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Proper 25A Scripture:
Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18
Psalm 1
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46
Notes from Fr. Cathie Caimano’s sermon :
In 1993, Trevelle Coleman was 18 years old, and lived in Harlem.
Like most of his friends, he had a gun. He realized he could make extra money robbing people.
One night, walking alone, he did. The man resisted, there was a struggle, the gun went off and the man was shot. Trevelle fled the scene.
He expected the police at his door the next day, but they didn’t come.
He lived in fear of arrest for days, then weeks, then months.
He told no one what he had done. He heard nothing about the crime - he had no way of knowing if the man had lived or died.
Eventually, he went on with his life. He became a successful rapper - even won a Grammy. He married and had kids. His life, by any standards, turned out very well.
But he could not live with his guilt. The crime he had committed haunted him.
In his soul he longed to be free. He knew there was only one way he could do that.
In 2010, 35 year-old Trevelle Coleman walked into a NYC police station and confessed his crime.
At first, they didn’t believe him! Detectives sent him home, but he came back a few days later.
They finally listened, and realized Trevelle’s confession matched a 17-year old cold case. The man had died. Trevelle was charged with murder.
He pled guilty, and was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Everyone told him he was a fool. The internet mocked him. His own family and friends had told him not to confess to a crime he had clearly gotten away with. Even the victim’s family said they wished he had kept it all to himself, because it dredged up terrible memories for them.
But he couldn’t. For 17 years his body was free but his soul was in prison. Finally, it was the other way around.
‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’
’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
Commandments/Commands. The word is used almost exclusively in religious and military contexts, sometimes for computers or dog training.
A ‘commandment’ is not a suggestion. It’s describing reality. Obeying is not optional.
10 Commandments - no ‘thou shalt not’. But ‘this is how it is with God’s people’.
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. I am the Lord. You WILL.
It’s not about right or wrong. It’s not about making amends. It’s about being made to love and be loved.
In the end, we can’t refuse - not forever. In the end, our punishment is not God’s wrath. It’s living apart from God’s commands. It’s living apart from love. That’s what hell is
But there is forgiveness. There is reconciliation. We are made of love. We are made for love. And when we find ourselves far from love, we are always invited to come home again to what we really are: Holy.
Trevell Coleman was released from prison two years early, in 2024.
His lawyer had argued that it made no sense to keep him there, because his life had been completely transformed. But Travelle himself was neutral - it was not up to him how his sentence was served.
When he was asked - while still in prison - if he regretted turning himself in, he said firmly ‘NO’.
‘I was in prison for 17 years (before confession). Now my heart is free’.
From today’s collect: ‘That we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command’.
Love is not optional. it is redemptive. It’s what we are called to be.
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St. Paul’s is a small town church with a big heart for the Gospel.
Join us for worship - Sundays at 10:30am
We’re located at:
930 South Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 637-9404
stpaulsalisbury.org
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