Pentecost 3, Year A (2026)

Exodus 19: 2–8a / Psalm 100 / Romans 5: 1–8 / Matthew 9:35 – 10:23

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 14, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE ‘STUFF’ OF THE GOOD NEWS”

(Homily text: Matthew 9:35 – 10:23)

Stuff.

“Stuff” is a word I use a lot. A friend, not too long ago, said to me, “You use the word ‘stuff” a lot. I’m going to get you something with the word ‘stuff’ on it.” He did, and I now have a sweatshirt with a saying on it: “I like stuff”. I get a good many comments when I wear it.

“Stuff” is a wonderfully useful word. “Stuff” can mean good things, or it can mean not-so-good things. “Good stuff” could be something like an object or a gift that you’ve been wanting for a long time. Or, “stuff” could be ordinary things we have to do, like chores….in that case, “stuff” is of the not-so-great variety. An example of this sort of “stuff” would be when someone asks you what you’re going to do this afternoon, you reply that you’re going to be doing “stuff”, meaning that you’re going to tackle that mess that passes for your bedroom or your house. (I realize this is a condition that – in particular – afflicts teenagers.)

This morning, we consider some really “good stuff”, the “stuff” of the Good News of God, made known in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew relates to us how the Lord sent out His disciples, gifting them with some very good “stuff”, and saying to them that “the kingdom has come near”.

The Lord’s command to go out into the world, carrying the gift of God’s good “stuff”, was accompanied by this encouraging word: “The harvest is plentiful”. Therefore, the Lord says, “Pray that the Lord will send laborers into the harvest”.

The “stuff” of the Gospel (Good News) is made up of the good things that will point as signs to its value: Those who had been harassed and helpless - up until the coming of the Good News – will now have someone to lead and to care for them; the sick will be cured; the dead will come to life again; and the powers of evil will be defeated.

Put another way, when the “good stuff” of the kingdom arrives, changes – for the better – will come as well.

But, the Lord is blunt, warning those who will be the carriers of this “good stuff”, the Gospel, won’t have an easy time of it as they share what God has done: Some will reject the “stuff” of the Good News. Others will be openly hostile. (Perhaps the description of the hardships that those who had been sent out is also a prediction of the conditions facing Matthew and his faith community as Mathew’s Gospel account is being written, perhaps late in the first century.)

You and I today, as Jesus’ messengers in our time and place, have the same set of instructions as those twelve Disciples (who will soon become Apostles[1], as they were sent out into the known world following the Lord’s resurrection and ascension) who were sent to God’s people so long ago.

We have the same great, good gift to bring, the “good stuff” of the Good News of God, made known in Christ.

The Lord’s message we bear still means that life will now have purpose. It means that evil will be defeated. It means that divine healing still works to restore life to the fulness of God’s intent (by the way, we’ve had a divine healing here at Flohr’s not long ago…God be praised!).

Above all, it means that changes, for the better, will come as the “good stuff” of the Gospel is received into the hearts of those who hear it.

Is there any higher calling, any more important purpose, than the instructions we’ve been given, those same instructions given to the Lord’s original band of Disciples? I can’t think of any.

May God empower us to faithfully carry the “good stuff” of the Good News to any and to all whom we meet along life’s pathway.

AMEN.

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[1]   The title “Apostle” comes from the Greek words, which mean someone who is sent out. 

Pentecost 2, Year A (2026)

Hosea 5:15 – 6:6 / Psalm 50: 7–15 / Romans 4: 13–25 / Matthew 9: 9–13, 18–26

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on June 7, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

 

“CHANGE???!!!”

(Homily text: Matthew 9: 9–13, 18-26)

Some years ago, there was a comedy show that came out of Canada called “Red Green”. It appeared on Public Television. The setting for “Red Green” was a men’s clubhouse. Each episode featured caricatures of typical “guy” people, like the guy who’s fiddling with an old pickup, or the nerdy guy, or the one who’s creating some sort of a Rube Goldberg device.

Each week’s show began the same way, as the men filed into the men’s clubhouse and sat down on benches. Then, the leader would come in and invite everyone to stand for the Man’s Prayer, which went something like this: “I’m a man, and I can change, if I have to, I guess. Amen”.

