Easter 5 2026
Rev. Doug Floyd
1 Peter 3

Our reading in 1 Peter 3 opens with an exhortation about the false beauty of braiding your hair or wearing gold jewelry. In light of this reading, we might be preaching to primary school or middle school girls. “Don’t braid your hair!”

The Bible is filled with exhortations that may leave us scratching our heads. Don’t wear mixed fabrics! Don’t round the corners of your hair or marr the corners of your beard! I must confess that I’ve been guilty of that. While I’m at it, I must confess that I did braid my mullet back in the 1980s.

I’ve been teaching my critical thinking class about ethics, and this week we watched a video about moral behavior in Scripture. The speaker called the Bible a divine rulebook and puzzled over these strange commands. His first mistake was reading the Bible as a divine rulebook. On the other hand, he has a point about the strangeness of some commands.

How are we to read Peter’s exhortation today? First, we might back up and think about the commands in the Old Testament. If you read the narrative and commands as a whole, you begin to encounter a book of revelation, a book of wisdom, a book of worship all rooted in the fear of the Lord. While we may not always understand the context for every passage, we can trust that the texts are ultimately training a people to trust in the Lord, become a holy people, treat one another rightly, and make wise decisions.

But here’s the catch: not all decisions are between a good and a bad option. In some dilemmas, all options look bad. We opened the letter of 1 Peter by talking about the church as a house of wisdom. As we read Peter, we see that the church is the Temple made of living stones. I would suggest this living Temple is a house of wisdom. It is the gathered community of faith worshipping the Lord.

Once Christ comes, He is the Temple, and we are baptized into Him. Thus, the people in the community of faith, which we call the church, have become the body of Christ. That is the Temple of the Lord: the house of Wisdom. The people of God gather in worship, humbling ourselves before God and one another. As we face difficult circumstances and make hard decisions. We cry out to God and we consult one another for wisdom.

The people that Peter addresses are facing varying challenges, but we know that they do not feel at home anymore in their given cultures. The culture is pagan and follows practices that are forbidden to disciples of Christ. How were they supposed to live? Some people today feel like our country has become an alien culture and they pine for yesteryear. How do you live in the place where you stand?

In 1 Peter 2, slaves were encouraged to respect their masters. In fact, all the people were exhorted to be subject to the rulers and even honor the emperors. Just as a reminder, many of these emperors were perverse men guilty of all sorts of crimes. They would make our political landscape look like child’s play. How could the people be subject to these men and even honor them?

Before I answer these questions, let me jump down to the end of chapter 3 when Peter mentions that Jesus went down to the spirits in prison and preached to them and then went up to the right hand of the Father. How are we to make sense of this strange passage? Some have suggested this points to the harrowing of hell when Jesus rescues people trapped in the dragon’s lair: that is Sheol or Hades, the place of the dead. Peter is drawing from all sorts of imagery, and it may be difficult to parse all this out.

He is talking about Jesus’ death. Though His body was dead, His Spirit was alive. Many in the church have often suggested that this and other passages refers to Jesus bringing the saints of the past up from Sheol and with him up into heaven. It has also been pictured as a time when Jesus tells the dark powers and principalities that their rule of evil is over. There are more difficulties in the passage, but we will pause there for now.

Peter mentions the ark of Noah and baptism. These images carry nuances of death and resurrection. When the world was destroyed by flood, Noah and his family descended into the dead of the flood but then are raised to new life and new creation. We follow Christ in the way of the cross. Jesus suffered and was rejected by men and died on a cross. In his death, He defeats the power of death and prepares the way for us and those faithful saints in the Old Testament to follow into heaven at the right seat of the Father, far above all powers and principalities. This is not simply a future event, this is the reality of our baptism.  We rehearse our suffering, death and burial in the watery grace even as we rehearse our resurrection in Christ and our entrance into new life and new creation. We may not normally grasp the reality of our glorious estate, but New Testament writers reiterate this truth again and again.

With this in mind, the communities Peter addresses and even our community learn that we are safe in the love of God no matter what our culture looks like. He is working through us to bring His redeeming grace to this world. We are not subject to the rule of evil in this world. While we honor rulers and we obey the laws, we are citizens of heaven dwelling on earth. As sojourners, we live quiet and honorable lives with those around us and the authorities over us. Our new estate changes our behavior.

1 Peter 3 begins, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,” (1 Peter 3:1, ESV).

Peter is continuing an argument from 1 Peter 2, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:18–21, ESV)

Servants submit to Masters following the model of Christ. Even as Christ suffered and died, he made a way to restore us and all humanity to God. As respectful and obedient servants, the people of God bear witness to Christ. If they suffer for doing right, they are following Christ and bearing witness to His saving grace. Their life and action may prepare the way for their Master and others to come to faith.

Peter says, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,” (1 Peter 3:1, ESV). Paul makes a similar argument in 1 Corinthians 7. “To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.” (1 Corinthians 7:12–15, ESV).

1 Peter 3:1 is exhorting wives of unbelievers that they may win their husbands to faith through their conduct. This is not an invitation to be abused but simply to live with the unbeliever in hopes that the believer might be an instrument of salvation. This applies beyond the home. We live in the world this way. We may have unbelieving supervisors or unbelieving leaders in government, but we honor them and try to live good and quiet lives that we might somehow be an instrument of their salvation.

Now let’s go back to the braided hair and gold jewelry. It appears that braided hair and gold jewelry are images of beauty in that culture. The culture has defined female beauty in a certain way. It also defines male success and power in a certain way. But we do not submit to those cultural powers. How many girls and women have felt ugly because they did not look like what the culture tells them is beautiful?

Dove used to have a commercial where artists interview women about their looks and draw their picture. Many of the women broke down in tears when they saw their pictures because they could not see their own beauty. They failed to meet cultural standards. Culture as a whole shames women who don’t fit into a standard that fits a very small percentage of women. In Scripture, the standard of beauty is Jesus Christ, his life poured out in love. Men and women are both called to this inner beauty of the heart. If one woman braids her hair and another woman does not, it is not a big deal. But all of them seek “our adorning to be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (1 Peter 3:4, ESV)

Therefore, the wisdom of Christ is to make women dress in this way or that, and it’s not to tell men to cut their hair above their ears, but rather it is to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8–9, ESV). Or as Peter says in chapter 2, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:16–17, ESV).

Men and women should not seek their self-value in the size of their paycheck but in the goodness of God in Christ. Some people will make more money, and some will make less. True value comes in living as an image of God’s love in our community and our world.

Paul makes a similar appeal in Romans 12, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2, ESV).

This is not a command to avoid movies, music, gambling, and alcohol. Once again, it is an encouragement not to let cultural values constrain you. Paul continues his thought in Romans 12 by saying,  “by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:2–5, ESV)

Your life and your gifts are given by God to serve one another. The rest of Romans 12 details the way we serve one another.

This spirit of humbling ourselves and pouring out our lives begins in the family and the church, but it spreads outward into our jobs, our networks, our community, and even our world. I believe this is the argument Peter is making. We are redeemed in Christ. We are loved by God. As His beloved children, we serve one another and the world as a holy priesthood in humility of spirit and tenderness of heart. Our lives became a witness to the principalities and powers that Christ is victorious and His love will ultimately conquer sin and death.

Amen.

