There is deep wisdom here from our ancestors in the faith. When our way of being in relationship with God isn’t working, as evidenced by all the pain and suffering in our world, and everything comes tumbling down, God’s approach will become stronger, and God will break into our lives in a new and more intimate way. We don’t even have to do anything to make that happen. In fact, resistance is futile, both resistance to the destruction of old ways of life and resistance to God’s advances.

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Friends, he is not kidding. He’s not exaggerating. He’s not even using a parable. He is giving us a concrete example of how to live, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it because I worry it might be too hard for me. I hear that same worry creeping in when the disciples respond, “Lord, increase our faith!” Underneath those words, what they’re really asking is, “Lord, make us miraculously better at forgiveness,” or even “Lord, make things easier for us.”

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Luke seems to be telling us that lost souls aren’t just God’s responsibility, they’re ours, too. And most importantly, It’s not just God who is pained when people stray from the fold. Our own lives, our experience of the Kingdom of God on earth, is incomplete in the absence of those who are missing.

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But what Jesus sees that the Pharisees don’t, is that everyone present is enjoying their Sabbath day at the expense of a member of their community who cannot. With one swift act of healing, the chronically ill woman is finally able to observe a fuller expression of her Sabbath after being ignored for almost two decades. And in turn, the whole synagogue’s Sabbath observance is elevated.The Pharisee’s argument is strong, but Jesus’ mercy is stronger. As preaching scholar Jared Alcántara says, “if you don’t see other people, Jesus will confront you.”

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In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus challenges us to look closely at the dangerous effects our earthly treasures have on us. And our Old Testament lessons invite us to engage in the spiritual practices that will protect us from these dangers. In order to loosen the grip that physical resources have on us, we must take action in worship and in prayer. We must recite to ourselves and one another God’s saving deeds in our lives and the life of our community. We must practice, really practice, placing our trust there.

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I'm sure the Samaritan was a kindhearted and generous person by nature, but when we read his story next to Psalm 82, it’s clear to me that while he may cry out, “how long, O Lord?” He also hears God calling out these words to the world, and he answers them. He leans into his agency as a child of God to bring about the Kingdom on earth. This is what Jesus refers to when he tells us that we should go and do likewise.

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This interconnection between wisdom - holy astonishment - and familiarity is at the heart of Trinity Sunday. Before his Ascension, Jesus promised that we would not be left comfortless. Our comfort comes when the Holy Spirit enters the picture and the full Trinity is present. Because then, even when the world is totally and completely astonishing, we will be able to recognize God’s presence and we will be recognized in return. We will know that we are not alone.

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Paul and Silas inspire an extraordinary conversion without teaching or preaching or proselytizing in any way. It is their hope, founded in resurrection, which emanates out from their very beings, that changes the jailer’s life; his own little apocalypse. Without any coaxing or force, the veil is gently lifted, hope is restored, and the whole world is new. This is the power of resurrection in real time. The truth of a post-Easter world is that hope is never truly lost.

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I would love to hear what you think we might learn about who you are from your estate sale, but I’m also curious about what we might learn about who God is by being in relationship with you. If I've learned anything from estate sales, it’s that every little item can be meaningful. Nothing is too old or too small or too broken to be loved, and it’s the same with us. Everything God has created reveals, in one way or another, that God is good and holy and magnificent. If people learn from my life that God cares about half-dead house plants and foot health, that’d be great! Each of us is just the treasure that someone has been looking for to open their eyes to the wonders of the Kingdom of God.

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Much to my chagrin, I only made it six verses into the book of Revelation before we started talking about Jesus’ wounds, just like our friend, doubting Thomas. So, I peeked over at the Acts reading, and sure enough, it mentions the crucifixion and the blood of Christ. I can take a hint. Even though Jesus has been raised from the dead, his wounds are still important. They’re clearly the theme of the day. The wounded Jesus has something to tell us that the pre-Holy Week Jesus was not yet able to say, so we should listen up.

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Tonight, our scriptures and our faith tradition call out to us from the past to remind us that in this Eucharistic feast, we participate in the sacrifice of Christ, at the core of which, is hospitality. This is how Jesus asked to be remembered, at a shared meal in which the loftiest serve the lowliest. Everyone is invited to share in the meal. We are meant to crowd the table. We are meant to squeeze in at the altar rail. We are meant to become one family by feasting together, as humans have been doing since time immemorial.

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