A Cup of Eau Claire

Sermon 02-14-18      Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18  1 "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  16 "And w...

On November 15, 2017, Jacob Gapko turned 40! We invited him to speak at worship, and followed up with a birthday party. Here is the text of his reflection. Vocation at Age 40—Jacob Gapko My vocational path or calling has been a winding road.  It all began when I was baptized as an infant and freed from sin and death.  Baptism transformed me and my body into a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God and gave me the freedom to live without trying to earn God's favor through works.  My gift of curiosity and asking questions, however, my have dismayed my Sunday school teachers with my militant belief in science as everything—I don’t think I displayed much faith until my teenage years. When I was three years old I was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and, by my teen age years, I knew that my disease would likely shorten my lifespan.  When I was 15, I asked my parents what might seem an odd question, "Do you think I will live to be 29 years ol...

Finally, at the end of Acts, Paul makes it to Rome! In these chapters, we hear Paul’s various stages of defense of his case, as he is passed from the court of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, to the governor’s court in Caesarea, appearing before King Agrippa, and finally to Rome. Interestingly, we don’t hear about the trial in Rome, or any audience with Emperor Nero. The point of Paul’s journey to Rome, after all, is for him to witness to God’s saving work in Jesus, as God told him in last week’s reading (23:11). The accusation against him (that he is turning people away from Jewish tradition, and has defiled the temple by bringing Gentiles into it), and the ensuing trials are merely the vehicle by which he gets to Rome. Once again, Paul uses the channels available to him, this time his Roman citizenship and right to be heard before the Emperor, to get to a place where he can proclaim the gospel. While God does not rescue Paul from imprisonment this time, as had happened...

The end of Ch. 22 begins Paul’s trial. He has been arrested because the religious leaders are out to get him—much as he set out for Damascus in ch. 9 to “arrest any followers of the Way, men or women, and bring them bound to Jerusalem”. Now, as a follower of the Way himself, Paul is the target. This trial will take up the rest of Acts, as Paul is bounced between governors, kings, and even the Emperor, Nero. God promises that Paul will get to Rome, to the center of power in the Roman Empire, to proclaim Jesus, as Paul did in the center of the Jewish power, Jerusalem. It’s under arrest and on his way to trial, but Paul does indeed get to Rome. Some parallels with Jesus’ arrest and trial continue: it is the Jewish leaders who are bringing charges, and who conspire against Paul. When one leader doesn’t know how to proceed, he consults with others. Pilate and Herod sent Jesus back and forth between them; here Ananias the high priest and Felix the governor debate about the app...

These chapters are a transition. Paul has completed his third missionary journey, and is now on his way to Jerusalem to rejoin with the Jewish community there for the Passover celebration. From there he plans to go, at long last, to Rome. Along the way, Paul is warned or delayed several times by the Holy Spirit, because Jerusalem will be dangerous for Paul. This is an echo of the Jesus story, when he sets his sights on going to Jerusalem although he knows of the danger. Once Paul does arrive in Jerusalem, he must do some extraordinary and unusual rituals to prove his loyalty to his Jewish heritage, as his credentials are at stake. He has proclaimed that the Gentiles do not need to follow Torah fully, as agreed upon by the leaders in Jerusalem in ch. 15. The word on the street about Paul, however, is that he has also allowed or encouraged Jews living in Gentile areas to be lax about their Torah observance. We can see that it will be a problem to have two sets of standards for Chris...

In these chapters, Paul finishes his third missionary journey, returning to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost. [Remember, Pentecost / Shavuot / is a Jewish festival, celebrating the revelation of Torah on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people. It happens 50 days (thus the name) after Passover. It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals, when Jews gather in Jerusalem.   read more here   In Christian tradition, it is 50 days after Easter, celebrating the pouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 2).] First Paul goes to Ephesus, where he meets disciples who have been baptized by John with water, but not with the Holy Spirit (cf Mark 1:8). Paul teaches them about the Holy Spirit, baptizes them, and lays hands on them, and they receive the Spirit. There are 12 of them; perhaps this is a commissioning of a new group of leaders, parallel to the original 12 in Israel? The story tells us Paul spends 2 years, preaching in the synagogue and in a public lecture hall, s...

These chapters continue and conclude Paul’s second missionary journey, and begin his third. To list the places he travels in just these two chapters is impressive: Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Syria, Cenchreae, Ephesus, Caesarea, Galatia, Phrygia (another apostle, Apollos, goes to Achaia). We have stories here from some of these locations, and epistles in the New Testament addressed to the churches which are started there (Thessalonians, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Galatians). Now traveling with Silas rather than with Barnabas, Paul still begins his foray into a new city at the synagogue, proclaiming Jesus among the Jews. He emphasizes that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die and be raised again (17:3, 31). However, Jewish scholars note that this necessity of suffering and resurrection of the Messiah is not present in Jewish scripture or tradition. 1 Paul seems to be shaping his message away from traditional understandings of Hebrew ...