Easter 4 – Good Shepherd Sunday
Rev. Doug Floyd
1 Peter 2

Peter writes a letter of encouragement to the communities of faith dispersed across the empire. The surrounding culture does not understand these communities gathered in and the name of Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. The world around them simply cannot understand their devotion to Christ. Some believers will be mocked, some will lose social status, some may lose jobs, and eventually, some will suffer and even die at the hands of unbelievers.

We don’t live in the same era as these early Christians. And yet, our culture often misunderstands the call of Christ and even a belief in God. When Peter encourages these early communities, he encourages us.

We’ve talked about how the gathered believers are like a house of wisdom where we learn to live our faith in worship and through one another. We gather around Christ, and He speaks, “Peace!” This is a real and tangible gift of peace from the throne of God. As Christopher reminded us last week, we rehearse this word of Christ with one another as we declare, “Peace to You.”

In chapter 2, Peter reminds us of Christ’s presence and our participation in that very presence. We see an image of Christ feeding us with His very life, with Christ as a living stone, and of Christ as the Good Shepherd. Each of these images offers implications for our response to the presence of the living Christ among us.

In 1 Peter 2:1, we read, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—” (1 Peter 2:2, ESV). This passage connects with the final words of chapter one, “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24–25, ESV)

Christ is the Living Word, the enlivening Spirit who teaches us, cares for us, nourishes us, and provides for all our needs. Peter explicitly says that we are like newborn infants. Here is a metaphor we may not usually think of: we may not think of ourselves as newborn infants. An infant cannot do much. It can drink whatever the parent provides. It can cry out in hunger. It reveals total rest or trust in the parent’s provision.

An infant cannot look around at other infants and wonder if they are receiving more or better attention. Peter says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1–3, ESV)

In these little communities of faith, the people are not in competition for the blessing of the Lord. Instead, they all come hungry, weak, and dependent on God’s provision. He meets them and us in our weakness, our fears, our struggles. We sing His praise, we hear His Word, we call upon Him to meet our needs, we gather around His table and feed upon His life poured out for us. When we are away from the communities of faith in our lives, we rehearse His faithful in Scripture, prayer, confession, and worship. He alone can feed us with the everlasting life that will strengthen us and help us to grow up into Him.

Next, Peter calls Jesus the Living Stone, and us living stones. He says, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV)

We’ve talked about how the gathered community is a house of wisdom. This house that is made up of living stones is the dwelling place of God, the Temple. No longer built in physical stone, the Temple is a living Temple of Jesus Christ and His people. Ephesians emphasizes this same image. In chapter two Paul writes,

“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17–22, ESV)

The Jews and Gentiles are built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ being the chief cornerstone. Instead of thinking of a cornerstone at the base of a structure, think of the chief as the stone at the top of the arch that holds both sides together. He is holding together Jews and Gentiles as one people, as living stones, as a Temple that is growing up into the Lord.

Peter uses a similar image in chapter 2. Christ is the Living Stone and we are living stones. We are all growing up into Christ. Thus, we might say that the true house of wisdom is a Living Temple where God dwells with His people. Together, we serve Him as priests of the Lord. We are a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices before God. Together we stand before God and lift one voice in worship and in prayer for our families, our community, our world. Then together we are fed by our Lord. He gives us Himself, His life, His Spirit, and He sends us out as priests to a world in need. To love and care for people, to pray for those in need, to bless people, and to bear witness to His goodness and grace.

In the final words of this chapter, Peter speaks of Jesus as the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Before we consider this, listen to what Peter says first.

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:13–24, ESV)

We live in a world of just and unjust rulers: from dictators to presidents to governors to local leaders to managers and supervisors to law enforcement. At many levels of our lives, someone may exert authority. Some rulers will serve the Lord to punish evildoers and praise the righteous. At other times, rulers may exhibit ungodly behaviors and even cruel and unjust actions. Peter exhorts the people follow the pattern of Christ who defeated the ultimate power of evil. Jesus demonstrated a resistance to rulers by obeying His Father in heaven. He humbled himself even unto death.

We follow the Lord. He is our true sovereign. We seek to honor earthly rulers while obeying the Lord. We honor other people, our fellow believers, our supervisors, our leaders. We don’t want to suffer for doing evil, but if we suffer for righteous behavior, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. We must not assume that our ideas about how to govern are better than what we currently experience.

Douglas Harinck writes, “All existing social orders, even those regimes established on the constructs of emancipation and human rights, are always only systems of relative justice and injustice.”[1] We may seek for justice in this world, but we acknowledge that only the Lord can ultimately bring true justice, true shalom.

As priests in the world, we model the life of the kingdom of God. We seek to speak and act in ways that honor the Lord and others. All the while, we realize that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, promises to lead us, guide us, and protect us. Jesus is leading us forward. Think of our Psalm today.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
therefore I can lack nothing.

I can rest completely in His provision. He alone is faithful and trustworthy.

2 He shall feed me in green pastures *
and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.
3 He shall refresh my soul *
and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.

He will meet my needs. I entrust every need to him. Needs for physical strength, food, health. As well as needs for peace and joy and even pleasure. But times will come when I face dark clouds and the future may be unclear.  

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; *
for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.

The saints of God have found comfort in this promise across the ages. Many people face actual death with the trust of God’s provision in their hearts. Whether we live or die, He is present. He will not forget us. He will not forsake us.

5 You shall prepare a table before me, in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.

The Lord can and will comfort us even during great trials. And strangely, we can know deep joy and great sorrow at the same time. They are often intertwined in life’s journey. So we trust our good and gracious Lord.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

God’s presence and promises go before us and behind us, above us and below us. All around us. We rest in Him now and in the age to come.

With this in mind, let us hunger and thirst for God’s Living Word like newborn infants. Let us live in this world as priests of God, worshipping Him, interceding before Him, feeding on Him, bringing His redeeming grace to our world. Finally, let us go forth as sheep following the Good Shepherd who is faithful to the end and beyond.

I thought of the U2 song, Grace, while writing these words. Here are a few lines,

Grace
She takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

……

She carries a pearl
In perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings

Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

The Lord is good and worthy of all praise. Amen.

[1] Douglas Harink, 1 & 2 Peter, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009), 81.

Easter 3
Dr. Christopher Graham
Isaiah 43:1-12, 1 Peter 1:13-25, Luke 24:13-35

A House of Wisdom . . . A House of the Word

“Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. . . .  And this is the word which was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22-23)

In introducing our time in 1 Peter, Fr Doug told us last week: “Together, we are becoming the house of the Lord. That’s what Peter is telling us in his letter. Wisdom’s perfect house. We are becoming that house of wisdom.” Wisdom involves applying a knowledge gained from experience to life. This includes recognizing the power of our words and then using those words well. This is certainly the reason that Scripture provides so many proverbs about watching our words.

But in our passage this morning, Peter is not speaking of our wise use of words in the house. Instead, he speaks of the Word that causes this house to be a house of Wisdom. This morning, we are reminded that our acts—even our speech acts—in this house of wisdom are an extension of God’s action because who we are and what we do is rooted in who God is and what He does by his Word. This Word composes our identity and then tunes us to live in harmony.

Our passage this morning begins “Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all behavior.” In the next chapter, he will say that God “has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God” (2:9) By his word, he composes his people.  

As our OT reading reminded us, it was this same Word that composed his people Israel.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

This Word defines, even creates our reality because that is what the Word does as the active agent of God’s will.  It is this creative Word active in Genesis 1, “And God said. . . “ It is this creative Word that the Psalmist extols: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.” It is this Word that was in the beginning, John tells us, that takes on flesh. That same Word calls us, defines us, composes us.

