Matthew 9:35 – 10:23
“What Kind of Mission?”
Two themes come together this morning in our worship. First, there is the theme of mission from the Gospel text. And next, there is the fact that today is National Indigenous Peoples Sunday – a date set by our denomination to coincide with Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day coming up this Wednesday, June 21st.
Some of you are probably also aware that our culture celebrates Father’s Day today. Unfortunately, I could not come up with a link between Father’s Day and the other key themes of the service. Nonetheless, it is a good day to remember our father figures with love, and to pray for all those called to paternal responsibility and care.
Anyway, I want to begin with that great long Gospel passage from Matthew that Donna read for us. I wonder if you’ve ever noticed that the Gospel of Matthew is organized around five discourses or teaching sessions – probably a poetic reference to the five books of the Torah traditionally attributed to Moses, thereby casting Jesus as a Moses-like figure. The first of these discourses is the most well-known – the “Sermon of the Mount,” and this week’s reading comes form the second, … Read more »