Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent March 20, 2022 Holy Spirit, Vashon The Rev. Jeffrey Gill Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9 Our gospel today comes in two parts: the first is a little scene in which some people come to Jesus to tell him about a terrible incident where Pilate, the Roman governor, had ordered a whole group of Galileans to be slain. He did so in a particularly brutal and sacrilegious way, while they were in the act of making their temple sacrifices, in effect mixing their own blood with the blood of their sacrifice. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way, they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” He goes on with another example: “Or those eighteen who were killed…

Sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent March 13, 2022 Holy Spirit, Vashon The Rev. Jeffrey Gill Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 Jesus has made his way from Galilee to Jerusalem, teaching, healing, and doing all the things he has done throughout his ministry. But as he approaches Jerusalem things begin to take on an ominous quality. Even the Pharisees, his sometime antagonists, come to him and warn him about Herod and what he’s up to. “Herod wants to kill you,” they warn. But Jesus says to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.” Jesus is doing what…

Let’s start with naming that for many in this congregation, the passage from Romans that we just heard can make you itchy or uncomfortable. Thanks to a cooptation of the word “saved” by what have been called Evangelical Christians, we don’t like that word. I have an Episcopal priest friend who grew up in rural Georgia and when she asked by her more evangelical friends if she was saved, would answer, “Yes, 2000 years ago.” It is odd that this word has so much baggage around it. I guess it is particularly odd here, because no one in the PNW is likely to ask you if you are saved. And still, here we are at the first Sunday in Lent– the season of Lent which specifically asks us what it means for us to live out the faith that we hold in our hearts. The faith we live out has…

“We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” And thus, we begin the season of Lent. If you are here, or tuned in, then it is not news to you that Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. During Lent, we set our sights on Jerusalem, as Jesus makes his journey there to the passion, his death and his resurrection. I will, just after this sermon, invite you to a holy Lent. We will have our Litany of Repentance. Ash Wednesday, is an odd duck day in that it liturgically marks that we all must, at some point, embrace our own finitude in a holy and sacred manner. In other words, one way or another, we come to grips that we are all going to die and we make our peace with that, as best we can. We embrace our own finitude. This is one of the…

O God, Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory. Amen. It always feels good to get positive feedback. For me, last week was possibly record breaking in terms of number of people who told me they appreciated my sermon, and that’s kind of weird since although we were back in person, there were only five people at the 8 o’clock and fifteen present at the 9:30 service. It feels good. Hopefully it isn’t just that it was a message that sits well with others, but was one that was challenging. No sermon speaks to everyone. But hopefully it felt Spirit led. I mention last week’s sermon, because I think it actually plays an important role in this week’s sermon. For those who missed it, the main take-away point…

This week while I was beginning to mull the topic or topics for this sermon, I went down many a rabbit hole. Where I landed was this, ideally a sermon should have one topic and today’s particular topic is difficult, but it is the only one we can do anything about. While I was pondering, two different emails came across my screen (well, many more than two, but two that led to rabbit hole ventures). One was from the International Justice Mission. It had a picture of a woman carrying a girl of maybe five years of age in a Mickey Mouse shirt. This girl was being rescued from sexual exploitation, the actions of which had been recorded and distributed around the world. The caption was that the victims were getting younger and younger. And yes, I know this exists, this was not my first time to be made aware…