Now, let’s shift this a bit, and offer what might be the Christian’s Prayer, which might go something like this: “I’m a Christian believer, and a follower of Jesus. The Lord expects me to change, and will help me to do so. Amen.”

Our appointed Gospel text for this morning conveys to us the accounts of people whose lives were changed as a result of their encounter with Jesus: The disciple Matthew; the tax collectors and sinners that Jesus was hanging around with; the leader of the synagogue whose daughter had died; and the woman who’d had a bleeding disorder for twelve years.

Each one of these people’s lives were radically different after their encounter with the Lord, than they were before their encounter.

It’s worth noticing that Jesus is willing to meet each of these where they are when the Lord encounters them. He doesn’t demand that they do something in order to be worthy of the Lord’s compassion and care. And, it’s worth noting, He’s quite willing to begin a relationship right where He finds each of these.

But, that’s only part of the truth of the matter. Change is an expectation. Change is the evidence of a genuine relationship with God through Christ. True enough, “Come as you are” is correct. But the journey, if it is to be a genuine one, never ends there. We may not continue living in ways that counter God’s design and desires for us.

Today, many churches reach out to the outside world, saying, “Come as you are”.

That approach is true enough. There’s plenty of evidence in Holy Scripture that God is quite willing to start working with us and within us from whatever place He finds us.

We might observe that the pages of the Bible are filled with accounts of people whose lives changed once they’d come into relationship with God. The accounts in the Bible also contain some examples of those who encountered God, but who spurned God’s offer to begin a relationship. We could look at Scripture from this vantage point.

For whatever reason, God gives each of us free will. For some reason, God’ doesn’t want us to be automatons or pieces on the chess board of life. He grants each of us the ability to choose to relate to Him, and to accept – or reject – God’s offer of relationship, a new and fuller life, and a genuine relationship.

Returning to the people we reach about in this morning’s Gospel, we can see that Matthew had the ability to remain as a tax collector, and not to choose to follow Jesus. The tax collectors and sinners could have chosen to remain as they were. The leader of the synagogue could have spurned suggestions that Jesus could help his daughter. The woman with the bleeding disorder could have chosen not to seek healing from the Lord.

You and I face the same juncture: We can choose for God, or not. The choice is ours to make.

AMEN. 

Trinity Sunday, Year A (2026)

Genesis 1: 1 – 2:4a / Psalm 8 / II Corinthians 13: 11–13 / Matthew 28: 16–20

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 31, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“UNDERSTANDING THE FULNESS OF GOD’S NATURE AS FATHER, SON AND SPIRIT”

(Homily texts: Genesis 1: 1 – 2:4a, and Matthew 28: 16-20)

God’s nature is hidden from our human eyes and understanding, except to the extent that God, Himself, has chosen to reveal His nature to us.

It should be noted that God’s self-revelation is a wonderful gift to humankind. 

That said, we human beings have come to understand God’s nature in its fulness as One God in Three Persons – or – as it is usually stated, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit: The Holy Trinity.

Such an understanding of God’s nature didn’t come to full acceptance overnight. Nor did this understanding come quickly. Instead, the process of understanding God’s self-revelation took quite a long time to develop and to be accepted. That’s often the case when God chooses to tell us something about Himself.

Before we explore some of the process by which God pulled back the veil of mystery which surrounds His being, and the process by which human beings came to understand what God had revealed, let’s take a moment to explore why Trinity Sunday occupies the place that it does in the Church Year.

Trinity Sunday is the only Sunday in the year whose theme is theological in nature. (Remember that theology is the field of study and contemplation which attempts to understand God’s nature and God’s acting.) Recall that, as the Church Year unfolds, we anticipate and then celebrate two major events in our Lord Jesus Christ’s life and work: His birth in Bethlehem (celebrated at Christmastime), and then His resurrection (on Easter Sunday). Preceding these two celebrations are two preparatory seasons: Advent (prior to Christmas) and Lent (prior to Easter). Following the Christmastide season is the season of Epiphany, as we give thanks for the spread of the Good News (Gospel) to the non-Jewish world, the Gentiles.

Then, following Eastertide, we have the season after Pentecost, which occupies about half of the yearly calendar. (The season after Pentecost makes use of the color green, signifying growth of the Good News in the world and in our own lives.)

