The Lost Sheep

 

Pastor Rob acknowledges living in two worlds: "Real Life" and "Screen World," with an increasing effort to block out "Screen World."  Yet certain events from "Screen World", that is the national news cycle, enter into our "Real Life" in touching ways.  This week brought some of those events.

Into that swirling storm, we hear the beloved and familiar story of the good shepherd seeking the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-10).  Pastor Rob reflects on how we can become like sheep, eating a diet of fear, anger and affirmation of prejudices until we have wandered from the teachings of Christ.  Our society has become lost in the bramble, focusing on demonizing the other rather than seeking the lost. 

The way forward is repentance, repentance that requires humility and hope, precisely the kind of repentance made possible by God.

The image is from Artist Miki de Goodaboom.  She has an online art gallery that includes Biblical images.

Carrying Your Cross

 

Jesus is locked in!  (Luke 14:25-33).  As he turns toward Jerusalem, where he will be crucified, he is no longer interested in drawing crowds, but his interested in making disciples.  To winnow out those not focused, he challenges his disciples to pick up their cross. 

Pastor Rob reflects on what it means to pick up our cross.  This does not mean to die for the sins of the world like Jesus.

Rather, carrying our cross means doing challenging things, even sacrificial things, for others. 

But with this command also comes the pitfall of thinking that every person's suffering and challenge is ours to redeem.  It is not.  Following Jesus also means entrusting others and situations to his cross, not ours.

This is a hard thing to figure out - when to carry the burden and when to entrust it to God.  For this reason, we must follow Jesus, because working through this decision involves time with Jesus, in prayer, holding to the promise that in the cross of Christ, there is finally redemption.

Where do I sit?

"Where do I sit?"

This is the question that most students ask the first day of school, especially at lunch.  This involves more than simply convenience or even friendship, but the question of "coolness" and the reality of social status and rank.

Ultimately, this question isn't simply for first day high school students, but for all of us, as we face the lunch rooms of life, those situations where we have to figure out our social status.  

In a parable today (Luke 14:7-14), Jesus takes us the reality of social status and the question of "Where do I sit?"  He first teaches humility but then goes deeper, turning the whole status game on its head.

To be Seen

When Jesus heals a woman in today's Gospel reading (Luke 13:10-17), the first step is that he sees her.  There is something powerful in life when we are seen by another person.  In this case, "to be seen" does not mean "to be noticed" by others, but when somebody else understands what we’ve been through and where we want to go.  The other person sees in us the pain and the possibility of our lives. 

We yearn to be seen.

Yet, we often make it difficult, if not impossible for others to see us.  Shame around illness and the way in which illness becomes our identity cuts others off from seeing us.  

Jesus, as savior and Lord, does see us, and therefore can heal us.

The artwork is done by Artist Barbara Schwarz, a Dominican Sister.  Her gallery is found here.

Does Jesus come to bring division or peace?

August 17, 2025

"I come not to bring peace, but division..."  Harsh words from Jesus (Luke 12:49-53), especially because he talks about division in our families.

Jesus knows the gap between the way the world should be and the way the world is.  He grieves this.  He also knows that he alone can bridge this gap, hence the fire and hence the passion.

As disciples of Jesus, we are blessed with passion, a holy fire to work towards a better world.

Yes as disciples, we must also learn this passion must be met with humility.  For we ourselves have a gap between the people we should be and the people we are, a gap bridged by the cross of Christ.

Listening is THE Love Language

When was the last time someone really listened to you?

For many this is a matter of weeks and months, not days.  Listening is a lost art!

Reflecting on the story of Jesus visiting the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), Pastor Rob reflects on Mary listening to Jesus.  This passage not only uplifts listening as a love language, but reveals ways in which we can be a better listener, to each other and ultimately, to Jesus.

Given how hard it is truly to listen, especially to one who lived 2,000 years ago, we dare ask the 

question:  Who is this one who summons us to listen to him?

Photo Source:  Case Kenny, https://cheezburger.com/19582213/36-wholesome-love-languages-for-singles-and-those-who-are-in-relationships

Becoming a neighbor

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), a stranger has compassion on an injured man and heals him.  Not only is the extent of care surprising, but Jesus pushes the ancient world's buttons by surprising his listeners that the one who showed mercy was a Samaritan, definitively "the other."

We continue to live in a world, much like Jesus'  time, when there are all sorts of division and boundaries that exist, which make it challenging for us to become neighbors to each other.

But this happens -- at the holy cross-section of wounds and compassion.

The artwork is a sculpture by artist Daniel Borup