Pentecost 6, Year C (2025)

Genesis 18: 1–10a / Psalm 15 / Colossians 1: 15–28 / Luke 10: 38–42

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 20, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“LIFE IS SHORT…”

(Homily text: Colossians 1: 15–28)

 

“Life is short, it pays to go first-class.” This saying might be a common one, though I heard it when I was in the Army.

In that vein, then, let’s consider some of the ways we put the wisdom of this saying into practice:

We are, for example, using an adjustable wrench to tighten a bolt. We discover, however, that the main thing the wrench we’re using is capable of doing is to loosen and then to round off the corners of the bolt. Turns out that adjustable wrench isn’t anywhere close to being a first-class tool. It’s quite something else.

Or, we are in the store, looking to buy a garment. We look closely at the quality of the fabric, and also at the seams. We want to be sure that what we’re planning to buy and wear will give good service. We don’t want something whose fabric will develop holes or tears, and we don’t want something whose seams will fall apart. We want to go first-class with our purchase.

Or, we find ourselves in a car dealership. We’ve done our homework to see what the frequency-of-repairs are for the vehicle we’re considering buying. We might pop the hood and look at the machinery inside. We might look at the ground or the floor to see if there are puddles of some sort gathering there. Given the expensive nature of vehicles today, we want to be sure we’ve purchased a well-designed, well-maintained product. In short, what we’re doing is to try to go first-class.

Whether or not we’re aware of it, we do this with just about everything we do or consider in daily life. We don’t want to be cheated. We don’t want to put up with shoddy work or with poorly-designed “stuff”. We don’t want to buy something that will constantly break down or require continual attention and repairs to keep it going.

“Life is short, it pays to go first class!”

In essence, that’s what St. Paul is telling the early Christians in the church at Colossae. He is reminding them of the true nature of the Lord that they have come to know through the ministry of Epaphras. (Some biblical scholars think that the church in Colossae was founded by Epaphras during the time that Paul spent in nearby Ephesus. This theory suggests that Epaphras heard the Good News (Gospel) from Paul during that time, and then went to Colossae and assisted in the founding the church there.)

Paul’s message to the Colossians is essentially this: You have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ through the witness and the work of those who, themselves, have come to faith in Christ. The Colossian Christians had never seen the Lord themselves. Furthermore, they probably didn’t know much about the Old Testament foundations of the faith that had resulted in the sending of Jesus Christ to take up our humanity. What they did know they had come to understand through the work of faithful witnesses to Christ.

What a daunting task! To introduce these future believers to the Lord, even though they had been living a pagan life (with all its empty values and wayward ways) in the Greco-Roman world of the first-century.

Paul reminds these early believers about Christ Jesus’ true nature. “He is the image of the invisible God”, Paul says. “...by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…”…in him all things hold together.”[1]

Paul’s point is that this Christ Jesus is no mere human being, no superhuman, charismatic figure whose luster and memory will fade as the years go by.

On the other hand, Paul says, you have come into an intimate relationship with Christ Jesus, who is one with God Himself. Yours, you Colossian Christians, is a first-class relationship and the first-class gift of God to all who come to faith.

Paul contrasts this new, first-class way of being and living with the former, pagan life of these early believers. Theirs was a second-class existence prior to coming to know the Lord.

Paul’s language captures the truth of Christ’s nature, one that the Church will, in time, affirm in the decree of the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD)…there, the Church affirms that Jesus Christ has two natures, a divine one and a human one. The Council’s decree affirms that neither nature can be separated from the other, but that the two are present in Christ Jesus. The two natures come together to form one person.[2]

These early Christians are blessed, Paul says, to be living in a time following the revelation of God’s nature in the person and work of Christ Jesus. God’s gift makes possible first-class living.

The gift given to the Colossians is the same gift given to us: We are blessed to live in the wake of Christ Jesus’ coming. We are blessed to be the beneficiaries of centuries of the Church’s reflection on God’s work, made known in Christ.

God be praised!

AMEN.

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[1]   Theologians use the term “High Christology” to describe the focus on Christ’s divine nature. Such a focus is seen in Paul’s description of Christ, read this morning. By contrast, the focus on Jesus’ human nature is known as “Low Christology”.

