All three Bible readings appointed for today teach that our God wants to save everyone! In Isaiah, he calls his temple a house of prayer for all peoples. In Romans, Paul addresses the Gentiles. In Matthew, our Lord heals a Caanite woman, one not belonging to Israel.
Jesus did not only walk on water, but he also got into the disciples’ boat. He also performs miracles in our life. He also gets into our boat, calms our fears, heals our ills and grants us peace.
Paul anguishes over his kinsmen because they could not let go of their tradition to embrace Jesus Christ. They reject Jesus and so are not saved. All the great things God did for them were only means pointing to Christ. They, however, loved those means more than the message.
Paul hammered away on the power of the Gospel. He reminds us that “in all things” God works for the good of those who love. On the other hand, he says that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Jesus helps us understand why difficulty and hardship enters into every Christian’s life and why God’s Kingdom faces such opposition and resistance in this world. “An Enemy has done this,” the farmer tells his servants. In this parable of the weeds among the wheat Jesus urges His church to patient faith in an ungodly world – and quiet, joyful faith in the glorious future when He returns to judge the living and dead – when “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
Guest Preacher – Reverend Jeffrey Schulz