Now then, Trinity Sunday is the culmination of the process of reflection upon God’s gift of His son, Jesus Christ. Tracing our steps backward to Christmas, we celebrate His coming among us as one of us, as He takes on our humanity. Then, at Easter, we celebrate His victory over death. Then, we recall the coming of the Holy Spirit in a unique and powerful way at the feast of Pentecost.

With the coming of the Spirit, we are now aware of the Spirit’s unique and irreplaceable role as God’s guiding and empowering presence. With this awareness, we are equipped to go out into the world, knowing and understanding (as much as we, as human beings are capable of understanding) the nature of the God who calls us into relationship with Him, and who sends us out as His representatives in the world.

All of this reflection on the path that the Church Year places before us, we are now ready to explore the meaning of Trinity Sunday.

Trinity Sunday’s theme is to remind us of the fulness of God’s nature. It won’t do for us as Christian believers to be aware of only part of God’s nature. Instead, we are called to attempt to hold in mind that God’s fulness exists in Three Persons, while being but One God.

We are encouraged to remember that, as we think about one Person of the Trinity, the other two Persons are also and always present. (God cannot be separated into different parts.)

Holding this awareness in our thinking and believing means that we now have all the tools that God intends for us to have in order to be good and effective workers in God’s field in the world. To my thinking, at least, this is the importance of Trinity Sunday.

We’d do well to reflect a bit on the understanding of the Holy Trinity, as it developed over time.

We can begin with our reading from Genesis. In this reading, one can see the presence of the three Persons of the Trinity. Notice that the text begins by saying, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. This would be God the Father. Then, the text tells us that God’s Spirit hovered over the waters. Then, a bit later, the text tells us that God spoke, and things began to come into being.[1]

The Christian understanding of God’s nature as One God in Three Persons stems from our Lord Jesus Christ’s teachings about His relationship to God. He uses father and son imagery. Then, with respect to the Spirit, He tells His disciples that He is going to send them another comforter, an Advocate[2], who will lead them into all truth.[3]

In summary, what we have come to believe, as Christian believers, stems from our Lord’s teaching.

What an enormous and valuable gift that teaching is!

God be praised.

AMEN.

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[1]   At this juncture, it’d be helpful for us to reading John’s Gospel account, and specifically John 1: 1–18. There, we read that, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Biblical scholars have long noted the similarities between Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 and following.

[2]   See John 16: 4b–15.

[3]   The Nicene Creed affirms the conviction that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son”. This phrase, which was added a good many years after the adoption of the Creed, is probably based on the Lord’s teachings, as we read in John, chapter sixteen. The phrase in the Creed continues to constitute a difference of conviction between the Eastern (Orthodox) Church and the Western Church.

The Feast of Pentecost

Acts 2: 1–21 / Psalm 104: 24–34, 35b / I Corinthians 12: 3b–13 / John 20: 19–23

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 24, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE MESSAGE OF THE PENTECOST EVENT: CHANGE!”

(Homily text: Acts 2: 1-21)

Whenever God intervenes in human affairs, one thing is certain:  What happens afterward will be different than what came before God made His presence known.

On this Feast of Pentecost, we are reminded that God came “crashing into” the lives of the Apostles (and perhaps about 120 others)[1] as the Holy Spirit came like a “mighty, rushing wind”, and with “tongues of fire, which appeared above the heads” of those gathered that day.

The Holy Spirit’s descent made it possible for those gathered that day to speak and to be understood in languages that they had not previously been able to either speak.  Talk about change!

Before we explore the changes that the Pentecost event made in the life of the body of believers, that is, the Church, and in the lives of individual believers, let’s remind ourselves about the original meaning and importance of the Feast of Pentecost.

In the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Pentecost was one of three major festivals observed each year, and was celebrated fifty days[2] after the Feast of Passover. It was observed on the first day of the week, and was an ingathering of the first fruits of the harvest. (Remember this aspect of the festival, for – I think – it has a meaning for Christian believers that is similar. We’ll get to that in a moment.)

Now then, we began by saying that whenever God chooses to intervene in human life, change is bound to happen. In the Pentecost event, that change became a reality for the Body of Christ, the Church, and for the individual believers who were members of it.