[2]   This is a simplified summary of the Council’s decree. 

Pentecost 5, Year C (2025)

Deuteronomy 30: 9–14 / Psalm 25: 1–10 / Colossians 1: 1–14 / Luke 10: 25–37

This is the homily written for Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania for Sunday, July 13, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“WHAT AM I MISSING?”

(Homily text: Luke 10: 25–37)

This morning, we are treated to the Lord’s wonderful parable about the Good Samaritan. (This is one of many parables that Luke, alone among the Gospel writers, transmits to us...Luke’s Gospel account is a treasure trove of things that the Lord said and did during the time of His earthly ministry.)

As was often the case, the interchange between the Lord and an onlooker sets the stage for the Lord’s teaching. In this case, it is an attorney[1] who asks the Lord, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

This man’s question asks, essentially, “What am I missing?” (But note that Luke tells us that the man stood up so as to “put Jesus to the test”, meaning that he was looking for some pretext with which to accuse Jesus of wrongful belief and practice.)

Jesus puts the burden back on his accuser, saying, “What is written in the Law[2]? How do you read it?”

The reply is given, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself”. The Lord affirms this answer. But then the lawyer asks, “And who is my neighbor?”

With this answer, we are ready to look at some of the various aspects of the parable which will help us understand the cultural context of the Lord’s story, aspects that will deepen and enrich our understanding.

We might begin by remembering who the Samaritans were, and how they were regarded by Jews during the time of the Lord’s ministry.

Samaritans were the descendants of Jewish people who had intermingled and intermarried with various peoples who were resettled in the area of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel after the Assyrians overran it in the eighth-century B. C. As such, they were regarded as being racially impure by Jewish standards. Furthermore, they did not regard Jerusalem as being the proper place to worship God (Samaritans worshipped on Mount Gerazim). Finally, they possessed a version of the five books of the Law of Moses, but the Samaritan version differed from the Jewish version, and so was regarded as being corrupt.

The hatred of the Samaritans by the Jews was so intense that an upright Jew would avoid going through Samaria if they had occasion to go from the region of Galilee (in the north) to Jerusalem. They would choose to go around the region of Samaria, either along the Mediterranean seacoast, or along the Jordan River valley. (Isn’t it interesting, then, to note that Jesus often went straight through Samaria on his way to/from Jerusalem.)

Jesus’ choice of the Samaritan to be the hero of His parable would have been shocking to His Jewish audience. (Remember, though, that Luke is fond of telling us about things that the Lord did that overturn our normal expectations.)

Next, we ought to look at the reaction of the priest and of the Levite[3] as they encounter the wounded man, lying alongside the road. The Lord tells us that both of them, upon seeing the man, walk to the other side of the road and pass by without helping.

Normally, these two might qualify to be the heroes of the story. But they are not. The reason is, most likely, that to come into contact with the man’s blood would have rendered them ritually unclean, and unable to do their priestly functions. This prohibition stems from the requirements of Torah. Jesus’ audience would have been aware of this stipulation.

Now, the heart of the story unfolds, and it is one of vulnerability, a vulnerability that encompasses all three of the remaining characters in the story: The beaten man, the Samaritan and the innkeeper.

To this aspect of the parable we now turn.

The vulnerability of the wounded man is obvious…the Lord tells us that he was left half dead.

But the Samaritan is also vulnerable, for he is traveling in Jewish territory. That means that he is in a foreign country, one in which many – if not all – people would, quite likely, refuse to help him.

Next, the innkeeper is also vulnerable, for as the Samaritan enters with the wounded man, the innkeeper could have either refused to let them stay, or he could have been victimized if the Samaritan offered to pay for whatever the cost of the man’s treatment was, if he didn’t return. The compassion shown by the Samaritan now enfolds the innkeeper as well in the plan to restore the beaten man’s health.

We began by characterizing the attorney’s question in terms of asking, “What am I missing?”

It turns out that this expert in the Law got part of the point of Jesus’ parable right, but he still missed a part of it. As Jesus finishes the parable, He asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The attorney correctly replies, “The one who showed him mercy.” But notice that the attorney can’t bring himself to identify the hero of the story as being a Samaritan: His response is the “one”, not the “Samaritan” who showed him mercy. Perhaps the Lord’s point, in making the Samaritan the hero, was to show this person that the Samaritans aren’t who you think they are.

