Today’s readings speak about the nature of faith. They tell us that faith often appears insignificant compared to the obstacles it overcomes: the still small voice, the believer’s confession, and Peter’s obedience all seem trivial compared to wind, earthquake, fire, the rigor of the law, and the raging of a storm at sea.

The Jews reading 1 Kings were reminded that keeping faith with God was as simple as not bowing to or kissing an idol. Paul’s readers were given a straightforward catchphrase that anyone (either Jew or Greek) could say to prove his or her faith. Matthew’s readers learned to obey the call of Jesus and to ignore the call of the world. In our own day, it is still through simple, straightforward acts that we show our faith.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God whom God raised from the dead. If we believe this and say it we are saved. It’s so easy anyone can do it. The hard part of saving the world belongs to God. Knowing this means we’re “off the hook” — sort of (but not really). We still need to respond to God’s salvation in humble obedience, and to each other in simple acts of love.

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Readings from 10 Pentecost, Proper 14, Year A, Track 2. 1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33.

Preached by the Rev. Jake Dell on August 13, 2017 at Holy Trinity Church Inwood.

Today’s reading from Matthew talks about the problem of evil and what seems like God’s refusal to do anything about evil. The text is saying that any execution of divine justice in the short term would be premature and do more harm than good. Instead, good and evil must run their courses together until the end. Then God will act.

For the disciples this teaching warned them against resorting to violence to purge the evil from Israel. (A point lost on Judas.) In our own day, we can take advantage of God’s forbearance — this time before the judgment — to examine the “causes of sin” and evil-doing in our own lives.

Our lives are entangled with the weeds of wickedness and we will surely be destroyed along with them without Christ’s help. So we turn to Jesus in hope and cry, “Abba! Father!” knowing that we do so as God’s adopted sons and daughters. And we do more than cry. We fight against the desire to sin, and we work to overcome the effects of sin in our lives and in the world, even as we watch and wait for Jesus to return as King and Judge at the end of time.

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Readings from 7 Pentecost, Proper 11, Year A, Track 2. Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

Preached by the Rev. Jake Dell on July 23, 2017 at Holy Trinity Church Inwood.

Today’s text from Isaiah is talking about the potency of God’s Word. Isaiah is saying that God does not speak just to hear himself speak, but to accomplish a purpose. The reading from Romans is talking about the hostility that exists between God and sin. Paul is saying that if the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you are not the target of this hostility. Finally, the text from Matthew is talking about why some people do not respond favorably to God’s Word. Jesus is saying that regardless of the reason why, those who do respond more than make up for those who don’t.

For Isaiah’s exiles, his prophecy assured them that God had not forgotten his promise to them. The half-hearted converts among Paul’s readers were warned of the severe consequences of continuing to live by the standards of the world, while believers were confirmed in their hope. For the disciples, this parable was a primer for understanding why people responded the way they did to Jesus’ message. Christians today are called to examine their lives and their churches for evidence of the “hundredfold yield” Jesus speaks of, and, if we are not seeing changes in the way we think, in the way we live, and in our parish life, we need to examine our response to God’s Word.

Paul says that God sent his Son, made him to resemble our distorted way of living, and then cursed him (instead of us!) for that resemblance. Thus, the demands of God’s justice were satisfied. If we believe this message we can walk away free, blessed by the Spirit, and without ever having to look back over our shoulders in fear. But, if we let the cares of the world choke this Word, we can expect nothing.

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Readings from 6 Pentecost, Proper 10, Year A, Track 2. Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

Preached by the Rev. Jake Dell on July 16, 2017 at Holy Trinity Church Inwood.

In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus is talking about removing the onerous burdens placed on the Jewish people by their religious leaders. Jesus is saying that these leaders do not know God the Father and behave more like name-calling children than the spiritual elite they claim to be.

For Jesus’ hearers this meant an invitation to bypass a corrupt, state-sponsored system of spiritual oppression to obtain direct access to God the Father — through a man claiming to be his Son! For us, that Son, now vindicated and raised from the dead by his Father, continues to choose to reveal God to us.

Jesus rescues us from the waterless pit of our sins, replacing the heavy yoke our works had fashioned for our destruction with his own easy one. Thus we are now his “prisoners of hope” and he our gentle and humble King. What our sins took away from us, he now restores double to us, as he chooses to show us the ways of his Father in which we must now live.

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Readings from 5 Pentecost, Proper 9, Year A, Track 2. Zechariah 9:9-12; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.

Preached by the Rev. Jake Dell on July 9, 2017 at Holy Trinity Church Inwood.