 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son…” ~Matthew 22:1-2 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. ~Philippians 4:8-9 This is the fourth parable in a row that Jesus tells as the conflict in Jerusalem ramps up and the shouts of “crucify” draw nearer. In this one, a king hosts a wedding banquet for a child. The king has been traditionally perceived to represent God and God’s son Jesus. But the king in this story is demanding and venomous and committed to a scorched earth policy. He’s not unlike the fed-up God who Moses has to talk off a ledge. And yet, in Exodus God relents. Is this really a parable about God? It sounds a lot more like Herod and other idolatrous despots—old and new. What if the parable is mapping the new path of peace and non-violence Jesus has been travelling since he set his face toward Jerusalem? If so, what has this story to say of the ways of peace, of a life than enables all to flourish—what we know as the kindom of God for which we long and to which we belong? Enter into worship. Readings: Exodus 32:1-14 † Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 † Isaiah 25:1-9 † Psalm 23 † Philippians 4:1-9 † Matthew 22:1-14 About the Art: About the Art: Calf of Beth-aven, Source unknown. Retrieved October 5, 2026 from https://dailyoffice.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/morning-prayer-10-2-20-an-ordinary-friday/hosea-calf-of-beth-aven/.
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 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. ~Exodus 20:17 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ ~Matthew 21:38 The last five of the Ten Commandments are ultimately about desire. Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not witness falsely. These are different from the tenth only in length and in terms of the object. In place of an act, the last prohibits a desire. It is as if the shapers of the list started enumerating acts of violence and realized the list could go on forever, so turned to the root of these actions. Desire. We tend to desire what our neighbor has or what our neighbor desires. We also don’t like to really talk about this! Rivalry, in other words, exists at the very heart of human social relationships—even if we prefer not to dwell on it. And this rivalry lies at the root of our violence toward one another (cf. commandments 6-9) introducing fragility into human relations. There is an important paradox in this rivalry in that the antagonism that arises from it leads to imitation—to the competing for the same thing, behaving in similar ways. This can swing both ways, of course. The record is pretty clear about our capacity to return violence with violence. But goodness, gentleness, forgiveness, peace can also build up a head of steam. The apostle Paul intuits in Philippians (3:10-11) that Jesus also invites imitation: “ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” But Jesus wants us to imitate his desire to become the perfect image of God. He wants us to imitate his imitating of his Abba. In contrast to all the gurus and influencers who want us to imitate them, neither the Parent nor the Son desires greedily or egotistically. God gives graciously—without keeping a ledger. God lets the weeds grow along with the wheat until the harvest. This kind of desiring may just be the only kind that leads us to peace. Enter into worship. Readings: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 † Psalm 19 † Philippians 3:4b-14 † Matthew 21:33-46 About the Art: Haring, Keith. Ten Commandments, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/58898 [retrieved September 22, 2026]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/90155419@N00/3108432455/. Keith Haring's series of works entitled The Ten Commandments. The exhibition took place from September 1 to November 17, 1996, at the Museum Fridericianum and the Alte Brüderkirche in Kassel, Germany. The Ten Commandments series, created in 1985, consists of ten large, seven-meter-high panels. Haring painted these works for his first solo museum exhibition, at the CAPC in Bordeaux, France.
 “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ~Matthew 21:25-26 The stakes are sky high for Jesus and for the temple leaders in this seemingly esoteric Matthew confrontation scene. Indeed, step back a little and it seems everything is on the line including the very foundations of the religious and political détente with Rome that keeps chaos at bay. Remember not two generations later it does break. An unsettled Jewish contingent resists. Rome flexes its muscle. The temple is destroyed (70ce) and the historic underpinnings of Jewish identity are fundamentally reshaped, its religious life centered no longer around the temple, but the synagogue. And a new religion called Christianity is birthed. Much of the dramatic movement of the gospels is centered on the temple. In Mark 11:11 there is this obscure scene in which Jesus enters Jerusalem, goes straight to the temple, and looks around, but does nothing else. This tidbit isn’t in the Matthew narrative, but the scene still has the feeling of a choreographed sequence of action. Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) observed that every world religion knows that Jesus taught nonviolence, lived nonviolently, and died a nonviolent death except one: Christianity! Could it be Jesus is doing, in other words, what Gandhi did in the Salt March and King at Pettus Bridge? Was he designing a moment that would reveal a deep and transformative truth that would shake the world out of its self-destructive slumber? If so, to what end? Perhaps to the end of our destructive rivalries. Perhaps that’s a key in understanding the strange parable of these two brothers who can’t seem to get their words in line with their actions. Perhaps there is something to learn here for the working out of our own peace. Enter into worship. Readings: Exodus 17:1-7 † Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 † Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32† Psalm 25:1-9 † Philippians 2:1-13 † Matthew 21:23-32 About the Art: Why Do I Have To Change The World?, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/57602 [retrieved September 14, 2026]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinaleggio/14902888760/ - Tina Leggio/.
