1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

Week of June 1-7, 2015
Sermon by Katie Anthony:
What are the Parables About?
Sermon Notes from 7/1:
Prayer Requests:
Want to really be transformed by God’s Word this summer?
Take the Reveille 90 Day Bible Challenge and commit to reading the entire Bible in 90 days with
the help of a plan, a weekly online devotional guide, and a community of support!
Go to www.reveille90daybiblechallenge.wordpress.com for details!!
Monday, June 1: Read Matthew 3:1-12
Today we leave the lectionary to begin preparing for a sermon series based on the parables of Jesus- a
perfect tie-in to the much-anticipated Reveille youth production of Godspell (July 15-18). But we must
begin our preparation with caution: Jesus was not simply a wonderful teacher who made great analogies.
He is the only Son of God, who went before us fully human, fully God, and assumed all of our guilt so that
we may be completely healed and reconciled with the Father.
We therefore are not preparing to simply hear some wonderful stories that will help us in our lives.
Rather, we will follow a Savior whose incarnation demands a response of repentance. John the Baptist’s
call for us in today’s Gospel reading is to repent, prepare, and bear fruit. The focus is on Christ, not
ourselves. Day by day, Oh Dear Lord, three things I pray: To see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day (Godspell, 1973).
Tuesday, June 2: Read Matthew 3:13-17
Before we can listen to the parables of Jesus, we must see the identity of Jesus. Perhaps no other story in
the Bible reveals with more vivid imagery who Jesus is than the story of his baptism. Let us keep our eyes
on him as he descends into the water, submerges, breaks the surface as the heavens open, and is
descended upon by the Holy Spirit, alighted. Let us witness the love, favor, and joy between the wellpleased Father and the beloved Son.
This is the Jesus we follow to the Parables; this is the life of repentance and spiritual purity we are offered
through Christ. This is the love, favor, and joy to which we now have access as revealed by Christ: to be
transformed through God’s power to be realigned in unity with Christ’s life.
Wednesday, June 3: Read Hebrews 2:14-18
Today’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews illustrates the intimacy, empathy, and power of
Christ’s baptism and sacrifice. Christ came down to be with us like “brothers and sisters in every
respect.” He experienced the same temptations and hardships as us, so can help us with everything we
face. He made the ultimate sacrifice as the pure, unblemished Lamb of God, taking away all of our sins
and washing us clean. This is far more than a skilled storyteller. This is the Savior who, through his
identity, birth, actions, experiences, words, stories, crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension can
transform us from lost sheep into fully reconciled heirs to the Kingdom.
Thursday, June 4: Read Luke 5:27-32
Before we begin listening to Jesus’s parables, we must also recognize his motivation for teaching and his
relationship with those he taught. Today’s Gospel reading from Luke finds Jesus seeking out, calling, then
sitting and dining with tax collectors and sinners- something unheard of in the Jewish community. A
good rabbi would preach, safely in the synagogue, to other pious Jews in order to deepen their
understanding of the law. This is not what Jesus did in today’s scripture, and is not what he is doing
when he speaks to us through the parables. He is calling us, sinners that we are, to his table, and to
repentance.
Friday, June 5: Read 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
So why do we have to do the often unpleasant task of repenting from our sins, probably bringing up
painful memories we wish to suppress? Won’t it just make us full of regret and hopelessness? Why can’t
we just work on improving our lives from here? Paul’s words to the Corinthians speak to this point:
godly grief brings not regret, but repentance, which is change, healing, and life. Let us take the time today
to truly repent from our sins, firm in the knowledge that we are understood, loved, and forgiven.
Saturday, June 6: Read Isaiah 53:1-6
When we sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to the parables, we will not be following a charismatic celebrity
speaker whom the world adores and admires. We will not be drawn in by his appearance, his opulence,
or his popularity. Read today’s powerful words from Isaiah- words that are familiar to many, through
music and verse – and let us give thanks to the Pascal Lamb, our Messiah, our Savior who has made our
true and full repentance possible through his sacrifice. This is who we follow, and this is what he has
done for us all.
Sunday, June 7: Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship with our Prayer of Confession:
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the way of peace. Come into the brokenness of our lives and our land with your
healing love. Help us to be willing to bow before you in true repentance, and to bow to one another in real
forgiveness. By the fire of your Holy Spirit, melt our hard hearts and consume the pride and prejudice which
separate us. Fill us, O Lord, with your perfect love, which casts out our fear, and bind us together in that
unity which you share with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Cecil Kerr, Northern Ireland, 20th Cent.)