we truly might be beyond anyone’s awareness…Jesus will catch us when we fall…like those small sparrows. For when we are one with Jesus through the gift of our faith and baptism, not even death can defeat us. Follow Jesus, we are told, serving and sacrificing as he asks each of us, because there’s nothing to truly fear. God is waiting to catch us. We…you…will not fall to the ground apart from our Father. Amen.

[i] Anon. “God of Eagle and the Sparrow.” Living with Faith. Downloaded at https://www.livingwithfaith.org/blog/god-of-the-eagle-and-the-sparrow on June 19, 2026.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Reid, S.B. “Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13.” Working Preacher. Downloaded at https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12/commentary-on-jeremiah-207-13-6 on June 19, 2026.

Below, please find a video of our worship service. The sermon starts at about the 23:11 minute mark.

© 2026 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author unless under terms of fair use and properly attributed. Scripture passages when used are from the NRSVue translation unless otherwise indicated.

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