From the time we are children, we are taught the difference between right and wrong, between acceptable and unacceptable behavior, between good guys and bad guys. We have expectations on how teachers and leaders behave and who they hang out with. This week, in our Gospel, Jesus once again turns everything upside down, breaks the accepted conventions and honors a rich tax collector by inviting himself to Zaccheasus’ house. In our Old Testament reading, God also turns things upside down by saying that He is tired of the sacrifices and offerings of Israel and tired of their various purifying fasts and rituals. Instead He says: Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:16-18 Ultimately, it is not our efforts but the redemptive work of God that forgives our sins, makes us acceptable and washes us white as snow. This Sunday at the second service we will share in the joy of the angels as we baptize a new member into the family of God.

Our readings this week continue from last week’s readings. In our Gospel, Jesus is still responding to the Pharisees’ dismay at how he eats and drinks with sinners, with the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus. Amos addresses those who think they are comfortably out of reach of the drama and judgement that will befall the rest of God’s people. Paul, writing to Timothy for the sake of a people in the midst of a complex hostile culture, teaches on godliness with contentment and the dangers of the love of money. All of this is relevant to our lives in a place where the cost of living is so high, and the prevailing expectations of our culture don’t leave space for God, family, or contentment.

Summertime is “ordinary time” in the church calendar, but ordinary doesn’t mean boring. Instead, the summer lectionary readings focus on growing in our spiritual maturity, and they are frequently challenging. Our Gospel this week seems a bit like the first hard midterm in a pre-med class… Jesus turns to the large crowds that are following him, and starts issuing challenging & (hopefully) hyperbolic statements including: Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple…Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. But in our Psalm for this Sunday, we also read: Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Maybe the message [of these readings] is about sticking it out even when it is tough and we don't understand... Fruit in due season implies that we are not meant to be fruitful all the time, but we are grounded in God's Word all the time. Even when we feel dry and our leaves aren't so green, we are still planted by that life sustaining stream. Meditating on the law day and night... even out of season... even when it's hard. Following even when we are being pulled in a thousand different directions, and the demands on our time, money and attention leave us spinning - but being disciplined and consistent, grounded in the knowledge that our God is ultimately and supremely good beyond our ability to comprehend. And who loves us and created us for a purpose, even if we are too worn out to feel it. Being a disciple is not easy. It isn't meant to be. We cannot bear fruit if we don't first go through the growth required to be strong enough to bear fruit... and sometimes it is time to not bear fruit and just be a tree planted by the water preparing for the next season... To be prepared for hard challenges, but know that we don't face them alone... and to be grounded in God's Word so we make wise decisions knowing the season for bearing fruit will come again... To focus on God's Kingdom even when we live in this one… -- Rev Cindy Stansbury with help from Ginny Barry

Our readings this week all touch on sabbath and worship of God. Sabbath is a concept often lost in this place we live. Like many spiritual disciplines, it is more important than we assume, but also prone to fall into legalism if we miss the spirit and underlying purpose and message of sabbath. This week in our Gospel, Jesus is scolded by for working on the sabbath by healing a woman bent over and crippled. His response is memorable: "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" "When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at the wonderful things that he was doing. Luke 13: 15-17

This week, our readings are on the not so cheerful topic of the impermanence of life and the futility of our life’s work. Here in Silicon Valley, that is a hard message to hear, but of course the good news is that life here is not all there is to our life in Christ. Instead, in Colossians we read, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:2-3 If we focus all of our attention on our success here on earth, we will always ultimately be disappointed, because life here and treasures here do not satisfy, even if we achieve them. Instead, they leave us wanting more or feeling empty. However where our treasure is, there our heart will be also, and it is when our hearts are in Christ that we are rich towards God and truly fulfilled.