Proper 24 WED 22 Oct 2025 Missing the Point

 Proper 24 WEDNESDAY, 22 October 2025

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Missing the Point” 

Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NRSV

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

     Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Matthew 12:1-14

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ 3He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. 5Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? 6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

9 He left that place and entered their synagogue; 10a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. 11He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’ 13Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Two of my favorite authors, and both of which I have had the distinct pleasure of getting to spend time with, Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo co-wrote a book, Adventures in Missing the Point. The book was not particularly memorable, but the title certainly was. So many of the problems we face in life stem directly from this, us not being on the same page. Miscommunications. Assumptions. So many things trip us up and we run with our certainty and assume our perspective is reality and the rest, all that confusion and conflict, is what becomes history.

Jesus had the same thing happen to him. He and his followers were hungry, so they ate. But their way of getting food, plucking the wheat grains, happened on the Sabbath. This commanded day of rest in which we dedicate it to God was the hang-up. Jesus knew it was the Sabbath, but following the minutia of how one is supposed to follow that commandment was what became the issue.

The Sabbath was made for us, not us for it. In other words, who is driving the car here? What is the highest priority?

Think about who you last had a confrontation with. Most likely, you were not on opposite ends of whatever issue it was, but where you rank the priorities coming into conflict. Which priority trumps the other one?

My wife used to be the assistant to Bishop Goff. When she helped prepare churches for their episcopal visitation liturgical colors always came into play. What color is the color of the day. She, coming out of a Baptist background, had no idea about liturgical colors and what was appropriate when. Bishop Goff clarified it this way. If we are invoking the Holy Spirit, it is Red. Confirmations and Receptions. Both of which call on the Holy Spirit. But when we invoke Jesus, Baptisms (and Weddings and Funerals, too, by the way) we have White. While Red and White are both good, Jesus trumps everybody so white wins. It comes back to priorities.

For the Pharisees, Sabbath observance trumped personal needs. Jesus disagreed. Hunger and healing are both good, and good beats legalistic observance every time.

That conversation might seem far fetched and not applicable, but there were a few recent conversations where these conflicting priorities came into play. So many are desperately hurting right now with the government shut down. As a parish, though, we are right smack in the middle of the Generosity campaign which because of all the other programming was happening now. Can we be compassionate and caring of those hurting while the system continues the way systems do?

I was so moved how those on staff wrestled with not being tone deaf to folks’ situation while getting out the scheduled mailings. The emphasis of reaching out and telling people they come first was touching to me. I trust these efforts succeeded and were heard and even more felt.

These conversations around Tithing (or Stewardship or Giving or Generosity, whatever you call it) and the Sabbath are not about God, they are about US! God does not need your money. God does not need you to give God a day of praise. But God knows us because God made us, and God knows we are stuck in limited perspectives where it is hard for us to have the faith that we can live on 90% of our labors and we can get all that needs to be done in 6 days instead of 7. The Sabbath and our Giving are statements of profound faith that God is God and we are not. That what we have from this God of Abundance will make do. As we live into the Kingdom of God, think on that! Amen