Excellent sermon! As others have written, this could have been preached yesterday!
In March of 2020 I was spending my last days with my dad. He turned 87 in March and two weeks later was dead from COVID.
I have been a wary Christian most of my life (50 years in the Catholic Church, 11 in the Episcopal Church). I have done a lot of research to understand the origins of religion and have realized religion is the problem. Once the pandemic started I tried to stay connected, but it gave me time to really listen to the Wise Woman within me and my spiritual life now is lived outside the walls of church and quite frankly has grown, matured, and I am more spiritually fulfilled than ever before. Sadly, I do not think we are coming out of the wilderness now. The structures of religion have taken hold of the message of Jesus and until that changes, I do not believe we will be out of the wilderness.
Your insight/revelation that Jesus is the new Moses, not the new Adam is really intriguing and very helpful — and healthy! Religion has for years been so punitive (I don’t even know what to say about some forms of Christianity today). It has been so much about sin and punishment and humans are bad/bad/bad. If churches and religions had spent more time showing us our inherent goodness and sacredness we might be a healthier people. I’m including a post from Barb Morris about Lent and how to view it and live it in a more healthy way for anyone who is interested. Thanks for your good work, Diana!
I wonder when the church connected the temptation story to Genesis? My guess, from studying church history that it had to do with the church’s power over its people. Power to forgive and absolve. The whole ‘original sin’ business, blaming women, etc. There are so many instances of the church’s giving in to the temptation of power.
THANK YOU for continuing to lift up the real story.
Thank you for pointing out when the tempting took place. Makes a difference. I was in a sermon discussion group on zoom. When the church went back to in-person worship our group continued since 2 of us had no business attending due to health issues and one lives in another state. I have heard more sermons in the years of the pandemic and been exposed to a much broader range of thought. Also makes it a struggle for me as people I know and family members become more conservative.
Thank you. This is the third sermon that I listened to (the other 2 were in person) on this Gospel lesson . Yours is the most meaningful. I so appreciate the historical context and the contemporary perspective that you shared. Yes - 3 years later we are still wandering in a wilderness. The divisiveness is brutal at times. I remain hopeful by as thin thread. Your voice is important to me and I am grateful for what you offer as light in this darkness that seems overwhelming at times.
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection.” Beautiful! You were speaking directly to me. Thank you Diana.
What surprised me in the sermon is Matthew saying Jesus is the new Moses. Something I didn't know was "the fast is our preparation. The temptation is we forget". On March 8, 2020 I was in church. It was our final setvice before closing due to Covid-19. The services were taped with no music until our live streaming was installed. Communion Elements were a wafer and grape juice in little mini chalice that were sealed in plastic bags that we went to pick up at church. In regards to my spiritual life I rely more on devotionals on line or in print or with podcasts and classes through Homebrewed Christianity or The Cottage. As our worship service is livestreamed I can watch it while also be in attendance with the Sunday School children as the Christian Education Coordinator. We are coming out of the wilderness somewhat due to the vaccines and boosters for Covid-19. However, only a small number of the congregation have returned to live worship and Sunday School. What disturbs me most is the lack of civility that has gotten worse during the pandemic and the increase in mental health issues with our young people.
I only recently discovered your work and this is the first sermon of yours I listened to. Wow! I had never thought of this - but OF COURSE that is what the writer had in mind. As you said, it really does open up this passage in new ways. Also, it was very emotional for me to know this sermon was as we were heading INTO the pandemic and not OUT of it. Wow. Thanks for sharing your own feelings with such authenticity. Looking forward to reading the books of yours I bought and more posts.
The sermon made a lot of sense to me (a Jew who skews Episcopalian). I wish I'd heard this sermon YEARS (not just 2 1/2 years) ago.... not smack-dab in the middle of the bucket of "whatever" spiritual shake-out we (globally, not just here in the US) are now in.
So many think this is "end time," and from what you said in your sermon it probably is....but (again, from what you shared in the sermon), sooooooooo not the kind of "raptured up to G-d winnowing when all sinners are sent to the hell fires of...wherever" end time they are desperately seeking. Rather, the end of one "era" and the beginning of yet another cycle of change/growth/becoming.
Thank you. It is so terrifying to be In the presence. We do not really understand. But God will provide us with answers and strength to do what right in our time and place.
