Though we do not know exactly what Christmas at Grace will look like, we will have poinsettias regardless! We have 10 poinsettias available. If you would like to purchase one for $10 to take home with you after the Christmas Eve service, please email Adrienne in the church office at officemanager@graceinthecity.com with 1) how many poinsettias you would like and 2) to whom you would like the flowers listed as in memory or in honor of. If we receive requests for more than 12 poinsettias, we will do our best to accommodate them but cannot guarantee it.
Election Day Concert
On Election Day, you may want to spend time in prayer and song. If so, you may join the Center for Congregational Song for their Election Day Concert: Vote then Sing, a twelve-hour broadcast featuring songs and hymns to help us pray together, sing together, and be a non-anxious presence in the world.
November Celebrations
During the month of November, we celebrate with members & friends of Grace.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Eva L
Linda S
Daryl S
Kevin E
Andrea S
Ursula O
Alec K
Stephanie N
Holly K
Pastor Sarah
Calvin D
Don L
Bev Z
Lori T
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Jason & Leslie
Ames & Evelyn
Peter & Janet
Wayne & Virgina
Sermon for Reformation Sunday, October 25
This is not the Reformation Sunday we expected. We expected a bustling energy in those moments before A Mighty Fortress opened with trumpet resounding. We expected our community, sitting around us, clad in red. We expected, perhaps, a joyous rendition of the Reformation Polka. Normally, on this day, I tell a heroic story of Martin Luther, of a conscience captive to the Word of God, a declaration of “here I stand; I can do no other.” Normally, I lift up the grace of God Luther discovered in the pages of the New Testament and how Luther courageously worked to unravel the corruption of the 16th century church in Germany. Normally, we rejoice in the Spirit of God that brought new life to the church and set us on a trajectory that leads us here, to 1124 N 3rd Street in Phoenix, to today, October 25, 2020. And while Luther’s triumphant story is still true and we still sing A Mighty Fortress with trumpet accompaniment, this is not the Reformation Sunday we expected. On this Reformation Sunday, in this year of pandemic, divisive election, and controversial protests against racism, it occurs to me that our Reformation story of years past is not the only way to tell the story.
Despite his status as a monk and priest, Martin Luther agonized over his sins. When university student Martin Luther began reading the New Testament in its original Greek, he discovered a gracious God. A God who upended the claims of those church leaders who sold indulgences to people who wanted to escape a wrathful God, sales that provided a hefty sum to build St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. Compelled by the grace of God, in 1517, Luther nailed 95 theses that critiqued the sale of indulgences to the door of the Wittenberg Castle. He did so as a faithful servant of the church. He did not mean to start a revolution. Indeed, throughout his life, Luther aimed to make the Roman Catholic Church more faithful, more true to the spirit of Jesus, not start a new church altogether. We rightly celebrate his courage for he did not back down from his pioneering theological claims even when facing cardinals, a prince, a duke, and even the pope. He was excommunicated, declared a heretic, and escaped being burned at the stake only by a legal technicality. After the Diet of Worms where Luther refused to recant his heretical writings, the king issued an edict that rendered Luther and his followers, the Lutherans, political outlaws. Fortunately, Frederick, a local civic leader, delivered Luther to the safety and seclusion of Wartburg Castle. Nearly a year later, Luther rejoined society, but when he and others attempted to put reforms into practice, riots and protests erupted. While we may treasure and chiefly remember the theological claims of Martin Luther, his life and work entailed more than Bible study. He was a political dissident, a man wanted, one who found safety in disappearance for his call to reform was unpopular among those in power. By the grace of God, Luther survived those years and is now understood as a major force in the development of western history. But day to day life for Martin Luther was dicey, uncertain, uncomfortable. Embroiled in controversy and no stranger to hardship, Luther found hope in the grace of God poured out for him, in God’s freely given favor towards him. He was not sentenced by a wrathful God nor fighting for God’s favor. In hardship and struggle, Luther clung to God’s grace.