The struggle, of course, is to hear just this Word over all the other words that form a twisted and broken cacophony. Some of these words are just static, noise that keeps us from hearing. Some of seek to de-compose us. Some of these words come from those in our world. For many of us, though, these are own voices that we say to ourselves with words that run counter to the Word.

Peter himself faced this struggle. He cannot hear the calling “Follow me,” without remembering his rebuffs of Jesus’s Word his denial after making the bold proclamation I will follow you anywhere.  And as he hears the call “Follow Me!” “Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following” So Peter, upon seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

This calling, this Word defined and re-defined Peter in spite of his own doubts. And this is the Word now that defines us. The Gospel is that, as Philip Cary, opining on Martin Luther says, “The word of address gets me thinking about myself as the object of God’s love and grace; for the Gospel truth is that Christ died for me, to forgive me, a sinner.  . . . To be justified by faith alone is therefore to focus my attention on the word of Christ alone, and not on anything I do about it—not on the depth of my contrition nor even on the firmness of my faith when I say, “I believe.” Word and faith require each other, but they do not have equal footing, for “faith builds and is founded on the Word of God rather than God’s Word on Faith”

This Word that composes us as his people, defines us as his children, his elect, his workmanship (poema) as Paul phrases it—this Word then keeps us in tune and in tempo. Peter says in our passage that because “you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” fervently love one another from the heart.  And because “this is the word which was preached to you. . .  rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and allslander and long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

We are surrounded by voices—whether others or our own—using words of malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. Words that if they don’t decompose us at least distort us. And so, each we encounter the Word during our worship seeking for him to “Tune my heart to sing that grace.” Last week Fr. Doug’s said: “Our Christian walk is not a dour struggle through the wastelands of a sinful world. It is a joy-filled dance amidst a world at odds with Christ. Peter is encouraging us today that Christ is present and He will sustain us.”  Each week, we are sustained as we encounter the Lord in our Eucharist. Each week, we the Word of the Lord brings us back in tune from a week that has distorted us. Sometimes we are indeed returned to a joy-filled dance. Sometimes it is a lament over the perversion of justice. Sometimes, love is not a victory march, it’s a cold, and it’s a broken Hallelujah. But, as Fr. Doug said, the Word never sets us to the key of  “dour struggle.”

Our ministry of the Scriptures, the living and active Word, cannot be a lifeless exercise. As our reading from Luke 24 shows, it quickens us as it did for the two on the Emmaus Way. When they thought of their experience, the two said, “Did not our heart not burn within us?” When the second century bishop Irenaeus thinks on this passage, he says, “The man who loves God shall arrive at such excellency as even to see God, and hear His word, and from the hearing of His discourse be glorified to such an extent, that others cannot behold the glory of his countenance. . . . Thus, then, I have shown it to be, if anyone read the Scriptures.”

We hear the Word as we attend to, listen to, and incline our ear to the reading of the prophets and apostles. We hear the Word as our Pastor speaks words of comfort, words of absolution, words of assurance. We hear the word through each other. Wonderful words of Life, as our hymn called it. Through our prayers. Through our peace.

“Peace be with you,” we say. This is not a passive, declarative statement. The Spanish here is La Paz esté co Usted.” The verb there is not esta it is an imperative “esté” of estar.  ” Like when I say to my kids “Be good.”

Why? Because Jesus says to the disciples after his resurrection:

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

He tunes their hearts to Peace with his presence and his words. This is the same Word who said to the stormy waves “Be Still.” This Word who, Paul says, made peace through His blood on the cross and is, in fact, our Peace.

The Gospel is not only that the Word has accomplished this peace but that you are invited to participate in that peace. To accept his Word to you: retuned in this this house of the Wisdom, this house of the Word. This week, Peter urges us to open our ears and to hear the identity-shaping Word. “I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” “He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God”

Easter 2
Rev. Doug Floyd
1 Peter 1:1-9, John 20:19-31

The disciples have gathered in the upper room behind a locked door. They are afraid. They ran away in fear. They denied Christ in fear. Now they grieve in fear. Yet, they grieve together.

Jesus gathered them. He called them at the start of His ministry, and they’ve become a community, a family.

God gathers His people. In ancient Israel, the sound of the trumpet gathered the people for a feast, for worship, and even for war. Before the sounding of the trumpet, God gathered His people in Egypt. He led them out of the land of slavery and to the land of promise.

Today in our Gospel reading, the disciples continue to gather, and Jesus meets them there. Hans Urs Von Balthasar writes, “At its deepest level this community’s faith in Jesus Christ was held together by the commonly celebrated Eucharist, for it is here that the believers finally comprehend that this community is not something they have constructed by themselves on a purely human level, rather that it is an institution of the Lord. Only in him and through him do they together constitute the Church, in which each individual’s faith is strengthened by the faith of all the others, like many strands twisted together to make one rope.”^[1]

Even in their doubt and fear, Jesus has gathered the disciples. He steps into their midst and says, “Peace be with you.” Even in our doubt and fear, Jesus gathers us today, speaking, “Peace be with you.” We extend His blessing of peace to one another. Our faith in Christ is strengthened by one another. In chapter two of 1 Peter, we read that we are “living stones” being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.

With this image of us as a community being built into a house of the Lord, let us think about a house. A house contains relationships. The house bears witness to these relationships through pictures, meals, conversations, and even furniture.

Think about pictures on the wall and in photo albums or on our media devices. They tell the story of a life, the story of the family. Different ages. Maybe grandparents, great grandparents.

A house also bears witness to these relationships through meals. Through conversations. And even through the arrangement of furniture. If you had a single chair sitting in front of the fireplace, it’s a very different communication than if you have maybe chairs in a circle or somehow in a semicircle.

The furniture speaks. To the movement within the house.

Children learn invaluable life lessons over meals. With their parents, I used to, I think I wrote an essay years ago on how, we learned the first elements of liturgy in a meal. And even people who don’t like the word liturgy, have learned liturgical movement within a meal.

You pray. There’s certain things you do. There’s an order of service in the meal. There are certain things you do and certain things you don’t do during the meal, depending on the family.

When I went to visit my aunt and uncle as a child, we were not allowed to put our elbows on the table. I was a little bit fearful of going to their house because I didn’t know their rules very well. I might break them.

In my house, there was another a different rule, an unspoken rule, Kelly discovered when we got together. You did not interrupt my dad when he was telling a story. Very different kind of rule.

If you wanted the salt, you pointed to it. Later Kelly asked, why was everybody pointing? I said, because we cannot interrupt my dad’s story. If we do, he’ll say, well, I guess you’re not interested. So even those who live alone actually carry the stories and memories of friends and family. So even a person who lives alone, still carries remembrance of community.

A large empty house can become a haunt. When I was in high school a whole group of us drove out to the country to a haunted house. What we actually saw was an abandoned house. It was haunted because people had lived there at one time and no longer lived there, and it was empty, completely abandoned. That is a haunt.

Proverbs 9 tells us about a perfect house.

“Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
² She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
³ She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
⁴ ”Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
⁵ ”Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
⁶ Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”^[2]

Interesting. This picture of Wisdom’s home has seven pillars, which indicates perfection or completion. People are invited to this house for wisdom. She has prepared them a meal, and when they come, they eat and drink.