We will begin by looking at the changes that the Church came to experience.

Notice, first of all, that there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem at the time of the Holy Spirit’s appearing. That’s because the Feast of Pentecost was one of those three major festivals that devout Jews would feel compelled to attend, if at all possible. So it is that Luke (the writer of the Book of Acts) provides for us a list of the places from which those attending the festival had come from.

We could easily come to the conclusion that God wanted the early Church to know that the great, good things that God had done in raising Jesus Christ to new life on Easter Sunday morning was Good News (Gospel) for the whole world, and not just for people in Jerusalem, or in the region around Jerusalem, Judea, or – for that matter – not for Jews only, but for Gentiles as well. (Notice that Luke tells us that there were Gentile converts to Judaism among the crowd that heard the believers speaking: His term for those people is “proselytes”.)

Talk about change! The idea that God’s goodness was to be received by all people, everywhere, was a challenge to the early Church. As we read through the early chapters of the Book of Acts, we see that Peter had had an encounter with Cornelius[3], a Roman centurion and someone who was known as a “God-fearer”[4]. But Peter is initially reluctant to associate with Gentiles. Eventually, Peter comes to understand that God’s intent is that all people, everywhere, will come into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Peter’s understanding echoes his quotation from the Old Testament prophet Joel, made at Pentecost, as Peter says, “…it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.  A bit later in the Acts account, we see that Paul and Barnabas were spreading God’s great, good news throughout the known world, and among Gentiles.

These initiatives created a major crisis in the early Church. The difference of conviction about whether or not Gentiles could come to faith in Christ, and whether or not they had to convert to Judaism in order to do so, came to a head at the Council of Jerusalem, which was held in the year 49 AD.[5]

The Council’s decision was that Gentiles did not have to convert. The Church had come to understand the implications of the Holy Spirit’s intervention at Pentecost.

Notice that it took about twenty years[6] or so for the Church to change its understanding about who it was who could come to faith in Jesus. Change in the Church sometimes takes awhile.

With the decision to allow non-Jews into the Church, the Church began to look forward, not back. The change in perspective is due, directly, to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and to the Spirit’s continuing influence on the early Church.

Individuals in the Church who had come to faith also encountered change as a result of their new relationship with the Lord.

They, too, were to look forward, not back. They, too, were to accept and receive new believers as the faith that they had come to know was now the gift of others, as well. Lives changed, as encounters with God made a new way of living a requirement, for the Lord’s will is that believers will live upright and holy lives.

Individuals in the Church were to lend their gifts to the outpouring of God’s Good News to the world. Just as the original meaning of Pentecost was to celebrate the in-gathering of the first fruits of the harvest, so, too, was the Church to be about the business of gathering in new believers into the kingdom of God. In the process, individual wills, individual desires were to take second place to God’s will and God’s vision for the future.

What does all of this mean for the Church today? What does all of this mean for our local part of the Church, Flohr’s Lutheran?

Perhaps this: First of all, a genuine encounter with the Lord means that we are called to live holy and upright lives. Second of all, it means that we are to proclaim God’s great, good news to those around us. As we do so, we are called to proclaim that Good News (Gospel) by what we do, and – if necessary – by what we say. And, finally, any encounter with God means that change is inevitable, as we submit our own wills and desires to God’s will and God’s desires.

So may these things be.

AMEN.

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[1]   It isn’t possible to be sure, judging from Luke’s narrative, exactly how many were present at Pentecost. Luke mentions the original twelve Apostles (see Acts 1:13), where Luke names the Apostles who were present. But then, at Acts 1:15, he mentions 120 persons. In Acts 2:1, he says “they” were all together at Pentecost.

[2]   The word by which we know this festival is derived from the Greek word for “fifty”, Pentecost.

[3]   See Acts, chapter ten, for the account of Peter’s encounter with Cornelius.

[4]   A “God-fearer” was a Gentile who had come to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Perhaps some of these Gentiles hadn’t formally converted to Judaism, but were believers, nonetheless.

[5]   Luke describes the events of the Council in Acts, chapter fifteen.

[6]   The Council of Jerusalem took place some twenty years or so after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and after the Pentecost event. 