In this unusual year, one that will go down in history as surely as Luther’s life and work did, we are likely uncomfortable and impatient for a return to whatever “normal” will mean now. We are likely grieving and maybe even despairing. Like Luther, our lives are at stake. In a time of real difficulty, the grace of God we celebrate today is not simply a compelling story nor a neat doctrine. The grace of God leads us into a different kind of life, a different way of being in a world short on hope and long on misery. The grace of God does not stamp out the practical difficulties of these days; it may not eliminate our sorrow or even our fear. But confident of God’s grace, we rest assured we are not alone. Because God is for us, nothing in all creation can overcome us. God who is our mighty fortress sends the Spirit to defend us, sends us gifts of the Spirit to empower us, sends the people of God to walk with us. In his commentary on Galatians, Luther wrote: “We find no rest for our weary bones unless we cling to the word of grace.”
Our question of the day is: What is one way you have received god’s grace in your life? Read the Facebook feed from Sunday, October 25 to see the community’s reflection.
I have received God’s grace through so many different people who patiently allow for my mistakes and, most recently, my physical limitations. Just the other day, I met a friend for tea. She came into the tea shop and me, with my weary, gory, painful knees, didn’t get up to greet her but remained seated. With our tea in hand, we left the shop and sat outside. We hadn’t seen each other in months, not just because of the pandemic but because she had traveled to another state to care for her father in the last months of his life and finally to bury him. How are you doing, we both asked each other. Okay. Just okay. Of course, we each listened to each other and each spoke at length about what we’re thinking and how we’re growing and what we’re learning and where we’re finding hope these days. No pretense, no particular words were necessary. It wasn’t just that my friend, by the Holy Spirit, offered me grace and that I offered her grace—although she did and I did too. We felt held by grace, by an easiness, by a love that does not make demands prior to acceptance.
When Luther said, “We find no rest for our weary bones unless we cling to the word of grace,” he was speaking from a place of knowing weariness in real time. On this Reformation Sunday, in a time, again, when the weariness is real, God’s good news for us discovered in the pages of the New Testament is the same for us as it was for Luther: God finds favor with us, accepts us, loves us, not because of anything we’ve done or not done but simply because God is gracious. In that, we find rest. Thanks be to God! Amen.
The GLOW Show: Stories of Grace with Frankie
We continue Stories of Grace with Frankie who shares about growing up at Grace and how Grace has shaped her. Enjoy!
Sermon for Sunday, October 18
Matthew 22:15-22
In reading the gospel and studying it for this weekend’s sermon, I laughed internally and thought: the Holy Spirit strikes again! In our deep political division, in our non-stop political flyers and phone calls and text messages, in this season of voting which is no longer simply a day, there is perhaps no better scripture to read and ponder. For this story of Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and Herodians asks: How do Christians most faithfully engage the world, and more specifically, the government? Or in the words of the Pharisees and Herodians: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?
For a couple chapters of the gospel of Matthew now, various groups of religious leaders and now civic leaders have listened to Jesus’ parables, parables that critique their power and positions. And now, the Pharisees, Jewish leaders who tend the law, pair up with the Herodians, supporters of King Herod, king of this portion of the Roman Empire. Together, the Pharisees and Herodians approach Jesus wishing to entrap him. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not? The political pressure is real. He cannot say no; that would mean imprisonment for dishonoring the emperor. He cannot say yes; that would mean dishonoring God—and in the presence of the Pharisees. Instead, Jesus asks to see the coin by which people pay the tax. Whose head is it and whose title? He asks. The emperor’s. And what the gospel writer Matthew assumes the reader knows is that stamped on the coin is a message naming Caesar “Son of God.” So, Jesus artfully dodges the question and says: Give to the emperor what is the emperor’s and to God what is God’s. The Pharisees and Herodians are amazed by his answer and leave him.
Jesus’ response leaves me scratching my head. What belongs to the government? And what belongs to God? In 16th century Germany, these questions led Martin Luther to write about the two kingdoms: God’s kingdom on the right and the temporal kingdom on the left. A spiritual kingdom wherein lie those baptized into the body of Christ, hearing God’s word, sharing the good news, serving the neighbor. And a temporal kingdom wherein leaders of state restrain violence and injustice and maintain peace and order. Poor Luther. This is perhaps his most misunderstood theological concept—well, this one or his view on free will. In the 500 years since he penned the doctrine of the two kingdoms, many have misunderstood Luther to say that God is active only in the spiritual realm, that only baptized Christians do the work of God, that God is head of the church, but God hands off power to kings and presidents, legislators and mayors for the care of society. Surely not! Luther would say if he were here today. God is not only Lord of heaven and earth but of both the spiritual and temporal realms. What belongs to the government, and what belongs to God? I think Luther would say this is a false dichotomy since everything belongs to God—even while we recognize two kingdoms, one where God works through the gospel to share grace and one where God works through the law to bring about a just society.