This should recall another story. Jesus tells the story of a king who throws a banquet and sends his servants out to the highways and byways to invite people to come. Jesus first miracle is at a wedding feast. He eats with people, and they are changed. Consider Zacheus, or Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He feeds thousands of people. And he feeds a handful. Consider the disciples. He teaches them wisdom during meals.

Together, we are becoming the house of the Lord. That’s what Peter is telling us in his letter. Wisdom’s perfect house.

We are becoming that house of wisdom. With the 7 pillars. where they come and eat, and they fellowship. Every week we gather and we partake of the meal Christ gave us.

In some weeks, we partake of more than that. In fact, I think some people have already partaken of it look like fudge or something in there. So we partake of all sorts of wonderful things.

We eat and drink Christ’s very life. And he ministers to each one of us through each one of us. Like the disciples, we may come weary, discouraged, fearful, even tempted to lock the door.

But Christ will come. He shows up in our midst. He welcomes us to the feast, to the house of wisdom.

To the community of wisdom. I’ll just throw this in one other note about the wise woman. You notice there’s 2 women in Proverbs, the wise woman, and the prostitute or the whore.

Where do those women show up again? In Revelation? The New Jerusalem, and Babylon.

Two cities. Two women. One place is where you feast and become a community, and the other places where you’re used up and eventually are destroyed.

It is here, in this little community, that we learn to bear one another’s burdens, to serve one another, to pray for healing and restoration for one another. It is here that we’re commissioned.

Christ says, as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Every time we dismiss at the end of the service. There’s some form of sending. It is here that we learn to bear one another’s burdens, to serve one another, to pray for healing and restoration for one another. It is here that we are commissioned. Jesus says to us, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”^[3]

We’re the community that Christ has gathered, and we’re part of a larger community. So many of you meet with people from other churches or maybe online with people from around the world. I’ve met with Russ and Heidi and people in Europe and other places online before, talking about their various mission work.

And in that those communities that we participate in, once again, Christ is present, he’s speaking, encouraging us, stirring us. So it is in the community of Christ that we encounter the Risen One, who has “caused us born again to a living hope through the resurrection.”^[4] Then in verses 8 and 9, Peter says,

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8–9, ESV)

Peter is writing to a people who face struggle in the culture. At different times, the church will face harsher suffering and lesser suffering. Sometimes it’s simply social suffering and sometimes it’s martyrdom. Now, unlike the disciples in our gospel reading, these Christians who are gathering, do not physically see Jesus or touch Him, as Thomas did.

They experience his encouragement in love. Thus, they rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Their little communities of faith have become houses where God dwells, where they feast in God’s wisdom, where they’re strengthened in the Eucharist.

In spite of their challenges, Unlike the disciples in our gospel reading, these Christians do not physically see Jesus or touch Him as Thomas did. He is not absent. They believe in Him. They encounter Him. They experience His encouragement and love. Thus, they rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

Their little communities of faith have become houses where God dwells, where they feast in God’s Wisdom, where they are strengthened in the Eucharist, where Christ reveals Himself through fellow believers around them.

I did not enjoy church as a teenager. For some reason, my parents chose to go to an angry church always railing against the world. In college, my sister suggested that her and I go to a church that had a college ministry. From the moment we stepped through the doors, we stepped into a community of joy, a house of wisdom, a house of God. We built deep friendships with the people around us, which reshaped the trajectory of my life. The preaching was good, but what changed me was the community.

Among these saints, I learned that our Christian walk is not a dour struggle through the wastelands of a sinful world. It is a joy-filled dance amidst a world at odds with Christ. Peter is encouraging us today that Christ is present and He will sustain us.

During the extended Easter season, we will keep returning to I Peter. He is instructing God’s people on how to walk out their faith in the midst of struggles and suffering of life. Christ is present among even though we have not seen Him as Peter and the disciples did. But we do hear Him in the Scriptures, we do taste Him in the Eucharist, we do encounter Him in one another as His gifts and His life our poured out in our midst.

Today let us offer back to Him in worship our worries, our failures, our weaknesses, our griefs, and our hopes. Let us rejoice in His faithful love poured out in our lives.

^[1] Hans Urs von Balthasar, Light of the Word: Brief Reflections on the Sunday Readings, trans. Dennis D. Martin (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 74.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Pr 9:1–6.

^[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Jn 20:21.

^[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), 1 Pe 1:3.

Easter 2026
Rev. Doug Floyd
Matthew 28:1-10

We begin at the end of all things. George Mackay Brown writes about the three kings who stopped and could go no further.

The red king
Came to a great water. He said,
Here the journey ends.
No keel or skipper on this shore.

The yellow king
Halted under a hill. He said,
Turn the camels round.
Beyond, ice summits only.

The black king
Knocked on a city gate. He said,
All roads stop here.
These are gravestones, no inn.

They could go no further. Their journeys halted. Their future closed. All hope lost. Then surprise.

The three kings
Met under a dry star.
There, at midnight,
The star began its singing.

The three kings
Suffered salt, snow, skulls.
They suffered the silence
Before the first word.[1]

Three kings. The star began its singing. At the end of all things. The future began. They’re eyes were opened, and in the silence, they heard. They beheld. The first word. The word made flesh.

This week we rehearsed the final days and hours of Jesus Christ. Even as we follow Jesus to the end, we realize the world itself was weary and at an end. Humanity had gone as far as it could go.

Peter was at an end. The fisherman turned disciple denied his Lord. Peter curses anyone who would associate him with Jesus. He hears a rooster and realizes that he has come to the end of himself. He went out and wept bitterly.

The Temple was at an end. The Temple was the dwelling place of God with man. It was built to be a house of prayer but it had become a den of robbers.

Israel was at an end. It has no eyes and no ears for the very God who redeemed it, created it, sustained it. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”^[2]

Rome was at an end. Though it claimed Pax Romana (Peace of Rome), it was built on blood and violence. Though Pilate claimed to enact justice, he washed his hands of justice and crucified the Lord of Glory to appease the shouting mobs.

The world was at an end. There are experiences we each face when the future closes in. All hope disappears. Sickness, suffering, loss, and countless other problems can crush us and still all hope and joy. Jesus came with us and all humanity to dwell at the end of life, at the end of the world.

At the end of all things, the Son of God lays in a tomb. All hope is gone, love grown cold, the light gone out.

St. John Chrysostom sings out,

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Jesus steps forth from the tomb, and all things are become new.

Peter, who denied Jesus, is welcome home. Our risen Savior feeds Peter and the disciples, and then commands Peter, “Feed my sheep.”

The Old Testament is transformed. Jesus walks with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and reveals how all of Scripture is telling His story.

Rome is transformed. It was said that all roads led to Rome. The disciples would walk those roads, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the far reaches of the empire.

Jesus stands before you and me even now. He speaks. We are recalled to life. Now we live in the light of this eighth day, this new day, this day of salvation.

Sometimes we still grow weary. We lose heart. Our love grows cold. Our light flickers.

In our weakness, His strength is revealed. The Risen Savior calls us into the new day. Today is the day of salvation. The wonder of our faith is that each day is the day of salvation. Each day we wake to the day of salvation, the hope hidden behind the veil, the yes and amen of God in Jesus Christ.

Each day we wake to the star that sings and points us to the first Word, the living Word, Word made flesh. Each day we turn and face the Risen Lord. Though we draw from the riches of tradition, our faith is not in tradition but in a person.