Easter 7 (The Sunday after Ascension Day), Year A (2026)

Acts 1: 6–14 / Psalm 68: 1–10, 32–35 / I Peter 4: 12–14; 5: 6–11 / John 17: 1–11

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 17, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

                  

“INVITED AND DRAWN INTO THE INNER LIFE OF GOD”

(Homily text: John 17: 1-11)

Life has the ability to offer many blessings. One of the most wonderful things that can bless and support us in our earthly journey is a close and deeply personal relationship with someone. That “someone” might be our marriage partner. Or that “someone” could be a close friend, or perhaps a parent or a grandparent, or perhaps a schoolmate.

Such persons are ones we can share our innermost thoughts, concerns, struggles and desires with. We are able, with such persons, to share anything and everything, all in confidence.

It is just this sort of a relationship that our Lord Jesus Christ describes in this morning’s Gospel reading, which is a portion of what has come to be known as the Lord’s “High Priestly Prayer”. This prayer occupies all of chapter seventeen of John’s Gospel account. We hear just the beginning portion of it this morning.

The prayer concludes John’s extensive account of what happened as Jesus and His disciples celebrated and observed the feast of Passover. In John’s account, chapters thirteen through seventeen tell us about the events that took place on that night before our Lord suffered and died on Good Friday.

John’s unique writing style is evident as the prayer unfolds. In verses one through eleven, Jesus prays for Himself, and for the original band of disciples, as He is about to leave them. Then, in verses twelve through nineteen, John advances the narrative, as Jesus prays for that original band of disciples who will soon become Apostles, as they are sent out into the world carrying the Good News of God, made known in the sending of Jesus Christ. Finally, verses twenty through the end of the chapter, at verse twenty-six, Jesus prays for those who will come to faith through the work of the Apostles. (Yes, that includes you and me!)

John’s writing style has been compared to a series of loops, by which an idea is introduced. Then the idea is advanced a little at a time as the narrative unfolds.

Now then, let’s return to the theme with which we began: The blessing that is ours by virtue of a close and deeply personal relationship with someone.

That “someone”, in the case of the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer, is the Lord Himself. In Jesus’ prayer, we are invited into a close, personal, and a deep love relationship with the fulness of God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

For, you see, Jesus Christ’s coming sheds light on the nature of the Father. His coming also sheds light on the nature of the Spirit.

And we are invited into the inner life of God, into the fulness of God’s identity as the Three-in-One, the Holy Trinity. We are invited into a place where we can share our innermost longings, desires, concerns, challenges, shortcomings and disappointments. At the same time, God, as our trusted companion in the walk of faith, is also that One we can share our celebrations and the high points of our lives with.

What a blessed state, to find ourselves drawn into the inner life of the God of all, that One who – in the final analysis – will be the One whose will and whose love will endure, and will conquer all things.

AMEN. 

Easter 6, Year A (2026)

Acts 17: 22–31 / Psalm 66: 8–20 / I Peter 3: 13-22 / John 14: 15-21

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 10, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“HOLY BAPTISM: A NEW BEGINNING AND A BARRIER”

(Homily text: I Peter 3: 13–22)

Across the country at this time of year, many young people will be attending Commencement exercises, as they graduate from the schools they’ve been attending. In the process, a chapter in their lives ends, and a new one begins. Though we may not think of it, it might be useful for us to reflect on the basic meaning of the word “commencement”, for it literally means “to begin”.

These young graduates, as they leave the lives they’ve known in whatever setting they’ve grown used to in their academic pursuits, experience the creation of a barrier of sorts in their lives. For many graduates, their commencement exercises will mark the last time they set foot on school grounds or buildings. For others, their time in the institution will form an important chapter in their lives, one that many will look back on with fondness, but – nonetheless – they will move away from their lives in academia as they venture forth into new pursuits. For a few, the friendships and the relationships formed during their school years will survive into the future.

Living life entails the ending of some things, and the beginning of new things.

For example, we leave employment in one place, and pick up employment in another.

We meet and marry someone, leaving our former lives behind, to cite another example.

Holy Baptism is much like the examples we’ve cited above. When we enter the waters of baptism, we set aside our former lives, in order to pick up a new identity as God’s own child, one who enters into a deep, abiding and personal love relationship with the Lord.

