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Proper 23A Scripture:
Notes from Fr. Cathie Caimano’s sermon :
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we have a new puppy!
Meet Cash! We’re in full training mode.
Exercise. Discipline. Affection.
Discipline = rule, boundaries, and limitations.
And also, that Jeff and I are the ‘big dogs’.
Cash doesn’t have to understand, he just has to accept we’re the big dogs.
And since Cash is a priest’s dog, he’s also learning theology.
He’s here today to help us understand how we can read these two pieces of Scripture - Psalm 23 and the parable of the wedding banquet -and understand them as Good News.
God of mercy, and God of wrath
Often we think of OT God as harsh, NT God (Jesus) as tender and merciful
But here we see the opposite.
Psalm 23 (OT) is God’s tender care - leading us beside still waters
‘Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life’
Psalm 23 is THE most comforting piece of Scripture, that we frequently read at funerals and turn to in times of trouble
And it’s Jesus who is comparing the kingdom of God to this dark parable
Murdering people and burning their city
‘Outer darkness. Weeping and gnashing of teeth’
This parable is disturbing, and even preachers tend to avoid it!
I want to explain away the dark, scary God and turn your attention only to the Psalm 23 Good Shepherd, but Cash won’t let me!
There’s just one God
The goldfish story (no matter how much you love and care for them, they’re terrified of you! You are just that much bigger and more complex).
Pets are the same (maybe not as distant) analogy. if we could ask Cash, he would say he would like only the mommy who cuddles him and gives him treats (not mean mommy who says ‘no’)
God’s ways are so far beyond our ways that they inspire AWE. And not a little bit of fear!
Our fear of the unfathomably powerful God who created the whole world. Who brought us into this world - and will bring us out. Whose love and life and kingdom don’t end at death.
We don’t understand God. We CAN’T. And so some of God’s ways are going to look very scary and dark to us, indeed.
We can’t domesticate God.
God is the ‘big dog’. And that’s the Good News.
No matter how gentle and caring we are, our pets are still going to be scared or sad or confused by our behavior sometimes.
When we say ‘no’ to Cash he throws himself to the floor and gives us the wounded side eye, very disappointed in how we have wounded him.
The Good Shepherd and the angry King are one and the same.
It’s how we understand God’s presence and power - and our reaction to it - that changes.
Otherwise, we would be left with a God we could understand. And what kind of God would that be? Surely not a God who could walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death and make us feel safe.
No matter which face of God we see, it’s the face of God who loves us.
I notice something in Psalm 23: ‘Thy ROD and thy staff, they comfort me. Discipline AND affection..
This Gospel story, as dark as it is, is a story about a PARTY. a wedding banquet.
a story of a king who spares no expense, whose generosity cannot be measured, who goes to extremes of hospitality.
It is a story of a great feast to celebrate great love, a ceremony of commitment to which everyone is invited.
Like the Good Shepherd, who spreads a table for us and fills our cups to overflowing, the rageful king wants nothing but to bring us in.
The unfathomably wild love of a God who is powerful enough to save us.
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St. Paul’s is a small town church with a big heart for the Gospel.
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930 South Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 637-9404
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