Indeed, it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor because the emperor himself works for God, to restrain violence and injustice, to maintain peace and order. Just as in the spiritual realm, God reigns in the temporal, at work in leaders and governments. And just as the church struggles to follow God, just as we put our pride before the care of others or fail to listen or fail to serve, so too do leaders of nations struggle to maintain integrity, to keep focused on governing instead of campaigning, to tell the truth. Whether in the spiritual or temporal, the work of the people is inconsistent, limited, broken by sin. But this is God’s world, through and through, and in God’s world, God reigns.
As ever, in these days, God is up to something. God is up to something in the church. God is up to something in the world. God is even up to something in the US government. The question is not: Is God the Lord of the US government? Rather, the question is: What does God’s reign in the US government look like? And the answer is not any different than any other day or time. God’s reign looks like love, like justice, like care for all people but especially those most vulnerable. God’s reign looks like truth and generosity and care for God’s creation. Whoever works for these values, and whichever legislation manifests these values, that is God’s mark.
Our question of the day is: Does your faith influence how you vote? Why or why not? Check the Facebook feed of worship on October 18 to read people’s reflections.
Friends, I hope your faith influences how you vote. I hope, when you consider the candidates and propositions on the ballot, you hold them up to the God you know in Jesus. I hope you are open to the Holy Spirit at work in you. Perhaps life would be easier if we could neatly categorize our choices into buckets of faith-centered choices on one hand and worldly choices on the other, but that is a false dichotomy. Luther’s two kingdoms doctrine teaches us that God is Lord everywhere, even in the ballot box. And today, while Jesus artfully dodges this most political question, the ironic truth of “Give to Cesar what is Cesar’s and to God what is God’s” is that everything is God’s. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) Hosts Virtual Summit
Join Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) for its first annual summit of advocates and friends, gathering around the theme, “We come to the Hungry Feast.” Participants will learn more about LAMA, its mission and partners, about how Lutherans connect to advocacy, about food security globally and here in Arizona, and actions we can take in support of LAMA's mission to join with the most vulnerable of our society to voice our common needs in the public square, activating our faith in love.
The virtual summit will be held on Saturday, November 7 from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm.
Click here to get registered: LAMA Virtual Summit: We come to the Hungry Feast
Multi-Synod Virtual Prayer Gathering
On November 1 and November 5 at 7:00 pm, all are invited to gather for a time of prayer and reflection. In November, the people of the United States will elect a president and others into public office. Join Lutherans of the west and southwest to pray for our nation, for those seeking office, and for God’s beloved community.
The live stream gatherings will be on the Rocky Mountain Synod’s Facebook page, facebook.com/rmselca.
Hance Park Conservancy Construction Updates
The Hance Park Partner Coalition offers a newsletter to spread awareness about the Hance Park Revitalization Project. Here is the link to read the latest newsletter: Hance Park Newsletter.
The Coalition is a public-private partnership consisting of the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, Phoenix Community Alliance and Hance Park Conservancy.
Additional information about the Hance Park Revitalization Project is available on the project website: Phoenix.gov/Parks/HanceRevitalization
The GLOW Show: Stories of Grace with Lori, Adrienne, & Gus
For the next few weeks, members of the Grace community will share Stories of Grace, how Grace has made a positive impact in their lives. These stories are lifted up as part of our stewardship appeal. We invite all who resonate with these stories to partner with us in making Grace what it is—whether that be through your financial gifts, the sharing of your talents, or simply your presence as part of our community!
Today, we hear Stories of Grace from Lori, Adrienne, and Gus. Enjoy!
Take A Hike with Phoenix Fusion Friends!
Join friends from Phoenix Fusion congregations for a hike! A great way to nurture our physical, mental, and spiritual health, our hikes will bring together small groups of Lutherans in the hills and flatlands of the Phoenix area.