The early Church marked this change in a dramatic way. (Some of the early Church’s practice survives in our liturgy today.)

Back in the early centuries of the Church’s existence, when people had come for baptism, they entered the waters of a pond, lake, river or creek. They faced west, and were asked questions of the sort of “Do you renounce Satan and all the powers of evil which seek to separate us from God?” The answer is given, “I renounce them”.

Then, after a series of similar questions, the person to be baptized turned around to face east (toward Jerusalem and the place where our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again). Then, they were asked to affirm their faith in Christ.

Today, our baptismal liturgy involves three questions which renounce those things that form barriers between us and God. And then, there are three affirmations of our faith in the Lord and our determination to follow Him as Savior and Lord.

St. Peter, writing in his first letter, captures the meaning and the importance of baptism. He compares baptism to the passage of Noah, Noah’s wife, their three sons and their wives, eight persons in all, through the waters of the Great Flood. (The number of persons who were saved from the waters of the flood, eight in all, is important, for in Holy Scripture, the number eight often indicates a new beginning. Our baptismal font, for this same reason, has eight sides, to remind us of the new beginning that baptism represents.)

Water passages of the sort that Noah experienced drive home the dual meanings related to baptism, for water has the ability to kill. But water is also necessary for life to exist.

Baptism captures this double meaning: Passing through the waters means that, as we descend into the waters, we are placing our whole trust, our entire lives, in God’s hands, trusting that He will lift us up out of the waters, in order that we may continue in a new way, a new path, a new chapter in life, living out our part of the love relationship that baptism confirms.

From this day forward, those who are baptized, and especially those who are baptized as infants or very young children, will need guidance and reminders of the claim that baptism establishes on their lives, as they are affirmed as children of God, beloved persons of God’s deliberate creating.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN. 

Easter 5, Year A (2026)

Acts 7: 55-60 / Psalm 31: 1–5, 15–16 / I Peter 2: 2–10 / John 14: 1–14

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 3, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE GOSPEL: USE – OR – MISUSE?”

(Homily text: John 14: 1–14)

We use many things in the course of our daily lives. Things that make life easier, more convenient, or which enable us to do things we would, otherwise, not be able to do.

Most all of these things can be used properly, within the design and the limitations of each.

But they can also be misused, often resulting in damage to the thing itself, or to the people using the thing(s).

Consider, for example, a hammer. It can be used to drive a nail, or to insert something into a place where it’s supposed to go, but won’t. But a hammer can also be misused, used to break things.

Consider the Seven Deadly Sins. Each one of these is rooted in some naturally-occurring desire or need. But they become sins when those naturally-occurring desires or needs are misused. Gluttony is the misuse of our need to eat. Avarice (an old word for “greed”) is the misuse of our need to have our basic needs met. Sloth is the misuse of our need for rest. And so forth with the others.

Even very good things can be misused.

Consider, for example, the Gospel, the Good News of God in Christ.

The Gospel, this very good news, that, too, can be misused.

Which brings us to today’s Gospel text, and – in particular – to Jesus’ statement that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). And then, especially, this part of His statement which follows: “No one comes to the Father except through me”.

For Christian believers, this statement is, indeed, very good news. It is life-changing news, it is news that makes all things different and all things new.

But we Christian believers can easily misuse this assurance from the Lord.

We can act as though we have an exclusive claim on this good news. We can use this good news as a club or a hammer to goad and prod unbelievers into faith.

Of course, such an approach doesn’t work very well. In fact, it’s counterproductive. Furthermore, it doesn’t mirror the sorts of ways that our Lord behaved with those who were deemed, in the time of His earthly visitation, to be “notorious sinners”.

We could call such an attitude that seeks to raise ourselves up to some highly-placed position in God’s kingdom “spiritual arrogance”.

How might we be aware of – and guard against – the misuse of such a wonderful thing as God’s offer of love, new life and grace? How might we step back, in order to take a good look at ourselves and how we behave when we speak of the things of God”

Perhaps we might begin with an attitude of humility. After all, God’s offer of love, new life and grace is just that, an offer, a gift. It isn’t something that we either deserve or merit. We have no standing upon which to say that we deserve God’s goodness.