Whenever we hear or read a passage of Holy Scripture, we would do well to ask ourselves, “What is it that this text is telling us about God, and about God’s nature?” Another question that we might also ask is, “What is it that the Lord wants us to know about how to live our lives?”

Questions that the Lord’s parable pose to us today might include the following:

Sometimes life is messy. The priest and the Levite are faced with a choice: Do I help this wounded man and risk putting myself in a ritually unclean condition, so much so that I won’t be able to work? Or, do I help this man who is obviously in need? The choice they make in the parable is to follow the legal requirement of the Law of Moses, thereby preserving their ritual purity. It was a choice often made by God’s chosen people during the time of our Lord’s visitation, and one that Jesus often spoke out against. For, it seems, such a choice fails to ask, “What are we missing?” It fails to take into account the Law’s requirement to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Sometimes, the rules we live by come into tension with the real-life circumstances of people we encounter.  But, as we ponder this question, we ought to remember that Jesus began His parable by asking the attorney what the requirements of the Law are. So, the Law is important. Living into this tension, we often have to make choices that are less-than-ideal as life’s twists and turns confront us.

Encountering those who are vulnerable (in some way or another) also exposes us to vulnerability. We mentioned earlier that not only was the beaten man vulnerable, but the Samaritan was also vulnerable. Then, the innkeeper was also exposed to vulnerability.

Compassion is contagious: The Samaritan’s compassion for the wounded man must’ve been evident to the innkeeper from the moment they entered the inn. The innkeeper is folded into the Samaritan’s compassion (so, we might say that the innkeeper – who was probably Jewish – set aside any scruples he might have had about dealing with a Samaritan), trusting the Samaritan to actually return and to fully pay any remaining amount that the wounded man’s treatment required.

The Lord’s parables are filled with richness and a depth that invites us to look at and to ponder their truths over and again. (The Lord is a master story-teller!) In this sermon, we’ve looked at some of the aspects of this wonderful parable. What might the Holy Spirit enable us to see and understand in its import and meaning?

AMEN.

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[1]   The individual who is identified as an attorney was, most likely, one who was trained in the precepts and the application of the Law of Moses (Torah). Such a person was a religious authority, not a practitioner of a secular, legal profession.

[2]   The Law of Moses (Torah)

[3]   There were three orders of priests: The Aaronic priests, the Zadokites and the Levites, in descending order. 

Pentecost 4, Year C (2025)

Isaiah 66: 10–14 / Psalm 66: 1–9 / Galatians 6: 1–16 / Luke 10: 1–11, 16–20

This is the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 6, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“WHAT IF’S?”

(Homily text: Galatians 6: 1–16)

This morning, we finish our sojourn with St. Paul’s letter to the early churches in the region of Galatia. Paul’s appeal, throughout this letter, is for those early believers not to abandon the faith that was delivered to them by Paul and others, not to fall prey to the demands of unknown persons who were telling these church members that they must adhere to all the requirements of the Law of Moses in order to be true followers of Jesus, and to be united in their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and to each other.

So, with this as an introduction, let’s ask ourselves a series of questions, entitled “What If’s?”.

What if the Church lost its way, and began to act like the surrounding, unbelieving world. Wouldn’t that be like the Lord’s warning, that if salt had lost its flavor, it was no longer any good, but should be thrown out and trampled underfoot? (See Matthew 5:13.)

        Come to think of it, such a development has happened before…in the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther and other reformers were determined to prompt the Church to abandon its quest for worldly power and influence.

        That same thing could happen to the Church today, whenever it seeks to adopt the ways of the outside world.

What if the Church got wrapped up in politics?

        That has happened before, as well: The reformers we mentioned a moment ago also saw that the Church was wrapped up in political intrigues, in wars, and so forth.

        So, too, can the Church today become an extension of a political agenda, or of a political movement or party. My second Bishop once wisely said, “The Church must never become political, it must never become an extension of any political party, whether that party is right, left, or in between”.

What if the Church began to behave as though it is a closed society, whose membership is open only to the chosen few (also sometimes known as the “Frozen Chosen”).