Very engaging. Like most Sunday musings I read/listen to them after I've preached the same text Sunday morning. I wish I had included some of what you said. Also I didn't some which I wrote which was similar to your sermon. I'm not sure we are near the end of the wilderness ( were a UMC church). Would we realize it if it was? Reliance and depence oh God is always essential for the journey. I really value your work. Thanks, Derek
I don't think that we are yet through the wilderness, but the only thing that has kept me going is to realize that God is with me and that it's going to be a long haul. I keep thinking of Karen Armstrong's book "The Battle for God" and how she described that when the world goes through a societal upheaval, many turn to fundamentalism and it helps me understand that we've been through these upheavals before and survived. Yes the world as we knew it will change but God will still be God.
I couldn’t agree more with your reorientation of the focus to Moses and Jesus from Adam and Jesus. Like some others responding I’m not convinced we are on the border of the promised land. Other than the sense that we are always on the edge of new life, always being invited to say yes to it. It could also be that we are just beginning the fasting needed for new life to emerge. At least as a middle class American it seems to me that fasting, letting go of privileged comfortable ways, restraint, repair, all of these seem important if we are to be able to enter abundance and new life for all, humans and all others.
A sermon worth repeating!!! Thanks so much for your scholarship, your seeking, your sensitivity to what changes in life. We do spend years wandering, questioning and even when shown the promises of God are tempted. Thanks for bringing clarity and new insight to the gospel of Matthew. I too will reread Deuteronomy trying to better understand what Matthew was hoping to convey to his readers about Jesus. Having just been introduced to the scholarship of John D. Crossan, I am finding new ways of seeking answers to questions that have grown in me during 40+ years of my wondering through an evolving faith. Those of you who do serious historical exegesis are greatly needed to lead Christians through this barren time. In Gratitude Kathy Marks
I appreciated your connection between Jesus and Moses vs Jesus and Adam. Past religion taught me Adam=sin and Jesus, the new Adam=forgiveness. That never made much sense to me. However, Matthew comparing Jesus to Moses-both liberators makes sense! Thank you!
Like the reference to Moses in Deuteronomy instead of the Genesis story.
Excellent sermon! As others have written, this could have been preached yesterday!
In March of 2020 I was spending my last days with my dad. He turned 87 in March and two weeks later was dead from COVID.
I have been a wary Christian most of my life (50 years in the Catholic Church, 11 in the Episcopal Church). I have done a lot of research to understand the origins of religion and have realized religion is the problem. Once the pandemic started I tried to stay connected, but it gave me time to really listen to the Wise Woman within me and my spiritual life now is lived outside the walls of church and quite frankly has grown, matured, and I am more spiritually fulfilled than ever before. Sadly, I do not think we are coming out of the wilderness now. The structures of religion have taken hold of the message of Jesus and until that changes, I do not believe we will be out of the wilderness.
Your insight/revelation that Jesus is the new Moses, not the new Adam is really intriguing and very helpful — and healthy! Religion has for years been so punitive (I don’t even know what to say about some forms of Christianity today). It has been so much about sin and punishment and humans are bad/bad/bad. If churches and religions had spent more time showing us our inherent goodness and sacredness we might be a healthier people. I’m including a post from Barb Morris about Lent and how to view it and live it in a more healthy way for anyone who is interested. Thanks for your good work, Diana!
https://www.barbmorris.com/a-letter-from-god-to-her-daughters-who-observe-lent-2/
I wonder when the church connected the temptation story to Genesis? My guess, from studying church history that it had to do with the church’s power over its people. Power to forgive and absolve. The whole ‘original sin’ business, blaming women, etc. There are so many instances of the church’s giving in to the temptation of power.
THANK YOU for continuing to lift up the real story.
Thank you for pointing out when the tempting took place. Makes a difference. I was in a sermon discussion group on zoom. When the church went back to in-person worship our group continued since 2 of us had no business attending due to health issues and one lives in another state. I have heard more sermons in the years of the pandemic and been exposed to a much broader range of thought. Also makes it a struggle for me as people I know and family members become more conservative.
If you hadn’t told us you spoke this in 2020, I would have been certain this was yesterday’s message. Thank you.