Pastor Sarah from Grace will lead a "Takin' It Easy Hike" on Sunday, October 18 at 4:00 pm. Meet at 104th St. & Bell to hike the Levee Trail.
Sarah Morris from Our Saviour's will lead a "Steppin' It Up Hike" on Thursday, October 22 at 5:00 pm. We'll do part of trail #100. Park at the south end of the North Mountain Visitor Center which is south of Thunderbird on the west side of 7th Street near the horse area.
For questions, contact Pastor Sarah at pastorsarah@graceinthecity.com or Sarah Morris at sarahmorris77@gmail.com.
Sermon for Sunday, October 11
Matthew 22:1-14
Around 30 of the common era, families of ancient Israel practiced the daily and weekly, ordinary and mundane hand washings and boundaries, sacrifices and sabbath-keeping as well as the holidays and festivals of ancient Judaism. Some of these families hear of a rabbi-prophet-radical from Galilee named Jesus, one of their own, a Jewish man of similarly humble origins—but wise and inspired. They begin to follow him, to listen to him. They are healed by him, fed by him. In response to his teaching, they turn the other cheek, love their enemies, pray for those who persecute them. Jesus receives them into a new way, even though they probably continue their lifelong religious practice. When Jesus is killed, they hear he is raised from the dead, and they continue to practice what he preached, to tell his stories to their children. They live with hope that the kingdom of God will come in the way Jesus described. They are Jewish, yet they follow the teachings of Jesus. Now, their religious practice is not so clear, and their identity is even murkier. Do they keep the Sabbath the way they always did? Do they wash their hands ritually? Do they practice sacrifice in the temple? What is their relationship with Jewish folks who continue to practice just as they always have and choose not to follow the way of Jesus? These now Jewish-Christian families form congregations, churches that meet in secret because their religion is not sanctioned by the Roman Empire. Instead of worshiping the emperor as the son of God, they worship Jesus as the son of God. And of course, the Roman military occupies Israel. A generation passes away and another rises up, still with these questions about identity and relationship with other Jews. In 70 of the common era, the Roman military destroys the temple in Jerusalem, destroys the center of Jewish religious life, destroys hope and further confuses a people who follow Jesus and also follow Jewish religious teachings and practices. 10 to 20 years later, the gospel of Matthew is written—for these Jewish Christians.
For whom the gospel of Matthew is written makes a difference in the content. Just as medical journals are written for medical professionals, children’s books for children, and an email from your mother written to you, the gospel of Matthew was written for a particular group of people, namely Jewish-Christians. Proportionally, the number of Christians in the first century who came from Jewish backgrounds was quite a small number. The gospels of Mark, Luke, and John were written for the majority of first century Christians who were of Gentile background. But Matthew was written for Jewish Christians. We can tell by the preponderance of Old Testament quotes, by the importance of Joseph’s role in Jesus’ birth, by the absence of stories where Jesus encounters a Gentile person—with one lonely exception.
In today’s parable, Jesus tells an odd story, a story full of violence about a king whose wedding guests fail to appear, except for some guests who show up only to mistreat and murder the king’s slaves. Dishonored by their absence and by their killing of his slaves, the king sends his army to kill the absent guests and sends his remaining slaves into the streets to invite anyone they meet, both “good” and “bad,” to the wedding banquet. When the king notices one particular guest not wearing the provided wedding robe, he questions the guest and then sends him into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Why is there so much violence in this parable, and what is the good news? The question of the day is: What good news do you hear in this parable? Refer to the Facebook live stream feed to read the community reflections.
The only way I can make sense of today’s parable is by remembering the particular historical situation in which this story was told and retold and then finally written down.
In today’s parable, the people the king invited to his wedding banquet dishonor him by not showing up, and the friend who fails to wear the wedding robe ignores the details of the invitation. For people who are grateful to be invited, for the good and bad who stream into the king’s wedding banquet, properly robed, those who deigned to show up and refused the wedding robe are a curiosity, both because they dishonor a powerful king and because the banquet is total gift. Why would someone say “thanks but no thanks” to an extravagant wedding banquet?