        Alas, that has happened as well in times past. And in some places, it still happens today. And, of course, part of what Paul has to say in our reading this morning is a rebuttal of the idea that the Church is a closed society, whose membership is open only to those who are able to follow all the rules.

What if the Church became so accepting of any sort of behavior that it abandoned its moral underpinnings, those things that the faith once delivered has passed on to its members, and to us?

        That, too, has happened before: The sixteenth-century reformers were appalled at the private behaviors of many of those who were leaders in the Church in their time.

        So, too, can we lapse into an acceptance of an outward appearance of holiness, but a holiness that isn’t reflected in our inward dispositions, attitudes and beliefs. My first Bishop once wisely said, “If you are going to come to serve here, your insides must match your outsides”. What the Bishop is referring to is something called “integrity”.

What if the Church forgot that its primary reason for being is to worship God? And, second to that, to be the agent by which God is introduced to people, and people are introduced to God, while the Church nurtures that relationship.

        History tells us that that has been the case in the past, as well.

        Our own time can reflect such a different set of values, as the Church pursues any number of causes, many of them worthwhile, turning the Church into a group of “religious busybodies” (my third Bishop’s description).

What if – on the other hand – the Church reflected the concerns that St. Paul articulates in his letter to the Galatians?

What if the Church worked to foster unity within its membership? After all, Paul says that we are to “bear one another’s burdens” in today’s reading.

        In the early Church, one of the most significant challenges it faced was to determine on what basis Gentiles (non-Jews) could come into relationship with God through Christ. In the Book of Acts, chapter fifteen, we read about the proceedings and the decisions that were made during the Council of Jerusalem (held in the year 49 AD). There, Gentiles were to be welcomed as full members of the Church. But the welcome wasn’t open-ended, there were limitations on what constituted acceptable behavior.

        The Church in our own day still faces the challenge to hold in tension the requirements of Holy Scripture with a realization that people are imperfect creatures, prone to make mistakes, prone to misjudgments, and so forth. To chart such a middle course is – it seems to me – to reject the rigid fundamentalism that the Galatians were experiencing with the demands of those unknown persons who were telling them that they had to follow all the requirements of the Law of Moses. But notice that Paul realizes the reality that some will fall away from faithful living. To such, he says, we are to restore such a person in gentleness, keeping watch that we, ourselves, don’t fall into the same situation.

What if the Church were to be known, not as a place of judgment and exclusion, but just the opposite: A welcoming place, a place where we declare that we have experienced God’s love, and – driven by that great gift – we offer that same love to all who come our way. And, St. Paul would remind us, that new call also meant that certain behaviors that once marked a secular, godless way of living, were no longer acceptable.

        The early Church grew mightily in numbers and in spiritual strength as it offered to the Greco-Roman world of the first century a radical welcome to all persons: slave or free, rich or poor, noble or slave[1], all of whom were sinners in need of God’s love and God’s forgiveness.

        In the process, people whose lives often had little or no meaning suddenly found – in the Church – meaning, welcome, love and purpose to life.

No wonder that early Church grew!

Their experience and their encounter with God, offered to people in those early times, can serve as a basis for the Church’s growth today: The secular world outside the Church resembles the Greco-Roman world of the first century: Many people feel like there is no meaning to their lives, no purpose, no brightness in their futures at all. The Church has a wonderful message to proclaim to all who feel that way today, offering them the message that they are God’s beloved children, God’s intentional creation, and a person with whom God seeks to be in relationship.

What if the Church, today, were to act like that first century Church? What might happen if it did?

AMEN.

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[1]   See Galatians 3:28. 

Pentecost 3, Year C (2025)

I Kings 19: 15–16, 19–21 / Psalm 16 / Galatians 5: 1, 13–25 / Luke 9: 51–62

This is the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 29, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“LIFE PASSAGES & GOD’S CALL”

(Homily texts:  I Kings 19: 15–16, 19–21, Galatians 5: 1, 13–25 & Luke 9: 51–62)

As we make our way through life, we will encounter a number of passages, each of which have the ability to change us in ways that make us different from the ways we were before we transitioned to a new chapter or way of being.

For example: Think about graduation from school, or perhaps moving to a new home or to a new community. How about getting married, or becoming a parent? Or, how about joining the military, or acquiring a new skill (and along with those new abilities, a new job)?

