Sometimes I try to pack too much into a sermon. I fear this sermon falls into that category. It could easily be at least two sermons. The first three-fourths has to do with the lack we all share that we try to fix by filling it at the expense of our neighbor. Paul points us in a different direction that centers on focusing, not on our neighbor, but on Jesus Christ. This theme would have been huge and plenty but then our epistle lesson brought in creation and I decided to work with it a bit too. Our relationship with nature, the environment, and how it has suffered due to the state of our souls is seldom addressed and yet we grown when we see the devastation to nature everywhere on the globe. Our hope lies in “the redemption of our bodies” and for this we live with patience amid all that is happening. I am getting long again. I must just stop and trust.

Pentecost5-2011-The Escape Clause.doc