I wonder if this parable includes so much violence simply because violence was the order of the day, a stew from which first century Christians, especially Jewish Christians, could not escape, a force that shaped their lives. I wonder if the first Jewish-Christian storytellers who passed on this story from their generation to the next saw in Jesus’ parable an indictment of those faithful Jewish people who chose not to follow Jesus, in particular the Judean leaders who, from the perspective of a common person, should have been the first to follow Jesus. I wonder if the Jewish-Christian community who first heard this parable saw the friend without a wedding robe as a person who wouldn’t give up their possessions and follow Jesus, a person who wasn’t willing to go the distance with their discipleship. And I wonder if they heard truly good news for them in a God who didn’t just invite the powerful and the mighty to an extravagant wedding banquet but instead searched the streets and avenues for both the good and bad, who received anyone who showed up and wanted to follow Jesus.
Maybe the good news of this parable is slim pickings to us. With the violence of this parable, God doesn’t appear all that gracious. But the parable does tell us the kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet where, whether you’re good or bad, you’re accepted. As long as you show up. As long as you’re there because you want to be there, you want to follow. There’s no need to prove yourself worthy. There’s no background check. There’s no credit report. There’s no entrance exam. If you show up, you’re in. You’re loved. You’re accepted. You are guests of the king at a wedding banquet that can’t be beat. Thanks be to God! Amen.
The GLOW Show: Raising Funds for & Awareness of Hunger
Christians around the country annually raise funds for and awareness of local and global hunger through the CROPWalk. Sponsored by Church World Service, the CROPWalk raises funds for Church World Service’s international hunger relief efforts as well as a local designated non-profit that addresses hunger. Grace has participated in the CROPWalk for several years, and this year, all are welcomed and encouraged to participate in our first-ever virtual CROPWalk. To register and to invite online donations, go to crophungerwalk.org/phoenixaz. Walkers are encouraged to walk 1-3 miles on Sunday, November 1 starting at 2:00 pm, the time the CROPWalk would have begun if we were in person. However, you may walk whenever is convenient for you.
On The GLOW Show today, we hear from the president of the board of the HART Pantry, this year’s local designee to receive 25% of the funds raised through the walk. We are grateful for the ministry of the HART Pantry which helps end hunger among high school students in the Phoenix area! Enjoy!
Sermon for Sunday, October 4
Matthew 21:33-46
An inside joke of mainline preachers is referring to the agony of Year A of the lectionary. The lectionary, followed by many mainline Christian communities, is the set of biblical passages we read in worship. The Revised Common Lectionary is three years long: Year A, Year B, Year C, with one gospel assigned to each year plus a few stories from the gospel of John thrown in. In Year A, we primarily read the gospel of Matthew, a gospel in which Jesus ends many teachings, parables, and allegories with the weeping and gnashing of teeth, with violence promised, with outer darkness and perplexing exclusion. When we preachers gather for Bible study each week, we read the Year A gospel passage, and then proclaim: The gospel of our Lord? And we laugh and sigh and then sit in silence for a while pondering what we will say about Matthew’s Jesus. At this past week’s Bible study, we preachers literally did this upon reading the allegory of the retaliatory landowner, the violent tenants, and the murdered slaves and son.
In the allegory, the landowner entrusts his land to farmers, called “tenants.” At harvest time, the landowner sends slaves to collect the rent in the form of produce. Instead of handing over the requisite produce, the tenants kill the slaves. Again, the landowner sends slaves, and again, the tenants kill them. Finally, the landowner sends his son thinking the tenants will honor him, but they don’t. They kill the son as well. Jesus then asks the chief priests and Pharisees who are listening, “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They respond: “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”
Jesus tells this allegory to the chief priests and Pharisees while sitting in the temple in Jerusalem, a place where they hold power and authority. Jesus directs the allegory to them, so clearly that Matthew even tells us that the chief priests and Pharisees realize Jesus is speaking of them, tenants who dishonor the owner. Upon hearing his stinging allegory, the chief priests and Pharisees want to arrest Jesus but don’t for fear of the crowds. The reason they want to arrest him is that Jesus’ allegory is about religious leadership, about those who hold power in religious institutions, about those who steward the gifts of God—but fail to bear the fruits of the kingdom.
