Sermon 15 May 2022
Rev. Wesley Menke
I believe that we are saved by grace through faith and not by our works. What is grace? Once upon a time there was a man named Peter. He became the leader of the church. Peter was Jewish , and so he assumed that you had to be Jewish in order to be saved by God. All of this changed when he had a dream about animals coming down from heaven. God said, “What I make clean is clean.” In other words grace is something God does, God saves us despite our differences. Grace doesn’t depend on us, it doesn’t matter your religion, gender, race, color, orientation, politics or nationality. It’s a costly gift for all. That is grace. It means you as a person and your body is a sacred space.
We are saved by grace through faith and not by works. What is faith? Faith is being faithful to God and each other; it is non-violent, non-abusive, and does no harm. In our gospel lesson from John 13 Jesus says that he is leaving and we can’t go with. Have you ever felt that God has left you?
This past Thursday we remembered Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was killed by the Nazis because he was judged to be a race traitor. He aligned himself with the Jewish people and criticized the power of the state. He had faith. Faith tells us that we should do no harm to ourselves or others. When we harm others we harm ourselves. We should love ourselves and our neighbors. We should love ourselves and our neighbors. Jesus loved us. That’s the New Commandment.
All human beings have an inherent dignity, and sanctity that must not be violated by any form of abuse: physical, emotional, spiritual, or verbal. The human body is a sacred space to which we must be faithful and peaceful no matter the person’s gender, race, language, culture, religion, or citizenship. We call on all religious leaders to practice peaceful accompaniment in all areas of their life: personal, religious, professional, and public. Pray for peace. No to War. Yes to kindness and compassion. God lives among mortals. A new heaven and a new Earth. Jerusalem will be as beautiful or as a bride. Amen.
Thank you so much, Pastor, for this sermon…So good, and absolutely what we and our world needs to hear.