Though we give voice to our faith in a series of doctrinal statements, our faith is not in a statement or an idea but in a person.

Though we study and reflect on the Bible, our faith is not in a book but in a person.

Whether we realize it or not, Jesus is the one who created us and sustains us. There is no independent existence outside of Christ. We are resurrected In Christ, through Christ and for Christ.

Today, we rejoice. We sing out the Alleluia. We feast on His love and His life. For He is Risen and all things have become new.

[1] Williams, Rowan. A Century of Poetry (p. 61-62). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 1:11.

Good Friday
Rev. Ash Bramblett
Matthew 27:11-61

You probably familiar with the phrase, “This isn’t what it looks like.” Think about the cross.

One man praised God, saying, certainly this man is innocent. And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

And all his acquaintances, and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance, watching these things. So what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, “this isn’t what it looks like?” Maybe we think of a sitcom and the shenanigans that go on, someone who’s got themselves into an absurd situation, and then was discovered, and then they say, this isn’t what it looks like.

Or we might think of someone else who’s caught in a compromising situation, saying something similar. So what I want to suggest to you is that the cross has a sense in which we would say as we look at what is going on, this isn’t what it looks like. It looks like the execution of an obscure, religious leader from the Middle East, from a troublesome sect, from the armpit of the Roman Empire.

A person, one of countless, who was chewed up by the oppression of the Roman government, But it isn’t what it looks like. The events of that day make it impossible to assume that this is just another Roman execution. Just the things we read.

In verse 44, It says it was about the 6th hour, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. While the sun’s light failed. So the 6th hour being noon, the ninth hour being 3 p.m., the approximate time of Jesus’ death, the sun going out, the sun going dark, is a symbol all throughout the Old Testament of God’s judgment.

In particular, associated with what’s called the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is mentioned throughout scripture, refers to the time when God will intervene in human history. Often for judgment, but the imagery also includes judgment that leads to salvation.

So it was thought by many that there would be an ultimate day of the Lord, at the consummation of the world. And yet there were also types and precursors of the day of the Lord. Joel gives a description that sounds very similar to the events that we just read in the Gospel account.

In chapter 2 of Joel’s prophecy, “For the day of the Lord is coming, and it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like blackness there is spread upon the mountains. The earthquakes before them, the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars will draw their shining.

And I will show wonders in the heavens and on earth, blood and fire, and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” So that darkening of the sun is evidence of this is a day of the Lord, perhaps the day of the Lord.

God is visiting the people with judgment for salvation. But in what particular way? We can think of it in from 2 different angles, both of which are true.

God is bringing judgment on the people. The darkness and the quaking indicate the justice of what is going on. The fact that the innocent son of man is being crucified.

But in a more important sense, the judgment that has arrived is the wrath of God being poured out on Jesus as he bears the sins of the entire world as a substitutionary sacrifice. We think of judgment day being some future event at the end of the world, but there is a true sense in which this is judgment day. The day on which mankind will pay for their sins, but instead someone else has stepped in and suffered in our place.

The judgment we are seeing that is being poured out on Jesus is accomplishing something. And we see it symbolized in verse 45. where it says the curtain of the temple was torn in two. So the assumption is that this is a curtain that divides the holy place in the temple from the most holy place, the holy and holies in the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant sat.

And that place, it is sometimes called the Mercy Sea. symbolically is the throne of God on earth. And man’s sin required that there be a separation between those 2 places. And as you were probably aware, it was only on one day of the year that the high priest was allowed to go in and after extensive ceremonial cleansing to make offering for the people, but as Jesus offers his blood as our sacrifice, his own perfect life, the curtain is torn in two.

And Matthew tells us that it’s torn and two from top to bottom, a 60 foot high curtain, 4 inches thick. Only God could tear this curtain in two. Only God can break down the divider between man and his holiness.

And so it represents the removal of that barrier by God. Not because God is any less holy, not because we are anymore. But because the ultimate sacrifice has been made, the debt has been paid once and for all.

So just as in that text that we read a few minutes ago in the New Testament, reading, therefore, brother, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that it was open to us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God. Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

We see that Jesus own body is the curb. And as his body is broken in crucifixion, the curtain is torn and broken so that we may, again, from Hebrews, with confidence draw near to the throne of grace. that we may receive mercy and find help in our time of need. Those 2 facts, the connecting of the darkening of the day on the day of the Lord, and this miraculous tearing of the curtain in the temple, paint a pretty blatant symbolic picture of what is actually taking place here.

Jesus’ death is atoning for the sins of the world and making peace with God. And with his mission accomplished, the mission that the Father had sent him to do since the beginning, he says his final words. in verse 46. Calling out with a loud voice, he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

And having said this, he breathed his last. So John, the gospel of John references Jesus’ last words as being, it is finished. But Luke is drawing attention to a different point for us.

We see numerous references in the Old Testament scriptures to the day of the cross. It’s always struck me that Jesus is pretty quiet on the cross, right? He doesn’t say a whole lot.

But what we immediately realize is that Jesus is referencing and saying much more than he’s actually saying with just a few words. Again, you’re probably aware that there are 7 phrases that Jesus says from the cross. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

“Today you shall be with me in paradise.”

“Woman, behold thy son, and behold thy mother.”

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken?”

“I thirst.”

“It is finished.”

And “Father into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

So Luke and John are the ones from whom we hear most of Jesus’ words from the cross. Each of them tell us 3 of those different phrases. that he says. If Matthew and Mark were our only sources, the only thing that we would know that Jesus said from the cross would be my God, my God, why have you forsaken?

But Jesus isn’t quiet on the cross. He’s hyperlinked if we can throw an anachronism in there. He is referencing things backwards and saying much more than just a few words that he said.

And so why have you forsaken me? A reference from Psalms. I thirst, another reference from Psalms.

And the same is true of, Lord, into your hands. I commit my spirit. Looking back to Psalm 31.

And so what I want to do is quickly read Psalm 31 and but I want you to hear it as Jesus speaking these things. Now, obviously, all of the songs, there’s a sense in which they are being written by the psalmist, and so we hear it from them. But I also want you to hear Jesus saying these words.

“In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many— terror on every side!— as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt. Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 31:1–24, ESV)

So as Jesus hangs there naked and ashamed, bleeding out and suffocating to death, condemned by his enemies, rejected by the people, abandoned by his friends, and seemingly even abandoned by God.

He points us to Psalm 31 and says, this isn’t what it looks like. Strange things happen that day. Luke mentions the darkness, but Matthew also tells us that there is an earthquake, just as in Joel’s prophecy, that the tombs of various saints crack opened and they were seen walking around the city. in the coming days.

You can do with that whatever you want. These strange signs and the presence of God and the gravity of the moment are not wasted on those who stand in mocking spectacle of Jesus. The soldiers thought that they were just executing a rabble rousing Jew.

The Pharisees in Sanhedrin thought he was a blasphemous revolutionary usurper. But verse 47 tells us that now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying certainly this man was innocent. And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

Those who have mocked realize something is terribly wrong. In their own way, they are coming to realize that this is not what it looks like. So when I was in the 8th grade, we read a medieval morality play called Everyman.

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically a Catholic version of Pilgrim’s Progress. But towards the end of the story, every man at a certain point utters a Latin phrase. He says, in minus, to us, commendo, spiritone, male.