Life is full of such things, and others.

Three Scripture readings, appointed for this Sunday, each have to do with changes, life changes. They are well-suited to that common theme.

We should begin with the prophet Elisha’s call. We read in I Kings 19 that the prophet Elijah came by Elisha and cast his mantle over him. Elijah asks, “…do you know what I have done to you?”. In response, Elisha seems to understand the significance of Elijah’s actions, goes to his family and bids them farewell. Then, he sacrifices the oxen with which he had been plowing, signifying his farewell to his former life. After that, his life changes as be assists Elijah, and then – in time - succeeds him in God’s work.

Next, let’s look at our Gospel passage.

In Luke 9:51, we hear that Jesus now sets His face to go to Jerusalem. (In Luke’s account, this is a turning point, for – from this point forward – all of Luke’s narrative will have to do with Jesus’ determination to fulfill God’s call and God’s purpose in His coming to take up our humanity.)

Jesus’ determination to go to Jerusalem is seen in His determination to go directly through Samaria. Remember that, in that day and time, most devout Jews would avoid Samaria entirely if they had to go from Galilee, in the north, to Jerusalem in the south…they would either go out of their way and go east, down to the Jordan valley, and then back up the hill westward to Jerusalem, or they would make their way west along the coast and then back inland again to Jerusalem.

But Jesus makes His way directly through this area. He seems determined to make His way to the Holy City, to fulfill God’s call and purpose.

Perhaps the Samaritans sense His determination in their seeming unwillingness to offer Him a welcome.

Then, three encounters with unnamed persons take place along the way. The first one says, “I will follow you wherever you go”, to which the Lord replies, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”. Then, another comes, and the Lord says, “Follow me”. But the person says, “Lord, let me first go and bury by father.” The Lord’s response might be difficult to understand, for He says, “Let the dead bury their dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God”. Still another says, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home”. In response, Jesus says, “No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”. (Notice the parallels to the Elijah and Elisha account in I Kings.)

In each of these three encounters, the unifying theme is one of utter and complete devotion to God’s call to work for the advancement of the kingdom. Just as Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, and the actions He will take to usher in this new kingdom unfold, tell us that He is responding to God’s call and purpose on His life, requiring His complete and total obedience to that call, so does the dedication to that same call resonate in the back-and-forth between the Lord and these three persons who were encountered on the road to Jerusalem.

Now, these considerations bring us to St. Paul’s letter to the churches in the region of Galatia.

Much of the letter to the Galatians has to do with the incursions of unnamed persons[1] who were demanding that converts to Christianity had to obey all the requirements of the Law of Moses (Torah). By doing so, they were undercutting much of Paul’s ministry and his conviction that the requirements of Torah had been largely done away with, by the coming of Jesus Christ and His saving death.

Now, in chapter five of his letter, Paul describes the life passage that coming to faith in Christ represents.

He lays out a list of various vices that characterize the behaviors of those who do not know the Lord and who do not live according to the ways in which God’s people are called to live. In short, the list we read of these various behaviors and attitudes is a summary of the way of life of many in the Greco-Roman world of the first century.

Paul compares this pagan behavior with the ways of Christ, the desires of God, and the markers by which the Church ought to be known.

I think, at this point, it’s worth noting that Paul isn’t saying that, because the Law of Moses has been superseded, that it’s OK to do whatever we might want to do. No, instead, his is a call to uprightness of belief, proper conduct for believers and utmost devotion to the example set for us by Christ.

What a life change that coming to faith in Christ represents! What a life passage that faith brings with it, closing the door to our former life and the ways in which we used to live before becoming Christ’s own.

God’s call to work for the betterment and the growth of the kingdom of God is ongoing. God’s call comes in various forms, and at various times throughout life.

May we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, discern God’s call and respond to it, embracing the changes that are bound to be a part of such an invitation.

AMEN.

 

 

 

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[1]   These persons are often called Judaizers. 

Pentecost 2, Year C (2025)

Isaiah 65: 1–9 / Psalm 22: 19–28 / Galatians 3: 23–29 / Luke 8: 26–39

This is the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 22, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“ENTANGLED”

(Homily text: Luke 8: 26–39)

Into every life, some tangles are bound to occur: You get ready to remove your shoes, and as you untie the laces, they wind themselves into a tangle, often with a tight knot, just for an added challenge. Or, you finish using an extension cord, and carefully wind it up so you can put it on the hook in the garage, and sure enough, the next time to take it down to use it, it presents you with a tangle that requires removal.