Jesus’ allegory certainly makes me stop and think. Here I am, one given authority to forgive sin on behalf of God, one given authority to speak God’s word, one given authority to administer the holiest of mysteries in bread and wine. I am a religious leader, like the chief priests and Pharisees. And indeed, God has called many of us within the congregation to positions of leadership. This allegory is for us; it reveals what can go wrong when we forget that we are stewards and not owners, when we forget that any authority or power we exercise was given to us by God—and can be taken back by God. Jesus’ allegory calls to mind the ways the church at large throughout the ages has contributed to violence and hatred—against people of other religions, against women, against queer folks, against people of color, among others. I invite you to confess with me the sin of the church: We, the church, have gone our own way and hurt the people of God. Lord, have mercy.
Because we have gone our own way, thanks be to God that the church and the mission of God are not ours to control! Just as the tenants do not own the land they work, we, the people of God, do not control the work of God, the mission of God, the blowing of the Holy Spirit. The church is God’s. And when we fail to pray, seek, and follow God’s will as our second biblical guiding principle states, we start to run off the rails. When we hold too tightly to our rigid ways of thinking and doing, opening ourselves to what God is doing becomes challenging.
Fourteen years ago, I went to serve a congregation in a small town in Iowa. Fresh from seminary where our professors taught us the correct ways of doing things and fresh from a family system with many rules and boundaries, I came to the congregation with strong opinions about many things but especially worship. In that congregation, confirmation students robed up every Sunday to light candles and serve communion, and as part of their duties as acolytes, they joined the procession at the beginning of worship. At my lowest point of my tight hold on correct worship procedure, I remember telling the senior pastor to instruct the acolyte to process in a certain way. She either forgot to instruct the confirmation student or instructed her incorrectly…or perhaps the confirmation student just went her own way. Regardless, horrified, I watched the confirmation student enter the worship space with her torch lit ready to light the altar candles and then walk the wrong way. A moment after my horror flashed across my face in plain view of the congregation, including the confirmation student, I realized my hold on correct worship procedure was too tight. Who cares if a teenager in a small Iowa town comes to church, serves as a worship leader, and then walks the wrong way? That the teenager came to church at all is a definite win, serving as a worship leader just icing on the cake.
While I learned many things from the senior pastor, my colleague Victoria, this was probably the most important: We do not have to hold onto our beliefs, our opinions, our correct procedures so tightly. We can hold our faith and the ministry of the church lightly—in order to make space for the Spirit of God to guide us. As I look back on that Sunday morning procession, I imagine God celebrating the presence of a dearly loved young person in worship, thoroughly unperturbed by a wrong turn at the front of the worship space. Our tight hold on any belief or opinion or procedure can shut down new possibilities that God presents, new life that God provides, a new way of being church to which God might call us. It’s God’s church, after all, not ours. Our beliefs and opinions and procedures aid us, certainly, in doing our very best, but when they impede the work of the Holy Spirit among us, a light hold on them allows us to let go when necessary.
Jesus’ allegory this morning doesn’t contain much good news. The chief priests and Pharisees exercise a tight hold on their religion, and apparently, it brings them to ruin. They don’t understand that they are simply stewards of God’s gifts, not owners. The sneaky good news in this cautionary tale is that, despite whatever we tenants do to thwart the collection of the harvest, whatever we the church do to stop the mission of God, the land, the church is not ours. This is God’s church, and we are simply stewards—with palms and hearts open. Thanks be to God! Amen.
The GLOW Show: How We Get Through It with Bob
In our last episode around the theme How We Get Through It, Bob who is new to the Grace community shares a story about a challenging time in his life, how he got through it, and where he saw God in the midst of it. Enjoy!
Outreach @ Grace Lutheran Church
Summer outreach at Grace has been critical to people in the city. With many contributors, Grace is able to remain a hub for resources for those experiencing homelessness and instability during the pandemic.
Partnering with Circle the City, people were able to get free COVID-19 testing at Grace. Beginning in October, Circle the City will be at Grace on Monday mornings to offer medical assistance and referrals to those in need.
“Curbside” Grace Room distribution provides people in our community with clothing and hygiene products every Monday morning from 9:00 am until 10:30 am. The Grace Room is in need of men’s shorts in sizes smaller than sizes 32 and 34. If you can, please help provide these most needed sizes by bringing them to Grace! Calling or emailing ahead to schedule a drop-off time window really helps us prepare for receiving your gifts to Grace. Here is the church office contact info: 602-258-3787 or officemanager@graceinthecity.com.
