Year A Trinity Sunday WED 2023 Among You

 Year A Trinity Sunday WEDNESDAY, 7 June  2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Among You”

Collect: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Luke 17:20-37

Once Jesus* was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among* you.’

Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.* But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them.Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them—it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’* Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’

Trust your gut.

Yep. Trust your gut. You know when something is up. You might not know exactly what, you cannot put your finger on it, but your gut doesn’t lie.

The person looking you square in the face may, lie that is. There are a lot of charlatans out there, or deeply befuddled ones. But trust your gut. The Holy Spirit can speak to us in lots of ways, but your gut may just be that divine prompting you will listen to.

So many amongst us still do not get it. The Kingdom of God is not out there [point far ahead], or back then[point back behind] in the good old days. Listen to what Jesus says:

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

We are so easily tricked to not trust what is right in front of us. We miss the signs. The smell of sulphur, the circling of vultures. We know, so often we do not want to face to harsh realities of what is being presented to us. But do not wander into delusion no matter how hard the truth is.

As Jesus mentioned the dark times of the days of Noah and Lot, sometimes bad things are happening. But remember, even in these times, God is God. Trust. Obey. Believe. Fear Not.

Walk away from those that may be saying otherwise.

Have faith in the One you know to be True.

Jesus warned us that there will be those who try to draw us away from him:

‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit.’

So I say again, trust your gut. Know what you know, and stay with it. Jesus is here, and there is hope. When we are away from Christ, we have faith in the Hope we can only find in him.

It is a simple message, but so true. Fear Not. Have Faith. The Kingdom of God is among you.

Yesterday, someone decided to shoot at the crowd exiting the Altria Theater after Huguenot High’s graduation. Gun violence is beyond my comprehension. Our bishop shared this last night. These are the words of E. Mark Stevenson: 

My siblings in Christ,

Earlier this evening, we learned that an act of unspeakable violence was committed in Richmond today. As the students, parents, and staff of Huguenot High School gathered to celebrate their graduating seniors, two persons – at least one with a gun – broke onto the scene, shooting a number of those present. Suddenly, a day that should have been nothing but a joyful time of life transition has become a day that has shattered multiple lives.

For this, I grieve deeply. For the pandemic of violence that has taken hold of our culture, I grieve deeply. For the senselessness of it all, I grieve deeply. And, for all of this, I pray for the peace that comes only from God – I pray for God’s peace to descend powerfully on all of us – and especially upon the family and friends of those who were shot or who were in the line of fire today.

And then skipping down: But for now, I would like to offer the following prayer, and invite these words to soak our hearts and souls as we lift this tragedy – and the lives of those involved – up to God. It was written by Bridget Kerr of the Charlotte Congregational Church of the UCC, and is entitled A Prayer for Compassion and Action.

“Gracious Holy One, we gather here because we are facing an unknown future with persistent and deep suffering from gun violence. It is hard to know where to turn so that voices of peace, understanding and compassion might be heard. We find it difficult to listen to each other. When gun shots ring out in our schools, movie theaters, shopping malls, churches, streets, and homes, hearts are broken. Lives are shattered. Souls that are taken from us cannot be returned, and we are left diminished as a human family. Violence done to one person is violence done to all. But we know that your spirit of compassion, mercy and dignity travels through all of time. You watch over us even when we feel more than slightly lost. Within our reach is the goodness, promise and dreams that are your dreams. Remind us when we falter that love ultimately wins. Comfort us when we mourn with the assurance that life is bigger than that which we call death. Provoke in us the determination to keep trusting in the future so that together we find a way to listen, to address those things that need to be addressed and to respect the dignity of all human beings. This we hold up before you knowing the good you intend for us.”

Amen.

May God bless you all this night, and in all the days to come.