This morning’s Gospel text presents us with the specter of a man who’s entangled: He’s become the host for a large number of demonic spirits, Luke tells us. [1]

His entanglement is so severe that he can’t be controlled. He cannot live among others, and is so deranged that he lives among the tombs.

In short, his predicament has destroyed any relationship he had had formerly with his family or with the members of the community he had lived in. It’s also worth noting that there was no possibility of a relationship with God, either.

Into this situation, Jesus comes, having crossed the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. He has now entered Gentile territory, on the east side of the lake. [2]

As the Lord encounters the man, the demonic spirits engage in negotiation with the Lord. Eventually, they are given permission to leave the man and enter a herd of pigs nearby. The pigs, having received these evil spirits, rush headlong into the water and are drowned. [3]

The man, now delivered from his tangled circumstances, is now in his right mind, Luke tells us, sitting clothed and behaving normally. He begs Jesus to allow him to become a follower. Instead of granting this request, the Lord tells him to go and relate what great things God has done for him.

This encounter reveals the markers of God at work in the person and the actions of the Lord. Specifically, these markers are ones which create, which re-create, and – in this instance – also restore.

Human beings can become entangled in all sorts of things: Addictions of one sort or another are good examples. So are harmful actions, harmful to the individual, and harmful to others.

In short, that was the situation with the afflicted man who was living among the tombs, unable to be around anyone else, and unable to be controlled: His condition entangled him, it was destroying his life, and it would destroy the lives of anyone who got near him.

We can see God’s hand at work whenever new-or-restored life comes into being. The addict who has come to the point of realizing that they cannot deliver themselves, and that God’s help will be an indispensable part of their journey to begin to turn things around. To be sure, twelve-step programs, and other programs that are designed to assist individuals with recovery are valuable, as well. I don’t think we should discount the role that God can play, however.

The Church, too, can become entangled in all sorts of things.

The time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century is a good case-in-point. The Church in that time had become addicted to wealth and worldly power. The Reformers sought to untangle the Church of that day from its misguided values.

In our own time, the Church can entangle itself through an infatuation with all sorts of causes. Many of these concerns have validity in and of themselves, but the extent to which the Church embraces these appeals can be to the detriment of its worship of God, and distract from its mission of bringing people into relationship with God, and of nurturing that relationship; it risks engaging in idolatry.

We will need the insights and the wisdom of God’s Holy Spirit to avoid the tangles which beckon and call us away from God’s intent for our lives and for the life of the Church.

AMEN.

 

 

 

 

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[1]   The two other Synoptic Gospel accounts also record this incident. See Matthew 8:28 – 9:1 and Mark 5:1–21. Matthew tells us that two men were involved, while Mark tells us that there was only one. It’s possible that, as Matthew relates to us, there were two men involved. Perhaps Mark and Luke recorded only one because Jesus directly interacted with one of the two. Another possibility is that Mark and Luke’s sources remembered only one man as being involved. It seems clear that all three accounts record the same incident.

[2]   We know this is not a Jewish area, because pigs were regarded as unclean animals according to the precepts of the Law or Moses (Torah).

[3]   It would be worth our while to remember that, in biblical times, some conditions were ascribed to demonic activity which were, quite likely, a medical condition. That said, however, demonic possession and demonic activity is a genuine phenomenon and one to be taken seriously. In the case of the Gerasene man, it’s possible that his condition was mental illness (notice that Luke tells us that he was “in his right mind” after his encounter with the Lord). 

Service of Thanksgiving

Job 19:21 – 27 / Psalm 25 / II Corinthians 4:16 – 5:9 / Matthew 11:25 – 30

This is the homily given at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Steven Bruce Hoy, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Saturday, June 21, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker.

 

“LIFE’S LIKE A PITCHER – REMEMBERING STEVE HOY”

(Homily texts: Job 19:21 – 27 & II Corinthians 4:16 – 5:9)

We’ve gathered this morning to give thanks for the life of Steve Hoy, for the gifts that God gifted him with, for the wonderful impact he has had on our lives, and – above all – for the gift of life eternal in God’s presence, a gift that is now Steve’s in eternity.