I didn’t know what that meant because I didn’t know Latin. But I looked it up and found that it was the words into your hands. I commit my spirit.

And so even as an 8th grader, I recognize the gravity of that phrase. that somehow it summarized everything, that it was all encompassing in its nature, that it was a summary of Jesus’ life, that is a summary of his cross, his death, and is the same in our lives. We entrust our lives to God. We trust our debts to God.

We entrust the 2 a.m. tragedies, the doctors diagnosis. The way we’re children, we entrust our ministries and our marriages. We trust our meaning, and we lay all those things in the Father’s hands.

And because of what Jesus did on this, his darkest day, in the world’s darkest day, if we have placed our faith in him and received the free gift of salvation through his blood, that even on our darkest day, we can say, this is not what it looks like. Death is not final. Evil does not win.

The greatest injustice ever perpetrated by man is actually the ultimate act of mercy that all history hinges on. And the God who was, and is, and always being. Through his son Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. is faithful yesterday, today, and forever.

Amen. Amen.

Note: This sermon was recorded outdoors in a park, so there are outside noises.

Maundy Thursday 2026
Dr. Christopher Graham
John 13:1-15

Jesus has an encounter with the Samaritan woman in a place where there was no water. There was no food, and we presume by extension, there was no wine. You may recall that this lack of water and food and wine stood out even more because through the first five chapters of John, there’s water, water, everywhere.

And food and wine. There’s John baptizing in plenty of water, but of course, there is plenty of water at the feast in Cana, where Jesus turns it into wine. And just after he meets the Samaritan woman, he performs a miracle, a sign in the waters of Bethesda.

And then in the same chapter, we read, he takes the five loaves of fishes and two fishes and turns them into enough bread for the multitudes. Tonight, we see Jesus in a place where there is water. and bread and wine. But it’s really a rather mundane scene this evening.

No miracles going on here. Of course, on this side of history, we see that it’s the beginning of a complex of days and events that are going to have great significance. But tonight, it’s just a meal.

So how are we to respond to this evening? to this passage that was read for us from John 13? I want to give you three reasonable and straightforward, appropriate responses.

First, we could simply obey. Jesus gives commands here. Take this.

Divide it among yourselves is how Luke records it. eat and drink. Do this in remembrance of me. Wash, one, another’s feet.

The passage is full of commands. In fact, as your bulletin this evening points out, we call this Mondi Thursday because it comes from the Latin word for commandment, specifically the one that’s given in verse 34. When Jesus says, I am giving you a new commandment. that you love one another, just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Obedience is a proper response to any anyone’s master. It is appropriate response tonight for those of us who call Jesus Lord. And Jesus does not shy away from that title as you heard read.

You called me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. Unless we think somehow that love somehow obliterates obedience. Remember that Jesus goes on to teach his disciples very soon in this next chapter.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Oh, my God! The second response that we could have, that would be entirely appropriate, is to emulate or to imitate Jesus.

He tells us here that he has given us an example that we are to follow, for I gave you an example. He says, that you would also do just as I did for you. It is, again, expected. that a disciple follows the example of one’s teacher.

It’s rather striking, I think, that the one who resists Jesus’ actions, Peter. Well, then also refuse to follow Jesus in the days ahead. But then this same Peter will write in his letter, for you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered leaving you an example so that you would also follow in his steps.

The 3rd appropriate response is to apply the principles that Jesus teaches here. So if I, the Lord and teacher, wash your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. Truly, truly, I save you, a slave is not greater than his master.

Nor is the one who sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. As he has often done, Jesus lays out the conventional wisdom, which holds true.

A slave isn’t greater than his master. And a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. But in his actions, Jesus shows us that these truths do not restrain the principles that characterize his kingdom.

He, the Lord, washes their feet. It’s in line with his other teachings, for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

So the last shall be first and the first last. Obedience, imitation, application, these are all appropriate responses to our reading this evening. Individually and even in combination, all are appropriate.

Then each one of these would be good to anyone who is in charge or anyone who teaches us. What makes our response powerful… is not the response itself. But the one whom we obey, the one whom we emulate, and the one from whom we learn.

At the beginning of his teaching, Jesus identifies himself as teacher and Lord. But after he does these things, he says this, from now on, from now on, I tell you, before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am. Hmm.

The Greek there is ego a mi. And if we follow through the Gospel of John, we know that Jesus uses that phrase, a go, a me, time and again to identify himself as the Lord God. Before Abraham was, Jesus says, eh, go, eh, me.

Ego, Amy, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Ego, Amy, I am the bread who comes from heaven. It was… this one.

This one, this god who came out of heaven, who now washes the disciples’ feet. This is in Jesus’ mind. We heard it this evening.

John tells us, knowing that the Father had handed all things over to him, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God. So Jesus is certainly aware of this as he does this. And then after he does this and teaches, he says, I am.

It’s in line with what Paul teaches in Philippians 2, about the fact that Jesus being in the very, in the very nature of God, the very form of God, didn’t consider it something to be grasped, but empty himself and took on the form of a bond servant being born in the likeness of men. Paul says, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by being obedient to the point of death. Death on a cross.

John tells us in our passage, this evening, that Jesus will love his disciples to the end that tell us the completion. Which will end in his death soon. But on this night, he does not call for his disciples to die with him.

Or for him. He does not call on them to perform the signs and wonders of I am. He calls for them to eat with one another, to share with one another, to wash one another’s feet, to love. one another.

Remarkably, Jesus doesn’t even call for them to love him back. He calls for them to love each other. And this Jesus, who washed the feet of his disciples, is the Jesus we encounter today and this evening.

He was the host of the disciples, and tonight he is the host for us. And just as he washed his disciples’ feet, on that night, there is no reason to doubt that he would do the same this evening if he were here with us.

Lent 5
Rev. Doug Floyd
Ezekiel 37:1–26, Psalm 130, Romans 6:15-23, John 11:1-44

Israel was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.[1]

Dead and buried in the depths of Assyria and Babylon. North and South Israel had been crushed by their enemies. People died. Land ruined. Temple destroyed. The remaining Jews scattered, exiled. The Beloved of God forsaken in the wilderness.

When judgment finally came it was swift and sure. No going back. The Psalmist cries out,

By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
³ For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
⁴ How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

All hope is lost in the land of dead. From this land of exile, this grave of death Ezekiel declares, “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.” (Ezekiel 37:1)

The Lord said to Ezekiel, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

Today we stand at the edge of this Word becoming flesh as Lazarus steps forth from the grave. In him, we see the promise of God’s people awaking to new life.

But first, let’s look back at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. Like Mose before Pharaoh, Jesus does a miracle with water. Moses comes to deliver the people from slavery in Egypt, from Pharaoh’s hand. He turns water into blood. Jesus comes to deliver his enslaved people from sin and death.  He turns water into wine.

After plague upon plague, Moses declares that God will take Pharaoh’s firstborn and all of Egypt’s first. That night Egypt is filled with wailing, but the people of God are free.

After sign upon sign, Jesus will lead all people from slavery to freedom, from death to life. Once again, the life will be required. Jesus comes as God’s only begotten Son and dies on the cross to breaks the bonds of sin and death.

In today’s Gospel, we see the beginning of that story. The prologue of the great procession to Jerusalem, to the cross, to the grave, and ultimately to the resurrection.

