Revised Common Lectionary reflection, Proper 18, Year A, September 10, 2023.
Ministry is messy. There is no way to be involved in the work of God without getting dirt under our fingernails and confronting the debris of broken lives and dreams. The key is all in how we handle it. (Photo: Frame It Photography, Creative Commons)
RCL Reflection for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, September 6, 2020
This week’s gospel reading gives us Jesus’ three-step plan for reconciliation and restoration. The approach us not a once-and-done proposition. Rather, it’s more of a “lean-in and keep at it until love prevails” kind of thing. But then, that’s the way of the Christ in stark contrast to the general messiness of humankind. (Photo: J T, Creative Commons)
Revised Common Lectionary reflection for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, Year A, September 10, 2017
Ministry is messy; this is fact. There is no way to be intimately involved in the work of God without getting dirt under our fingernails and confronting the debris of broken lives and dreams. The key is all in how we handle it. Do we practice love or do we give in to gossip? Do we dare remove our safe masks and let others see our true and vulnerable selves? Are we real, or are we who we “think” we ought to be? Are we able to reflect God and God’s love for creation in both our being and our actions? (Photo: Frame It Photography, Creative Commons)
Lectionary Reflection (12th Sunday after Pentecost, September 4, 2011)
Ministry is messy; there is no way to be intimately involved in the work of God without getting dirt under our fingernails and confronting the debris of broken lives and dreams. Do we dare to be real, or do we wear the masks of who we “think” we ought to be? Photo by Eli Duke used under Creative Commons License. Thanks!