As I think about all these things, I think a good way to think about them would be to imagine that each and every one of us is like a pitcher (the sort that one pours a liquid into, and out of).

Gifts that were poured into Steve’s life

So, at Steve’s birth, God created the vessel of his life, and then God poured into that vessel the gifts that Steve had, gifts that are like no other human beings in all of history. Steve was – and is – a unique creation of God.

As time went along. God poured into Steve’s heart the gift of Holy Baptism, whereby God declared His love for Steve. Along with the gift of baptismal waters, poured into the pitcher of Steve’s heart, came the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that Steve would come to know and love God in return for the love that God had shown to Steve. So, we can repeat those words that are spoken at Baptism, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever.” You see, Baptism creates an indelible mark on the soul, one that can never be erased or taken away. (Thanks be to God!)

Steve’s knowledge of God and of God’s ways was nourished in Methodist Churches. There, he served as an acolyte and also sang in the choir as a young person.

Some of the ways that Steve poured himself into giving of gifts to others

Steve wasn’t just a receiver of all of these good things. Instead of getting filled up with them, he also shared them with others, pouring out the blessings that had come his way.

He had a deep love of people. In his younger years, he loved to party, being with people, even though he had a more quiet-and-reserved sort of personality.

He also worked to develop his skills in ice hockey, even to the point of attending a school in Montreal where some of the greats in the game are remembered today in the hall of fame.

That love of people, and his desire to better their lives, prompted him to pursue a career in education, working with those with special needs. In his teaching career, he often worked with the most challenging students. Some of those students, years later, remembered the goodness and the care that Steve had poured into their lives.

In the fulness of time, he met and married Liz. Theirs was a wonderful, generous and gift-giving sort of marriage, one partner helping the other through the ins and the outs of life.

Gifts poured in- and out - in abundance

Steve’s quiet nature often led him to ponder the mysteries of God and of our faith, asking the question, “Why do we believe what we believe?” These contemplations would often lead to conversations with Liz.

Liz and Steve were both regular attendees at our Wednesday noon Healing Services. As part of the format for those, we would consider the life of a saint, or perhaps a holy day in the calendar. Then, we’d open the floor up for conversation and give-and-take. Steve would often come out with a “nugget” of insight and wisdom. You could tell that his intellect and mind were working over the topic at hand.

Gifts given as life drew to a close

The gifts poured into Steve’s heart in his childhood and young adulthood, gifts of coming to know God, came to be important assets to Steve as time went along.

As his health deteriorated in recent years, God’s presence came to mean more and more to him.

Then, as his health began to fail, he could look forward, and with Job declare, “I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last he shall stand upon the earth. After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

Fr. Ted supported Steve as he entered the hospital. As part of that support, Steve could look forward with St. Paul, who said, “…we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

So, then, our faith encourages us to affirm that “life has changed, not ended”, as we will hear in our communion prayer in a few moments. For, early in his life, Steve was claimed by God as God’s beloved child, whose soul was “marked by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever.”

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.

 

  

Trinity Sunday, Year C (2025)

Proverbs 8: 1–4, 22–31 / Psalm 8 / Romans 5: 1–5 / John 16: 12–15

This is the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 15, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“GOD’S SELF-REVELATION AS FATHER, SON & HOLY SPIRIT”

(Homily text:  John 16: 12–15)

The transition from the Easter season, which ends with the Feast of Pentecost, to the season after Pentecost is made by taking some time to reflect on God’s nature as the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In a very real sense, the design of the Church Year is a good one, for – from the beginning of the year in Advent until the conclusion of the Easter season, we’ve been thinking about and reflecting on the events in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even the Feast of Pentecost (last Sunday) fits into the narrative about our Lord’s coming, His ministry and His work, culminating in His announcement that – after His departure to return to the Father – He would send the Holy Spirit to lead His followers into all truth.

Now, as we enter the Season after Pentecost (which occupies about half of the year, until late November), we bear in mind that the God we love and serve is the Holy Trinity, the Three-in-One divine mystery.

