Sermon: B 15 Pentecost 18 Proper 9 September 2012

Prv 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Ps 125; Jms 2: 1-10, 14-17; MK &: 24-37

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice…  AMEN.

The Proverbs two-liners set my teeth as much on edge as do James with the Gospel. Our culture also bombards us with similar slogans, as absolute and hard to do. “The rich and poor have this in common: the Lord God made them all.” Duh. “What good is it if you say you have faith but not works? Can faith save you? If someone is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and you don’t supply their needs, what’s the good? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” Duh.

B 5 Pentecost 1 July 2012

2 Sam 1:1, 17-27; Ps 130; 2 Cor 8:7-15; MARK 5:21-43

Let us wait for the Lord…in whose word is my hope.AMEN.

Today we hear a tense, story within a story, a sandwiched story. It pictures Jesus in action, showing who he is by showing what he does. It’s worth pausing to comment about Mark’s Gospel, its goals and techniques, because we’ll hear chunks until Advent. Today’s healings are one story, typical of Mark in form and content.