6th Sunday after Pentecost - July 12, 2026

 As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

2 Kings 4:25-37, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 9:18-26

The Gospels of Mark and Luke both give longer and more detailed accounts of the two miracles in today’s gospel. What are we to make of this very brief description from St. Matthew? It seems that Matthew is attempting to make a point of Jesus’ concern for each of these individuals. Matthew does not dwell on either person’s motivation for seeking help. By extension, he would like us to realize Jesus’ concern for each of us, whatever our motivation is. It does not matter how we come, no matter how inadequately or how imperfectly we come—only that we come seeking help. We come to Christ exactly as we are, and Christ’s Spirit is able to make us what we are able to become. We can always say no to our inspirations, since God does not force us but does continually give us other chances to be Christ-bearers.

 

In today’s Epistle, St. Paul’s admonition to the believers was that when a person became a Christian, there came to them the surging power of the Spirit of God. Sinful human nature makes it easy to be absorbed in all kinds of things that appeal to and are dominated by the flesh. The flesh making us prone to envy, murder, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, sexual immorality, idolatry, greediness, covetousness, and malice.

 

Paul taught that If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, then our mortal bodies, our flesh, are Spirit-controlled, Christ-controlled, and God-focused. We then come to realize that Jesus became human to show us the way. The way is to see the goodness in all that God created. It is when our mortal bodies unite with our spirit that we are truly Christian.

 

In Matthew’s rendition of these two miracles, it is clear that Jesus is responding to the need of others. In following this Christian way and responding to other’s needs, our actions can bring about hardships for us. Christ’s self-emptying, exemplified by his life on earth, are lessons in self-giving we can aspire to as our own lives progress.

 

If our communities are based on mutual service, respect, kindness, and equality, these are virtues exemplified by love. The domination of one sector of society by another, or the notion that violence can be solved by violence, or the failure to examine all aspects of every question, or the attempt to use one group of people for the comfort and convenience of another, is destructive to any society.

 

 Communities are composed of individuals. In our day and age, individuals can be in danger of getting lost. People tend to become numbers in the social security system, or members of any association or union or ethnic group, rather than the individuals we are. God loves each of us individually because we are all unique from one another.

 

The woman in today’s gospel was not simply a poor woman obscured by the crowd; she was someone to whom Jesus gave of himself wholeheartedly, for it seemed that nothing but her need existed.

 

Christ is aware of each of us in our need. So it does not matter how we come, no matter how inadequately or how imperfectly we come. We come to Christ exactly as we are, and Christ’s Spirit is able to make us what we are able to become.

 

When we remember that we are loved, we are prompted to be able to love the other and respond to their needs.

Christ is in our midst!

 

Sermon 219 July 5, 2026 Mt 8:28-9:1; Rom 6:8-18; Is 65:1-10. Demons.

 As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church

“The devil made me do it!” We may laugh when we hear this excuse for someone’s behavior today, but when Jesus walked this earth, being demon-possessed was no laughing matter. People strongly believed that strange behaviors and illnesses were often the work of demons. Sin was also viewed as the cause of ailments. And sin might be the invitation to the demons. Our understanding of medical science has brought us a long way from those views, but the feeling of being out of control of one’s own behavior is still a reality and it has a biblical pedigree as St. Paul reminds us this morning and laments in the next chapter of Romans that he doesn’t do what he wants to do and does what he hates. [Romans 7:15]

The opening of this gospel scene presents us with a powerful image of Jesus’ battle with evil in our world. Jesus didn’t just happen to run into these demon possessed individuals, he went to this place on purpose. And the demons knew it. They accused him of coming to destroy them before time. And what time was that? Kairos time. In God’s time, the demons had already lost their battle, but not here on earth in kronos time. Not yet. All the images presented in this passage are of a place that was polluted, the demoniacs were living among the tombs, the village inhabitants were not Jews but pagans and they were raising pigs, thought to be dirty as well. And Isaiah warns us of this too. The dialog in Matthew is virtually all by others, the demons and the townspeople. Jesus says only one word: go! And by showing these villagers that the evil of this world must GO, they responded as we often do, instead of heeding his warning, they ask Jesus to leave. And he does.

         Jesus can help us battle our demons, personal, communal, and societal, but we need to say yes. Yes, to his teachings. And we might think that should be easy, but we often find that it is not. When I am engaged in a discussion with another person with whom I have differences, how do I bring the peace of Christ to that situation? Listen. But my inner voice, [maybe my ego?], is telling me I’m right, why do I need to listen? But the better question is: why do I need to be right? That is where my inner work is. Agreeing or disagreeing isn’t the problem, needing to be right and for the other to accept that I am right is at the forefront of the dispute. And how far can the dispute go? A shouting match? As scary as the demoniacs in Gadara? Or a fight or a rupture of relationships. And this little drama can be carried out at any level of society all the way up to war between nations, as we see in many places today.

         In the Gadara story, and equally in our lives and our world, Jesus seeks out evil to combat it. But those caught up in the moment need to be willing to accept Jesus’s example. Jesus said go and the demons went and took other evil forces with them. But if people or nations are more concerned about power, money, and influence over others, then they will complain about the loss of the pigs [the things they think are valuable] rather than celebrate the healing of the “demon possessed,” the peace of Christ.

         True medical illnesses need the wisdom and skills of trained medical professionals. This story is not about a magical cure, this is much more basic. It is about confronting and combatting evil. Jesus didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. [Mt 10:34] In other words we do not make peace with evil, but the combat with evil is about following the teachings of Christ that conflict with the ways of the world. The more aligned with Jesus’ teachings the more likely true peace will grow in us and in our world.