With this thought in mind, let’s explore some aspects of God’s nature in this mystery.

Mystery is good word with which to start. For God’s nature in one Union but with three Persons doesn’t make sense from our human point-of-view. Indeed, we should say that we know and understand God’s nature only in part this side of heaven.

But what we do know about God and about God’s nature is due to God’s own revelation of His nature. So, I think the question naturally arises: Do we know all there is to know about God’s nature? The answer is surely “No”. But then, can we say that we know enough upon which to base our faith and to walk in relationship with this Triune God? There, I think, the answer is surely “Yes”.

Since we’ve mentioned the word “revelation”, we ought to take a moment to affirm God’s revelation as the Creator God. In the Genesis creation account, chapter one, we read of this creative power. The text tells us that “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form and void. Darkness covered the face of the deep. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.”[1]

The Christian faith sees in this account the three Persons of the Holy Trinity: God as Father and Creator, the eternal Word spoken (“Let there be light’) and the Spirit of God.

Now, let’s look at a passage from the beginning of John’s Gospel account:[2]  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Notice the parallels between the Genesis account and the beginning of John’s account, parallels of the Word, who is eternal with the Creator God, the Word spoken which creates, and the presence of light. A bit later on in the same chapter from John’s account, the Word is identified as Jesus Christ. (Verse seventeen.)

Now that we’ve folded our Lord Jesus Christ into our considerations, we would do well to say that it was the Lord’s coming among us that assisted our human understanding of God’s nature, and, indeed, prompted later Christian reflection on the nature of the Godhead. The Lord used the language of human relationship to describe His relationship to God, using the words “Father” and “Son”. Such language is quite prominent in John’s account.

One of the markers of divine power and activity is the power to create and to re-create. We see this in the Genesis creation account. Jesus Christ possessed that power and demonstrated it in His healings, in His feeding of large crowds, and in His raising of the dead to life (to cite but a few examples). The Holy Spirit, as well, demonstrates this creative power in the events at Pentecost, when the disciples were gifted with the ability to communicate with others in languages they did not know.

In our Gospel text, appointed for this morning, the Lord tells His disciples that He will send them the Spirit of truth, who will lead them into all truth and will make know to them all that the Father has made known to the Son.

This passage seems to indicate a relationship in which the Father sends the Son, informs the Son about the Father’s will, and then the Son sends the Holy Spirit, who will continue to inform the disciples of all that the Father has made known. It would be possible to infer from this that there is some sort of a higher/lower relationship in the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Another way to see this relationship is one of procession, with the Father sending the Son, and the Son, in turn, sending the Spirit.

The understanding of God’s nature as Father, Son and Holy Spirit emerges very early in the Church’s life. In Matthew 28: 19–20, we read that Jesus’ disciples are to baptize in the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And in II Corinthians 13:14, St. Paul concludes his letter by saying that “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.

These two scriptural citations are about as close as we can get in Holy Scripture to a description of the Triune God.

As time went along, the early Church, enabled, enlightened and led by the Holy Spirit, reflected on God’s self-revelation, especially in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Eventually, a word came into being to describe God’s nature as the Three-in-One: “Trinity”. Theophilis of Antioch, sometime in the late second century, is credited with its creation.

The Church’s two major Creeds affirm God’s nature, using a Trinitarian formula to do so. The first paragraph centers on God the Father. The second paragraph centers on the person and work of the Son, while the third paragraph has to do with the Holy Spirit.

The Church would, over time, understand that the three Persons of the Holy Trinity are completely and totally united, but with some differentiation in their identities.

The challenge for us, as Christian believers, is to grapple with the immensity and the majesty of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we do so, one point we should remember is that when we think about or consider the presence and work of one Person of the Holy Trinity, the other two Persons are also, always, present. (To think of the three Persons separately is known as “modalism”, whereby thought is given to the “modes” in which the Persons operate, or are considered, separately.)

One final thought is worth adding: As mysterious and as powerful and as full of grandeur this Three-in-One God is, that same God seeks to be in relationship with each and every one of us. That same Three-in-One God cares deeply for each individual.

Talk about a mystery!  There is, perhaps, the ultimate mystery, that God loves us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

AMEN.

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[1]   Genesis 1: 1–3

[2]   John 1: 1-5