Last month at Grace, Cloud Covered Streets set up at Grace offering haircuts, showers, and laundry facilities. On the last Monday of the month, they brought a food truck friend with them to share chicken, potato salad, beans and treats with everyone!
Cloud Covered Streets is a non-profit organization that has converted a 22-foot cargo trailer into a four room mobile shower and laundry trailer. Their trailer has two separate rooms in front, each equipped with a full size shower stall. The middle room has two stackable washer/dryer units on one side. The other side has a desk with a wireless laptop where people can get assistance with job applications, resume creation, or even contacting loved ones via email. The back end trailer folds down to make a ramp that leads to a wheelchair accessible shower.
Here are a couple of links reporting on Cloud Covered Streets at Grace Lutheran Church: https://www.azfamily.com/video/mobile-unit-helping-the-homeless-in-phoenix/video_b323d075-5e6b-5972-9d7f-335723112865.html
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/video/852922
Join us for the Phoenix CROPWalk!
Join us for this year's virtual Phoenix CROPWalk! The very first fundraising walk in the nation, CROPWalks take place in cities and rural areas around the US every year. Nearly all CROPWalks are ecumenical events that bring together Christians of many traditions—all to raise funds and awareness of local and global hunger.
This year, 25% of raised funds will go to the HART Pantry in Peoria. HART stands for Helping At Risk Teens and provides weekend meals for teens who would otherwise struggle with food security while not in school. For more information, go to hartpantry.org. The other 75% of funds raised will be used for the hunger relief and clean water ministry of Church World Service, the nationwide organization that sponsors the CROPWalk.
Particularly because the walk is virtual this year, we encourage you to invite friends and family to join you for the walk and to raise funds for both the HART Pantry and Church World Service's global hunger relief efforts. While you are welcome to walk at any time, we invite you to walk on Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 pm for 1-3 miles. A virtual send-off will be made available on the Phoenix CROPWalk Facebook page at 2:00 pm that day. Imagine all of us walking throughout the Phoenix area on the same day and at the same time to care for our neighbors!
To register for the walk, go to crophungerwalk.org/phoenixaz and click "Register.” Once registered, you may invite and accept online donations through the CROPWalk website. If you have questions about the walk, technical challenges, or recipients of the funds raised, please contact Pastor Sarah at pastorsarah@graceinthecity.com or (602) 318-6876. If you would like to donate to one of the Grace walkers, you can find their profiles and make your donation at crophungerwalk.org/phoenixaz.
Together, we can help end hunger in our community and around the world.
October Celebrations
During the month of October, we celebrate with members & friends of Grace.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Gene B.
Leslie E.
Evalyn E.
Taylor H.
Tarvies M.
Xavier R.
Dorsette R.
Gustavo M.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
Scott & Susan
Suggested Bible Readings for October
October 4 (Pentecost 18)
First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm: Psalm 80:7-15
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46
October 11 (Pentecost 19)
First Reading: Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm: Psalm 4:1-9
Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14
October 18 (Pentecost 20)
First Reading: Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm: Psalm 96:1-9[10-13]
Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22
October 25 (Reformation Sunday)
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm: Psalm 46
Gospel: John 8:31-36
Sermon for Sunday, September 27, 2020
Matthew 21:23-32
Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem, the center of first century Judean power. Just the day before, he had driven out of the temple those who were buying and selling animals for sacrifice as well as the moneychangers. He had followed up this extraordinary event with the healing of people lame and blind, and the next day, while teaching in the temple, the chief priests and elders approach Jesus, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
The Chief priests and elders, you understand, have authority in the temple and throughout Jerusalem. The Romans have put them in place to keep law and order, to collect taxes, to keep the peace. They are landowners, wealthy, elite, even aristocratic in a time and place where everyone around them lives in poverty without social power. Yes, the chief priests and elders have a religious vision. They worship God, but, you understand, they do not represent the people. When they ask Jesus about his authority, they are asking because they have not given him authority. And it is their job to keep law and order. Jesus catches them off guard by asking them a question about John the Baptist, whether the baptism he offered was of human or divine origin. We get to hear the chief priests’ and elders’ internal conversation—where they calculate their answer, and we see that, at least in this moment, they are not religious leaders. They are politicians trying to please the crowd. If they were to say John’s baptism was of divine origin, it would legitimate John and cast doubt on their own religious integrity. If they were to say John’s baptism was of human origin, the crowd would be angry. Stuck between a rock and a hard place politically, they answer: “We do not know.”