Humility leads us to ask ourselves, “What is it that I might be missing, when I consider God’s will for my life?”. Joined to that question is this one: “In what ways do I fail to show by my life that Jesus Christ dwells within my heart?”.

Realizing that God’s prerogatives mean that He is the One who will, in the final analysis, be the judge of who has found favor in His sight ought to set our priorities straight. Our ability to determine who is – and who isn’t – a child of God is a matter that God, alone, makes. Such a determination is echelons above our human pay grade.

One other thought is worth mentioning…If we have come to a place of faith in God’s promises, then that place that we have come to is due entirely to God’s grace, which has come before us, coming into our hearts and minds often before we are aware of the Holy Spirit’s work to soften our hearts and to prepare our minds to receive God’s truth.[1]

Our prayer then, might be for God to install an attitude of humility and gratitude in our hearts and minds for the goodness of God, which has brought us to the place of faith we find ourselves in this day. And, we ought to pray for the Holy Spirit to continue His cleansing and empowering work, that we might be the image of Christ to all we encounter.

AMEN.

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[1]   Such a grace carries a technical term: Prevenient Grace, meaning a grace from God which comes before our awareness of it. (An original meaning of the word “prevent” was to “come before”.) 

Easter 4 (Good Shepherd Sunday), Year A (2026)

Acts 2: 42–47 / Psalm 23 / I Peter 2: 19–25 / John 10: 1–10

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 26, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

“THE VALUE OF EVERYTHING, INCLUDING US”

(Homily text: John 10: 1–10)

This, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, each year in our liturgical cycle, is informally known as Good Shepherd Sunday.

One way we might consider what it means to be a part of the Lord’s flock, is to consider our value in God’s eyes.

Whether we think of it or not, we assess the value, the worth, of nearly everything in our lives.

Consider, for example, the purchase of something…it might be something small and insignificant, like a box of cereal, for example. Or, it could be something large and important, like a new vehicle. We assess the value of the proposed purchase when compared to the asking price. We ask ourselves, “Does the price seem reasonable, does it seem worth paying, is this a good value?”.

Or, think of our relationships. We assess whether or not it’s worthwhile, or beneficial, to associate with someone. We do this if we are thinking of marriage. We also do it when we consider informal relationships like membership in a volunteer organization. In such cases, we ask ourselves, “Is being in relationship, or associating with this person/these people, beneficial? Will it be of value to me?”. And, hopefully, we might also ask ourselves, “Does my presence in the organization or the relationship add value to those?”.

Now then, let’s turn the tables a bit, and consider, from God’s perspective, our value to Him.

Apparently, a mystery is woven into God’s assessment of our value to Him, our relating to Him.

Consider, for example, that we know God to be Lord of lords, and King of kings.[1] We apply this title to our Lord Jesus Christ (I think of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah). Knowing God in this way reminds us that the God who made everything that is, that wonderful, eternal God whose creative hand we see in the world about us, who fashioned all that is billions and billions of years ago, is also that same God whose lordship is magnificent.

But here is the mystery: That same God, the Lord of lords and King of kings, also seeks to be in relationship with us in a servant role. Here we see that our Lord Jesus describes Himself as a shepherd. A shepherd’s purpose – and reason for being – is the existence of the flock of sheep in His care. Put another way, if there is no flock, there is no need for a shepherd. So, the Lord’s statement that “I am among you as the one who serves[2],” applies to the relationship between the Lord’s flock of believers and His leadership as shepherd. The shepherd is the leader of the flock, but also serves as its servant.

It might help if we think in terms of height and depth. That way, we could describe this mystery by saying that the Lord is high above all things, unapproachable in His glory. But that same Lord also seeks to come among us, and below us, in order to claim us as His own, and in order to sustain and support us in this mortal life, and in the life of the world to come.

What awesome stuff!

Apparently, we are of great value to God. Therefore, the understanding is that we, ourselves, are the possession that God most wants to have. Another part of that mystery is that we have the freedom to give ourselves to the Great Shepherd as a gift, not under compulsion, not as a response to an order from God, but as a gift we, ourselves, offer to Him.

AMEN.

