Sunday, August 16, 2020

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Revised Common Lectionary passages for the Lord’s Day are:

First Reading: Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133:1-3
Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Gospel Reading: Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

The liturgical color for the day is: Green

We live in a world which is torn apart by violence and the desire to exclude.  We do not need to look past national political issues or even local headlines to know that there are those who want to exclude others. 

We are well accomplished in this world at making arguments about who is in and who is out.  We know well how to be selective about this group or that one, or about this person or that one.  Some are in.  Some are out.  One is definitely in and another is clearly out.  And it does not take words to make those judgment calls.  Our actions speak louder than our words.  Always.

The crumb of faithfulness here—that Jesus demonstrates for us again and again—is the people we would exclude are the very ones that we are called to be including.

How we see people matters. 

Like Joseph.  Like Jesus.  We are to expand our scope of who is included.  We are to practice and become people who include more and exclude less.  We are to open ourselves to people and possibilities.

Like Joseph with his brothers.  Like Jesus with the woman and her daughter.  We are to be compassionate.  We are to have such a passion for people that we are moved, even deeply moved to help them and serve them and be with them.

Yes, and to forgive them and to love them too.  There is not a single one of us that does not have someone we could forgive, or have more compassion for, or include.

Those crumbs of compassion…  Those crumbs of caring…  Those crumbs of loving…  Those crumbs of healing and helping…  Those crumbs of including strangers…  Those crumbs count.

Rev. Dr. Daris Bultena
General Presbyter and Stated Clerk