If that were not enough critique of the leadership of the chief priests and elders, Jesus follows up his question with a parable about two sons and a father who tells each to go and work in the vineyard. The first responds that he will not go but eventually changes his mind and goes. The second says he will go but does not. Who does the will of the father? Of course, the first. Jesus directly tells the chief priests and elders: You are the second son, the one who appears righteous but ultimately does not do the will of God as proclaimed by John the Baptist, that of bearing fruit worthy of repentance.
We do not need wild imaginations to see how today’s Jesus story connects to our present life. Today’s story is about authenticity, integrity, and accountability. Honestly, Jesus is highly critical of the chief priests and elders and, by extension, those among us who calculate the most popular answer instead of answering honestly, critical of those among us who say one thing and do another, critical of those among us who fail to own our mistakes. Jesus calls into question the authority of those who lack authenticity, integrity, and accountability, regardless of their position in society.
Lest we be too harsh with the chief priests and elders or those we know who do the same, we must admit our own culpability, our own desire to maintain our power or the status quo, our desire to be popular and well liked over real and honest, our desire to appear blameless.
Oscar Romero served as Roman Catholic priest in El Salvador in the 1970s. He worked his way up the hierarchy of the church and eventually, surprisingly, found himself appointed archbishop—but only because he was the boring choice who his superiors trusted would not shake up the church at a time of great political upheaval in El Salvador. Night after night, political dissidents, those who registered people to vote, those who openly critiqued the ruling government, and finally a priest who ministered compassionately among peasants were disappeared, tortured, and killed by a paramilitary group. When Romero’s friend, the priest who lived and worked among the peasants, was killed, the event sparked something in Romero. Of course, he had seen the suffering of the people. Of course, he had heard the troubling news of disappearances and torture. Of course, but he had a responsibility to uphold the peace of Christ, the status quo, the place of the church in society. But now, the death of his friend broke his heart and his ministry open. The death of his friend released him from complacency and the status quo. The death of his friend stirred up in him a repentant heart. And Romero changed his mind about his role and the call of God in his life. He began to listen to the stories of the people. He befriended children and sat in people’s tin huts on the edges of landfills. He called to accountability those responsible for the disappearances and torture and murders. Each week, he shared a radio address proclaiming hope and the belovedness of each person and a call to non-violence, especially for those who perpetrated murder. As the story goes, a peasant walking home could hear Romero’s entire radio address as he or she passed the huts of their neighbors, each household having tuned in to listen to their friend and champion the archbishop. Archbishop Romero changed his mind, turned his back on the status quo, instead of defending his previous behavior, moved forward in God’s call to him even though it looked radically different than the one he had previously embraced.
Archbishop Romero became a man of authenticity, integrity, and accountability. It’s not that he was perfect. He was not. In fact, I don’t agree with him theologically on many fronts, but he is one of my heroes, a man who was able to stand corrected and then joyously embrace the call of God.
The question of the day is: Has admitting a mistake ever been a blessing in your life? How? Check out the Facebook feed from live stream worship on Sunday, September 27 to learn what people shared.
It is not easy to be a person of authenticity, integrity, and accountability…until you do it. Every time I set down my defenses and listen with true openness to someone who criticizes me, every time I tell a truth that I know will not be popular, every time I admit that I made a mistake, I am nervous. I am sometimes filled with shame. But authenticity, integrity, and accountability release me from the binding of lies, hypocrisy, and constantly defending myself. I too am far from perfect, but authenticity, integrity, and accountability do not demand perfection. The very opposite, in fact. There is a grace, a groundedness, a lightness that follows from admitting who and how we are. And the truly good news is that when who and how we are is a person who has failed to follow God’s call, not only do we receive the grace of God, we have the freedom to change our minds. We can say no to God’s call and then change our minds and go into the vineyard after all. There, we enter not just the vineyard but the kingdom of God. Thanks be to God! Amen.