Listen to Readings and Sermon 7th Sunday after Pentecost The Good News Written Deuteronomy 30.9-14 (NRSV) 9And… your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in [...]
Listen to Readings and Sermon
7th Sunday after Pentecost
The Good News Written
Deuteronomy 30.9-14 (NRSV)
9And… your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you… because you turn to… God with all your heart and with all your soul. 11Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 14No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
Luke 10.25-37 (NRSV)
25Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26[Jesus] said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27He answered, “You shall love… your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And [Jesus] said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, July11, 2010.
“Inherit eternal life…”
Inherit suggests that the life in question is something that we can expect, it is something we are meant to have, it is what has been planned for us to receive from the beginning. It is what has been promised to us; it has been bequeathed to us.
“Eternal” doesn’t mean a never-ending existence beginning after we die. Eternity has no beginning and no ending. Eternity not only always will be but also always has been. So eternal life isn’t about unfathomable longevity… it refers to the quality of life we are meant to have. It refers to divine life… such life never ends, but more importantly, such life is filled with all that God is. What must we do to receive our inheritance of God-life? How do we share in the life that God is? How do we access that divine principle, that divine presence that Deuteronomy 30 told us today is already in our hearts? That is the question asked of Jesus in today’s gospel. Continue reading »