 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. ~Jonah 4:1-2 And when [the workers] received [their day’s wage], they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” ~Matthew 20:11-12 There’s a whole lot of grumbling going on. And why not? Life in these stories is not fair. The prophet Jonah understands all too well from the very beginning that God is merciful, that God forgives. And he’s not happy about it! It is the very reason the prophet does not want to go to Ninevah in the first place and heads off in the opposite direction. And once he is “deposited” on the shore by a giant fish, his worst fears are realized when all of Ninevah responds to his tepid, mumbled warnings with a change of heart. Even the animals repent and turn from their ways. Likewise the early risers who put in a full day’s work are (understandably?) offended when the last shift receives equal compensation for unequal work. This is not justice. It is mercy. God, it seems, is not running a meritocracy. Forgiveness, not punishment, is the organizing principle. This all sounds great until we begin to compare in a zero-sum context of scarcity, when we imagine God’s generosity as a limited resource. What if it isn’t? What if God’s goodness to others never comes at our expense, but is indeed a blessing for all? Are you in for this kind of an economy, this kind of a kindom? Enter into worship. Readings: Exodus 16:2-15 † Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 † Jonah 3:10-4:11† Psalm 145:1-8 † Philippians 1:21-30 † Matthew 20:1-16 About the Art: Swanson, John August. Jonah, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/56549 [retrieved September 9, 2026]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ~Romans 14:10 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. ~Matthew 18:21-22 The church in ancient Rome finds itself amid cultural, economic, emotional, and religious revolution. Everything is changing. People are being accused and attacked. They are frightened and defensive. The future is uncertain. There is chaos without and within, and this underground movement in first century Rome committed to the Way of liberation Jesus imagined finds itself gathered with little in common. Jews and Gentiles together, they can’t even agree on what is right to eat or what day is right for worship. One’s act of honor is another’s offense. How do you forgive when you can’t even agree that an offense has occurred? And yet, Paul has come to understand that the practice of forgiveness is a taproot reaching to the deep reservoir of our common baptism—unyielding rootedness that holds the community in place as a storm of uncertainty rages around it. It announces a different way, a better reality, in other words. That’s what Jesus is indicating to Peter. There is no limit to forgiveness inside the Kindom of God as if it is a limited commodity. God is mercy, an antidote to a world governed by debt keeping, retaliation, and strife. Those who choose this way choose a hell of its own making. Ah, but the alternative… Enter into worship. Readings: Exodus 14:19-31 † Psalm 114 † Romans 14:1-12 † Matthew 18:21-35 About the Art: Swanson, John August. Moses, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56554 [retrieved September 11, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ~Romans 13:8 “The mark of God’s claim upon Israel,” says Erica MacCreaigh in The Christian Century, “is enfleshed, the very stuff of life, not unlike circumcision. The blood proclaims the stakes, and its message to the world is unequivocal: We belong to God—body and spirit—and our allegiance is to God alone.” As Romans says it, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” This is, indeed, an economy and a currency of a very different kind than the transactions familiar to us in much of our life together here on earth. And the implications are far reaching in an age of greed and a moment in history when the broad value of human life and all life is once again in question. We again welcome to worship Rev. Scott Lumsden this Sunday—a familiar face, a supportive colleague and friend for many of us. Scott is the Co-Executive Presbyter for Seattle Presbytery. We also welcome back Julie Kae from her summer medical leave. How very good and pleasant it is when we gather in unity! Enter into worship, Sunday, 10:00am, in-person or online. Readings: Exodus 12:1-14 † Psalm 149 † Romans 13:8-14 † Matthew 18:15-20 About the Art: Eakins, Thomas. Dancing Lesson, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/55410 [retrieved September 1, 2026]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_dancing_lesson_thomas_eakins.jpeg.
 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings… ~Exodus 3:7 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ~Matthew 16:26 Hebrew. What is in a name? The very first time the term “Hebrew” is introduced in the Bible, it comes abruptly, with no explanation, just as its companion Abram. There are stories of an identified underclass in the Ancient Near East known as Hapiru. According to Anthony Bartlett in his book Signs of Change, the Hapiru were “’a loosely defined, inferior social class composed of shifting and shifty population elements without secure ties to settled communities.’ Constant warfare, displaced peasantry, disinherited clans, refugees, scattered warriors: this creates the perfect conditions for outlaws, mercenaries, indentured labor, slaves.” It all seems a little unsavory, until Bartlett (p. 32) says it plainly: “the people who will become Israel are drawn sociologically from the disenfranchised underclass of the ancient near-eastern world known as Hapiru.” That catches us, perhaps all the more when we realize that this is the crew—unsavory or not—Yahweh chooses a relationship with: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). It is not about power—political or otherwise—then. It is about relationship, about steadfast love--hesed. This is the I Am who I Am Moses and ultimately Moses’ Hebrew people re-encounter in the beginning of their journey to emancipation. That there are political implications to this as well as spiritual ones, there should be no surprise—not for Pharaoh, not for the seat of the Roman Empire ensconced, according to Matthew's narrative, in Caesarea Phillipi. Not for Moses, and not for Peter who cannot unseat this way of power from his expectations for Jesus. And Jesus’ own response to Peter may suggest Jesus is fully aware of the temptations of power that create rivalries and tear us apart. Here comes a defining moment for the way of this God known in Yahweh, known in Jesus. And known in those who would want to become followers, who want to save their lives. Who do we say Jesus is? Enter into worship this Sunday morning at 10:00am in-person or online. Readings: Exodus 3:1-15 † Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26 † Romans 12:9-21 † Matthew 16:21-28 About the Art: A photograph of an arrangement of leaves from an Euonymus alatus, or “Burning Bush.” Schumacher, Joe. Burning Bush, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/55954 [retrieved August 19, 2026]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jschumacher/6386697855.