Jesus is ministering in the plains of Jordan where John the Baptist had been baptizing (John 10:40). Messengers arrive from Bethany with an urgent request. “He whom you love is ill.” Jesus loves Martha and Mary and Lazarus. And yet, He chooses to wait. “The Spirit blows when and where it will.”

Jesus says, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”(John 11:4) We are at the threshold of the Son’s glory. The Gospel of John is moving toward this glory. The signs and the speeches are all moving to this glory. The raising of Lazarus is the great event preceding this glory. In John 17 we read, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:1–5, ESV)

The hour of glory is the revelation of the Father through the Son in His death upon the cross. Everything is moving toward that moment. Our story today sets this dramatic action in motion.

Jesus waits two days before traveling to see his friends. If you’re counting, it took one day for the messenger to arrive with the news of Lazarus (that is from Judea to the plains of Jordan). Jesus waits two days. He travels to see his friends, which takes one day. He will arrive on day four. When He arrives, He learns that Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. This means that Lazarus must have died just after the messenger left to get Jesus.

Even if Jesus had left instantly, it was already too late. And yet, it wasn’t too late. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Martha tells Jesus that He could have prevented it. She says, “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”” (John 11:22–23, ESV)

Now one of favorite lines in the story, “Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”” (John 11:24–26, ESV).  

Here we behold one of the clearest statements of Jesus’ death and life, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

We can never tire of these words. Wherever you are at today, our Risen Lord is looking at you and speaking, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Everyone I turn, I meet people in need, in grief, in fear, in the depths of the valley of the shadow of death. No matter what happens, we are safe in the hands of God. For Jesus, the Risen One stands among us and declares, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Even as we hear this address, we see this event of Lazarus in the tomb is pointing to the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus will call Lazarus from the tomb. Some will rejoice. Others will tell the Pharisees and the end will begin.

Yet, they will unwittingly prepare the way for the dry bones to live. Remember, Ezekiel prophesying over the dry bones? In the death and resurrection of our beloved Savior, Israel is recalled to life, we are recalled to life, our world is recalled to life. We are ambassadors of reconciliation to a world in death.

As we carry the griefs and struggles of those around us, we look to our Risen Savior. This reminds me of when I was in the hospital with COVID back in 2021. I’ve said before that I awoke with a sense of God’s presence surrounding me. For me, today’s Gospel brought that moment into clear focus. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. I was so safe in the arms of our Risen Lord. I knew it did not matter whether I lived or died. I was, I am absolutely safe. You are absolutely safe in His arms, in His presence.

Turn to Him. Make known your pain, your fears, your struggles. Tell Him about the people on your heart. He hears and He will not forsake us. Trust Him.

[1] With apologies to Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol: A Timeless Classic Sprinkled with Timeless Wisdom (p. 9). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Lent 4 2026
Rev. Doug Floyd
1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:1-14, John 9

If the doors of the perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chambers of his cavern . . . Unless the eye catches fire then God will not be seen. – William Blake[1]

Today we’re considering eyes that are blind and eyes that see.

The blind man can see. Jesus covers his eyes in mud, and his eyes are opened. Scales fall from the Apostle Paul’s eyes, and he can finally see. John Newton writes, “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”

Samuel goes to Bethlehem to anoint the future king of Israel, but Jesse cannot see. He presents his older, stronger and fiercer sons to Samuel who replies, “The Lord has not chosen these.” “Are all your sons here?”

Jesse gives an excuse for not presenting David. “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” Samuel replies, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”

Now the Lord speaks, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.

At times, we are blind. We fail to see the glory that envelopes us. We cannot see the holiness of others. Consider Bob Dylan in his song “Idiot Wind,” he begins with such vehemence of his ex-love that it shocks the listener,

“You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe”

As the song progresses, he begins to acknowledge his own failure. He could not see her and she could not see him. He sings, “I’ll never know …your holiness or your kind of love.”

Then he confesses that they are both idiots. They are blind to the glory of the other.

“Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats
Blowing through the letters that we wrote
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We’re idiots, babe
It’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves”

We as humans often fail to see the beauty, the glory, and even the holiness of those around us.

In our Gospel story, the blind man can now see, but the Pharisees cannot see the blind man. They revile him. They cast him out. Even his parents are afraid of the miracle. They don’t want to offend the Pharisees. Here is a perfect picture of the “blind leading the blind.”

The man who has just received his sight, sees Jesus. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. And he worshipped him.

Come Lord Jesus and heal our eyes that we may see, heal our ears that we may hear, and heal our voices that we may sing out in praise.

Now let’s think about the blind man before he encounters Jesus. He would have existed at the margins of society. It would be common to pass judgment on blind people. F. Graber writes, “The benediction on seeing a blind man was “Blessed be the truthful Judge,” which implies that the blindness was a just judgment by God either on the man’s own sins, or on those of his parents working themselves out in their children.”[2] Even the disciples assume the blind man in our story is suffering as a result of sin.

The blind are forced to sit at the edge of town and beg. They are totally dependent on the kindness of strangers. The shame and marginalization of people who were blind or crippled or leprous would be painful. When Jesus comes, he welcomes them to the kingdom of God that is unfolding.

And yet that dependence of the outcasts reveals something very true about our human condition. We are created by an Almighty Creator. This simple truth is the source of so many human problems, so much human sin. We are created and we are not the Creator. This means we are completely dependent.

As created beings, we have are blessed with all sorts of gifts and freedoms, but we are not independent. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We are dependent upon the Creator who provides for us in the midst of the creation.

Because God gives us gifts through His creation, humans are tempted to turn from God to the creation, assuming the gift came from the creation. The Pharisees tended to substitute the law or Torah for dependence on the Creator. It is true the ancient Israel turned away from the law and became idolators. But actually, they were turning away from the Creator to created things. After the exile, the scribes and eventually the Pharisees sought to teach people the law, so they would never go into exile again.

But it is the God behind the law whom we serve. Without reliance on Him, their devotion became empty, white-washed tombs.

Jesus Christ heals the blind man. Opens the eyes of Paul. And has called you to Himself. In and through Christ, we are restored to communion with the Father above. We are adopted into the family of God, and He is truly our Father.

In our second lesson today from Ephesians 5, Paul calls us beloved children and children of light. When Paul preaches in Athens, he reminds them of our dependence on God. He says,

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” (Acts 17:24–28, ESV)

“In Him we live and move and have our being.”

Most of the time we may live unaware of how truly dependent we are on our good and gracious Father in Heaven. We need our eyes opened to the light of His glory.

As Paul reminded us this morning,

““Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.””
(Ephesians 5:14, ESV)

There is much to meditate upon in this revelation. As part of our Lenten journey, let us awaken to the light of His glory. Here are a few ways we might begin to practice little habits of awaking.

One, we might practice looking to God for everything even the mundane. Two, we might learn to give thanks in all things. Three, our obedience faith then grows out of our childlike dependence upon the Father in Heaven.

Think of a child with a parent. The child trusts the parent for everything: food, protection, comfort, and more.

It is not selfish to look to the Father as our great provider in all things. Instead of fretting over higher prices, we ask the Father to provide. We ask for healing for ourselves and others. We ask for comfort. We are not looking to God as a Santa Claus but as a Heavenly Father who fills our life with good things. It is not wrong to cast all our cares on Him. It trains us to see that He is providing all the time.