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[1]   Revelation 17:14 & 19:16

[2]   Luke 22:27b 

Easter 2, Year A (2026)

Acts 2:14a, 22–32 / Psalm 16 / I Peter 1:3–9 / John 20:19–31  

 

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 12, 2026, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION: SEEKING (AND FINDING) THE PROOF WE NEED”

(Homily text: John 20:19–31)

Each year, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we hear the account of our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearance to Thomas (yes, he who has come to be known as “Doubting Thomas”). In a very real sense, it is highly appropriate that we hear this account on this day, for it was on this day, the eighth day[1] after the Lord’s resurrection, that Jesus granted Thomas’ demands to be able to put his finger into the wounds on Jesus’ hands, and to thrust his hand into the Lord’s side.

The importance of this event underscores Thomas’ need, and ours, to know that the Lord really, truly, and in fact, was raised from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. Put another way, Jesus’ resurrected life was – and is – an actual fact, not the product of an ancient people’s religious imaginations, and not a fable promulgated by some highly fanatical followers of a dynamic teacher and leader. (I mention these two possibilities because – as many people contemplate the resurrection event - those who cannot accept it as an actual reality or fact often maintain those two possibilities to explain the biblical accounts.)

The Lord’s gift to Thomas underscores an essential outline of God’s ways of working with human beings. That plan unfolds in this way[2]: 1. A person comes to faith in God’s love, God’s power to change, and, perhaps most importantly, God’s ability to create and to re-create; 2. An encounter with God changes the person, fitting them out for God’s intentions, God’s call and God’s plan for their lives; and 3. The called/changed/outfitted person pursues God’s call and God’s will, putting faith into action.

The truth of this progression, when we think about Thomas’ situation, discloses the truth that, absent an encounter with the risen Lord, Thomas wasn’t prepared/outfitted/ready to do God’s will for his life. If Thomas had tried to do God’s work and will without that life-changing encounter, then he would be trying to do so on his own steam, not on God’s power.

What we’ve just said about Thomas state before his encounter with Jesus is the same truth we can apply to our own lives and our own situations: None of us is truly and completely ready and able to do God’s will for our lives, absent an encounter with the risen Lord, an encounter which leads us to faith in the reality of the Easter event as Holy Scripture informs us.

Thomas got the proof he demanded. Don’t most of us wish that we, too, had the same proof, the same encounter with the risen Lord? I think we do. No wonder that the Lord says to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have come to believe”. (Personally speaking, I’d like to think there’s an imaginary blank in that statement, one into which my name can be inserted…maybe you feel the same way.)

Absent that sort of physical proof, the demands that Thomas made to be able not only to see the risen Christ, but to touch Him, aren’t available to us today.

How then, do we get the proof we need? After all, faith needs some sort of a foundation in order for us to have something to work with as we come to believe in the reality of God’s power to change, to create, and to make all things new again.

Perhaps the proof is in Thomas’ life, post-Easter, and, as well, in the lives of the others who’d encountered the risen Lord.

Each one of them went out into the known world, carrying the Good News (Gospel) of God’s intervention in human history, made known in the sending of the person of Jesus Christ. In Thomas’ case, tradition tells us that he went as far as the subcontinent of India, carrying the Good News with him.

Each one of the original band of twelve Disciples who would soon become Apostles met a martyr’s death[3]. But even that possibility couldn’t shake their steadfast adherence to the truth that they had witnessed God’s power to preserve them for an eternity in God’s presence.

Today, proof of the reality of the resurrection event can be seen in altered and changed lives, lives which exhibit in some way or another that God’s power to make all things new has taken up residence in someone’s heart and mind.

So then, we pray for the Holy Spirit’s assistance, in order that we may come to believe and to know that Christ truly rose from the grave, a reality that continues to changes lives today.

AMEN.

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[1]   Remember that, in the Bible, the number eight represents a new beginning. So the event that took place on this day was, for Thomas, a new beginning.

[2]   God’s way of working with people is much the same plan we can see elsewhere in life. For example, a person feels called to pursue some calling in life. The process of being able to fulfill that calling begins with an encounter with the reality of the calling, some way of knowing what the calling involves. Then, the person assesses their own ability to fulfill the calling. Then, the person receives the training and the skills needed (a new chapter in life, if you will).

[3]   Absent one, traditionally John.