 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ~Exodus 1:8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to [the child’s mother], “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” ~Exodus 2:9 The origin story of Moses drips with delicious, revolutionary irony. The children of Israel who settled in Egypt under Joseph’s forgiving invitation have prospered. Egypt has been blessed too. But the new king is afraid anyway. Pharaoh’s fear, as fear often does in the context of an unchecked and excessively powerful empire, sanctions violence in the name of domination: Forced labor, institutionalized discrimination, even genocide. And, per usual, those attempts produce tragically inevitable suffering and fail spectacularly in the stated goal. Note the concern as the new Egyptian king names it in Exodus 1:10: Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” How did that go for them? Uninterested in the lessons of Joseph or the logic of non-violence, the king creates a roadmap for the very thing he wanted to avoid. Ironic indeed. Yet God is God and God blesses. The Egyptian empire’s attempts to eliminate the threat create the conditions for the tutelage of Moses, it’s eventual conqueror—and his biological mother falls upon an unexpected social safety net to help her in raising him! The current US administration is not the first empire, in other words, to start a fight that ends up in chaos and, at least in part, strengthens the perceived enemy. Jesus brings his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a regional capital of the Roman Empire to offer a similar lesson about the (il)logic of politics-as-usual that will play out over two Sundays. They are beginning to understand who Jesus really is, but it will take time for this good news to unfold for them as it does for those of us with ears to hear. Enter into worship. Sunday, 10:00am, in-person or online. Readings: Exodus 1:8-2:10 † Psalm 124 † Romans 12:1-8 † Matthew 16:13-20 About the Art: Who Do You Say That I Am. Composite Graphic, 2026.
 Nevertheless they persisted… There are at least three important models for faith in this week’s stories. In Matthew there is, of course, Jesus who listens, learns, and changes. Our tradition may find these to be unfamiliar actions for Jesus, but this kind of relational generosity should be no surprise, even if his initial response to the Canaanite woman leaves much to be desired. There’s the woman. Persistent. Tenacious. Humble. Powerful. Full of faith! Her commitment to seek help for those who are powerless to do so themselves puts us on notice for what we are both called to do and capable of doing. To our astonishment, the woman chooses engagement, persistence, and non-violence. Her family is saved, and even Jesus is changed. Joseph should raise our level of astonishment even further. His jealous brothers turned on him. Their cruelty was monstrous, even murderous were it not for Reuben’s intervention (Genesis 37:21). We could imagine Joseph, drawing on his considerable political and personal power, leaning into his desire for revenge in the seemingly endless human cycle of rivalry, retaliation, and regret. Joseph chooses forgiveness. And, for the moment and for the sake of the generations of Israel and Egypt alike, peace reigns. Do you believe the same could be true in our time? Enter into worship. Readings: Genesis 45:1-15 † Psalm 133 † Romans 11:1-5, 29-32 † Matthew 15:21-28 About the Art: Watanabe, Sadao, 1913-1996. Woman of Canaan, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57538 [retrieved August 6, 2023]. Original source: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/woman-canaan-26809.
 As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” ~Romans 10:15b [Jesus] said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ~Matthew 14:29 How beautiful are the feet of those who carry good news… Sit with that for a moment. That there is good news to bring is worth remembering, isn’t it? Sometimes we can get weighted down by cares and concerns that fill our packs. Dead weight, you might say. When you’re making a long hike, the trick is to not bring more than you need—to pack the essentials and little more. There are plenty of distractions to slow you down. You don’t need to add to them. There’s already enough to pull us under without adding more. Peter seems to know a little something about that. What is the good news, as Jesus lays it out, as the scriptures announce it in their various forms? Who is affected by it and how? How would you articulate it to someone genuinely wanting to know? Attending the question might help to lighten that pack of what slows us down. We welcome to worship Rev. Scott Lumsden this Sunday—a familiar and welcome face for many of us. Scott is the Co-Executive Presbyter for Seattle Presbytery…and a hiking buddy of Scott Anderson’s. You just may hear a story or two from the trail along with some good news! Enter into worship. Readings: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 † Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b † Romans 10:5-15 † Matthew 14:22-33 About the Art: Tanner, Henry Ossawa, 1859-1937. Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/55904 [retrieved August 5, 2026]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Ossawa_Tanner,_The_Disciples_See_Christ_Walking_on_the_Water,_c._1907.jpg.
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