There is a great moment in the film “Big George Foreman.” He has achieved great success, and his family has come over for dinner. The mom says that they should give thanks to God. George Foreman responds, “God didn’t provide this food, George Foreman did.” He would be broken before he realized that all good gifts come from the Father above.

This leads us to a second habit of children. Thanksgiving. Sometimes children have to learn this lesson, but hopefully it becomes as natural as breathing. My parents overwhelmed us with good gifts. They also taught us gratitude and generosity. I hope and pray we children live up to their model.

I put a quote from Bishop Richard Harries in the bulletin this morning, he writes,

“We must remember God at all times, in all places, in every occupation. If you are making something, you must call to mind the creator of all things; if you behold the light, do not forget him who gave it to you; if you see the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, glorify and marvel at their maker. When you put on your clothes, recall whose gift they are, and give thanks to him who in his providence takes thought for your life. In short, make every action an occasion for ascribing glory to God, and see you will be praying without ceasing and in this way your souls will be always filled with rejoicing.”[3]

I heard Rowan Williams suggest that gratitude is the response to a surprise blessing. Life is filled with surprises from the Father above. What if we could be surprised by good food, good friends, loving family and friends? Everything culminates in doxology, in song. When we finally have eyes to see, we realize how God has overwhelmed us with His goodness. All we can do is give thanks, is to rejoice, is to worship.

Our Father in heaven is our true provider. As we read in James,

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17, ESV)

The Lord blesses us with the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. He blesses us through the hands of other people. We depend on the people every day. And yet, He is always the true provider. In our Gospel story today, the blind man acknowledges Jesus as His provider and worships him.

Our daily meals are a perfect time to acknowledge our dependence on God and others. We offer thanks. What if we sit down to eat, we got in the habit of offering thanks for the food, the plates, the chairs, the table, the silverware, and more. It might seem ridiculous, but it also might remind on how much we rely on others to live. We don’t make our own clothes. We didn’t make our cellphones. In fact, we didn’t transport them from their point of origin to the store where we purchase these items. We rely of cargo ships, truck drivers, grocery stores, online stores, programmers, and all sorts of other people. Just an average meal, could entail the work of hundreds if not thousands of people.

Children also learn to obey their parents. Our obedience is an overflow of doxology. We rejoice in our good and gracious Lord and want to express our love by serving and loving others.

Lord open our eyes to your love, your glory, your rich blessings that surround us even now. May we lead the choir of creation in praise of your Oh Lord.

[1] William Blake, ‘A Memorable Fancy’, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1790–3. David Adam, Occasions for Alleluia (London, United Kingdom: SPCK Publishing, 2012).

[2] F. Graber, “Blind,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Lothar Coenen, Erich Beyreuther, and Hans Bietenhard (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 219.

[3] (Quoted in Richard Harries, Praying Around the Clock, Mowbray, 1983, p. x). David Adam, Occasions for Alleluia (London, United Kingdom: SPCK Publishing, 2012).

Lent 3, 2026
Dr. Christopher Graham
John 4

“We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

This morning’s Gospel reading about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is one of those texts that gives me pause to preach or to teach. It is such a powerful story on its own that by giving commentary on it, I risk removing its power. In fact, my guess is that some of you are here this morning because you encountered Jesus, having heard and been moved by just this story. And so this morning, rather than focus on this encounter between Jesus and the woman of Samaria, we’re going to follow the text’s lead and look at an adjacent element. This is, by the way, not a copout. It is a technique that all of the Gospel writers employ, including John. That is, by placing other stories around a central story, they bring aspects of each story into starker relief, more vivid than looking at each story on its own. This morning we will look at one of these adjacent passages and, in doing so, learn more about this Jesus whom the woman encounters and who we encounter.

The adjacent story we will look at immediately precedes the encounter at the well. If you have a copy of Scripture in front of you, you can find it in the preceding chapter, John 3. If not, I’ve given you a few verses from that in your bulletin. Beginning in verse 22, the focus is on John the Baptist, the Baptizer.

3:22-23: After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 

Notice first the contrast between where John the Baptist is and where Jesus is. John the Baptist is in Judean ministering to the people of Israel and records an encounter amongst Jews. Jesus is in Samaria, ministering to and encountering a Samaritan. Ick. Throughout the Gospels, the Samaritans are the epitome of what it is to be despicable. In a particularly heated exchange between Jesus and his opponents, they say to him “The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed” (John 8: 44-48). When the Greeks come to meet Jesus (John 12) there is no hubbub but those kissin-cousins the Samaritans? There must be a sociological term about the increased hostility we tend to have with those who share enough of our culture with us. It’s like me going to visit my son on the South Side of Chicago. I can wear a Rangers Jersey, but I can’t wear a Cubs jersey.

But as important is the fact that water is central to the story of John the Baptist. He is in a place with water and he is using water in his ministry. But Jesus is in a place there is no water in the encounter with the woman. Oh, it is spoken about and referred to in our passage this morning. There is, presumably, water deep down in the well. But there’s no water here. I wanted to bring in water this morning as a prop. But there is no water in this story. No one gets physical water and she leaves her waterpot empty. This point stands out even more if we were to read the first five chapters of John. There is water, water everywhere. John is baptizing in water in chapter one and again, look at 3:23, where there is much water. There is plenty of water at the wedding feast in Cana. Buckets and buckets. And in the story immediately after this encounter goes to the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. But not here.

Why is this important? Because Jesus is doing something categorically different than what John the Baptist is doing. Something that John the Baptist himself said would be different. Matthew records his words very succinctly:  “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Indeed, it becomes clearer and clearer through John’s Gospel that this water that yield eternal life is the Spirit. Which Jesus will expound on at great length. Read John 14-16 this afternoon. But John wants to make a different point just here about Jesus. Back to the words of John 3:31-36. John the Baptist is in this land where there’s water from the ground and is doing, he can do with that water. And Jesus does miracles with physical water in the early chapters of John. But Jesus goes deliberately to a place where there is not readily accessible water to demonstrate that John has said:

3:31-32: He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

 Jesus alone can bring what is from heaven. He is doing only what only God can do.

You will remember that in Epiphany we saw how John took us to Exodus to show us how Jesus does what only God could do in meeting Moses on the Mountain. Now John shows us how Jesus does what only God can do in meeting Moses in the desert. We heard it read this morning from Exodus.

Through Isaiah, God promises to “satisfy your desire in scorched places. And give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” Isa 58:11b

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” Matt 5:6.

We know this not only because of the allusions to the Holy Spirit but because of Jesus’s words to the woman, “The One speaking to you, I am he.” Here in this land of Samaria, this is the first time in John that Jesus has acknowledged himself as the Messiah, the Christ who was to come. He even does so with language that in future episodes will be noteworthy. Ego eimi.

Biblical readers are quick to point out in this cases what seems to be a clear reference back to Exodus 3:13-14:

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

But let me back up one verse in Exodus.

And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

I am the Bread of Life…the Door…the Good Shepherd…the Resurrection and the Life….the Way the Truth and the Life…the True Vine. Faith—Jesus said to them I am the Bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35. This morning, as we confess that our hearts are restless. That we are thirsty and live in a parched land. And this morning, we are here to yield ourselves to the only one who can give a peace to our restless hearts. To the Fount of every blessing. A table in the midst of our enemies. Still waters in the shadow of death. To the One offers us what he offered and gave to the woman at the well: a life rooted in and drawing from the life-giving Spirit.