Thank you. This is the third sermon that I listened to (the other 2 were in person) on this Gospel lesson . Yours is the most meaningful. I so appreciate the historical context and the contemporary perspective that you shared. Yes - 3 years later we are still wandering in a wilderness. The divisiveness is brutal at times. I remain hopeful by as thin thread. Your voice is important to me and I am grateful for what you offer as light in this darkness that seems overwhelming at times.
“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection.” Beautiful! You were speaking directly to me. Thank you Diana.
What surprised me in the sermon is Matthew saying Jesus is the new Moses. Something I didn't know was "the fast is our preparation. The temptation is we forget". On March 8, 2020 I was in church. It was our final setvice before closing due to Covid-19. The services were taped with no music until our live streaming was installed. Communion Elements were a wafer and grape juice in little mini chalice that were sealed in plastic bags that we went to pick up at church. In regards to my spiritual life I rely more on devotionals on line or in print or with podcasts and classes through Homebrewed Christianity or The Cottage. As our worship service is livestreamed I can watch it while also be in attendance with the Sunday School children as the Christian Education Coordinator. We are coming out of the wilderness somewhat due to the vaccines and boosters for Covid-19. However, only a small number of the congregation have returned to live worship and Sunday School. What disturbs me most is the lack of civility that has gotten worse during the pandemic and the increase in mental health issues with our young people.
I only recently discovered your work and this is the first sermon of yours I listened to. Wow! I had never thought of this - but OF COURSE that is what the writer had in mind. As you said, it really does open up this passage in new ways. Also, it was very emotional for me to know this sermon was as we were heading INTO the pandemic and not OUT of it. Wow. Thanks for sharing your own feelings with such authenticity. Looking forward to reading the books of yours I bought and more posts.
The sermon made a lot of sense to me (a Jew who skews Episcopalian). I wish I'd heard this sermon YEARS (not just 2 1/2 years) ago.... not smack-dab in the middle of the bucket of "whatever" spiritual shake-out we (globally, not just here in the US) are now in.
So many think this is "end time," and from what you said in your sermon it probably is....but (again, from what you shared in the sermon), sooooooooo not the kind of "raptured up to G-d winnowing when all sinners are sent to the hell fires of...wherever" end time they are desperately seeking. Rather, the end of one "era" and the beginning of yet another cycle of change/growth/becoming.
Thank you. It is so terrifying to be In the presence. We do not really understand. But God will provide us with answers and strength to do what right in our time and place.
Very engaging. Like most Sunday musings I read/listen to them after I've preached the same text Sunday morning. I wish I had included some of what you said. Also I didn't some which I wrote which was similar to your sermon. I'm not sure we are near the end of the wilderness ( were a UMC church). Would we realize it if it was? Reliance and depence oh God is always essential for the journey. I really value your work. Thanks, Derek
I don't think that we are yet through the wilderness, but the only thing that has kept me going is to realize that God is with me and that it's going to be a long haul. I keep thinking of Karen Armstrong's book "The Battle for God" and how she described that when the world goes through a societal upheaval, many turn to fundamentalism and it helps me understand that we've been through these upheavals before and survived. Yes the world as we knew it will change but God will still be God.
I couldn’t agree more with your reorientation of the focus to Moses and Jesus from Adam and Jesus. Like some others responding I’m not convinced we are on the border of the promised land. Other than the sense that we are always on the edge of new life, always being invited to say yes to it. It could also be that we are just beginning the fasting needed for new life to emerge. At least as a middle class American it seems to me that fasting, letting go of privileged comfortable ways, restraint, repair, all of these seem important if we are to be able to enter abundance and new life for all, humans and all others.
A sermon worth repeating!!! Thanks so much for your scholarship, your seeking, your sensitivity to what changes in life. We do spend years wandering, questioning and even when shown the promises of God are tempted. Thanks for bringing clarity and new insight to the gospel of Matthew. I too will reread Deuteronomy trying to better understand what Matthew was hoping to convey to his readers about Jesus. Having just been introduced to the scholarship of John D. Crossan, I am finding new ways of seeking answers to questions that have grown in me during 40+ years of my wondering through an evolving faith. Those of you who do serious historical exegesis are greatly needed to lead Christians through this barren time. In Gratitude Kathy Marks
I appreciated your connection between Jesus and Moses vs Jesus and Adam. Past religion taught me Adam=sin and Jesus, the new Adam=forgiveness. That never made much sense to me. However, Matthew comparing Jesus to Moses-both liberators makes sense! Thank you!