My curiosity is piqued while looking at the lectionary readings for August. We begin with a reading in Genesis where Jacob has seemingly wrestled with God—and with humans—and has prevailed.
Prevailed against God? I didn’t think that was possible. We close out the month a few weeks later in Matthew, where we are told the gates of Hades will not prevail against this rock, the church. While that does appear to even the score somewhat, there seems to be a lot of struggling and prevailing (or not!) this month.
In the middle weeks we get the astonishing account of Peter somehow walking on water for just a little bit, and it turns out he is of little faith. The next week a woman discusses table scraps, crumbs, and dogs. It turns out she has great faith. All of this is amazing and the opportunities for wonderful sermons abound. Good luck my fellow preachers!
However, the part that always gets me is Jesus and his interactions with the crowds. In the Matthew reading for the third Sunday, Jesus called the crowd to himself. But from what I can tell, most of the time he’s doing the opposite. Most of the time, it seems, he is trying to get away from the crowds for some good alone time. This is how Matthew’s reading in the first week of the month puts it: “…he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.”
I know the feeling. In fact, I know that feeling more than I would like to admit. Don’t get me wrong. I love Sunday morning crowds. Few things are as energizing as God’s people gathered together. Yet, there are many times, if I’m being honest, like Jesus, I would like to get into a boat and withdraw to a place all by myself. Some peace and quiet sounds good. I live in a town full of tourists. Sometimes the crowds can be a bit much.
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