Diversity Is Beautiful; Relationships Are Difficult; Philippians 4:4-7

 

Rev. George Miller

May 24, 2026

Philippians 4:4-7

 

Diversity is beautiful.

     Relationships are difficult.

 

Saying everyone is welcome is one thing.

 

Creating a system of safe spaces and boundaries for that inclusion is nuanced and complicated.

 

Tribalism is a one way to ensure certain death.

 

Widely opening the doors means being rightfully aware of who comes in.

 

Keeping a closed table means the meals may eventually become bland and flavorless.

 

Inviting everyone to the table means  you better be prepared for different ingredients, spices, concepts of time and family.

 

Diversity is beautiful.

     Relationships are difficult.

 

Today we celebrate Pentecost.  We wear our Red and recall the day when people from all over were gathered in the Holy City and the Spirit fell upon them.

 

Like tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit danced among all those present, giving them the ability to hear and understand one another’s mother language. 

 

Parthians could understand the Medes.  The Elamites could understand the Asians.  The Egyptians could hear the Arabs.

 

It was a groundbreaking moment.  God did something so new, so invigorating that it gave birth to the church, allowing the Good News of Christ to cross continents, time zones, and cultures.

 

But of course, this would mean something else- the faith of Sarah and Abraham, the stories of Miriam and Moses were now open to and available to people who previously had no faith at all, or worshipped snakes or thought Ceaser was God on high.

 

The inbreaking of the Holy Spirit in which people could be heard and share the Good News would mean that there was now adjustments to be made, new boundaries to discover, and different traditions to become aware of.

 

Pentecost is a day when God poured out God’s spirit upon all flesh, so heirs could prophecy, young can have visions, elders can dream, and all who call upon the Lord will experience a strong foundation.

 

But did you ever wonder what that actually meant, and what it would look like for the early churches when Jew and Gentile, Arab and Asian, all came together to sit at table, tell stories, sing songs, testify about Jesus and then break bread and drink wine?

 

It is not such an easy thing to do in an inclusive, wordly setting because everyone has their own culture, context, and expectations.

 

For example time.  Time as a concept fascinates me.

 

In New York, distance is measured by time.  The mall is 30 minutes away; the church is 45. 

 

But in Minnesota, distance is measured by miles.  The mall is 5 miles away.

 

Time really becomes tricky when it comes to a gathering.

 

Tell someone on Long Island that the party begins at 7 pm- that means “don’t show up until 7:15” because the host is counting on that extra 15 minutes. 

 

BUT in Grand Rapids, Michigan (which is very Dutch), the host better be ready by 6:39 because their first guest will be there at 6:40 with a casserole.

 

Now, if you are invited by a Jamaican to a 7 pm party, what that means is at 7 pm start thinking about getting ready, by 7:45 get in the shower, and by 8:30 the grill will be fired up.

 

BUT, if a Colombian family invites you, be prepared to show up around 9:30 pm, dressed in a well put-together outfit.  Know that you will see many kids (who will eventually fall asleep on chairs), your ears will hear much chisme, your belly will be full of rice and coffee.  You won’t get home until after 2, and it will take an hour to say goodbye.

 

All of this is wonderful and comforting if that’s what you’re used to and the culture you exist.

 

But what if you are one of those very 1^st  churches meeting in the home of Miss Louanna and people are showing up 20 minutes early or three hours late?  What if some brought casseroles with ingredients you don’t eat or a group of kids who will run around for hours?

 

It can be pure chaos, requiring patience, give and take, creating new customs and redrawing agreeable boundaries.

 

All these things that took place in the mother churches that laid the way for us, and all the delightful dilemmas that Pentecost brought when the Holy Spirit barged in and gave us the rhythm to dance and worship and praise the Lord.

 

Paul dealt with these realities all the time.  Paul had to do this as the first one with no dance instructor or Rosetta Stone.

 

As we read Paul’s 7 authentic letters, we’re invited to always keep in mind that Paul is constantly finding a way to welcome diversity while also finding ways to keep relationships healthy.

 

Sometimes Paul seems to succeed, sometimes he fails greatly.  But decade after decade, island after island, house church after house church, Paul keeps keeping on.

 

So in chapter 4, Paul writes to a congregation caught up in turmoil, he finds a way to create that welcome and sense of safe space.

 

He focuses them on celebration.  “Rejoice,” he writes.  “Rejoice in the Lord.” 

 

He encourages them to be gentle; to let that be known as one of their trademarks.-

 

“Hey, do you know those folk in Philippi?”

“Yes, they are so kind and sweet with one another.”

 

Paul reminds them to be in dialogue with God; to pray; to be thankful; to be humble. 

 

Paul encourages them to be aware of what they seek and ask for; to turn to the Lord with words that reflect vulnerability and petition.

 

As if giving a recipe of faith, Paul states that when the Philippians do this, they will experience a sense of peace that is more than calm waters or clear weather,

 

but a spiritual sense of presence, wholeness, assurance…breathe.

 

Paul is not writing these words from a place of innocence or misunderstanding. 

 

He has been there, done that, and he understands that a church created by Pentecost is also a church that will have complexity and diversity while finding their identity and new path of direction.

 

Paul is not afraid for them; Paul is certain that they will be fine, and he wants them to know it.

 

So in verses 8-9, he writes “Finally, sisters and brothers, primas and primos, opas and omas,

 

whatever is true and truly felt, whatever is pure and well intentioned, whatever is the best that you can bring, think about these things.

 

If you do them, embody them.  Give them hands and feet.  Then the peace of God will be with you and you and you.”

 

Today we celebrate the inbreaking of the Holy Spirit, not just then, but every time we gather, every time we welcome someone new,

 

every time we try something else, every time we choose peace over paralysis,

 

every time we are able to hear what another is saying.

 

So today let us rejoice; let us seek what is pleasing; let us move in a way that others can say-

 

“Look at how the God of peace is with them; St. Lucas UCC.”

 

Amen and amen.

The 2026 Psalm- A Tribute to Our Confirmands; Philippians 2:1-11

 

Rev. George Miller

May 17, 2026

Philippians 2:1-11

 

What we heard are words of pure poetry; a love song from Paul about the cosmic Christ who dwells in all people.

 

If we go deeper into Paul’s letter, we hear “Do all these things…children of God…in which you shine like stars in the world, holding forth the word of life.”

 

The Word of Life; so appropriate for today.  Genesis tells us God created with words.  John tells us Jesus is the Word.  The Holy Spirit is like the words of Wisdom dancing about.

 

In Scripture the importance of words is central to everything.  So, Beloved in Christ- hear now the words of our Confirmands as they start their own Statement of Faith:

 

Noah-“Lord you have always been by me.  You have helped me out in the hardest times and through the hardest decisions.”

 

Will- “O God, living and eternal, You guide us in times of need and in our everyday life.”

 

Fletcher- “God, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. You have always brought us hope and love.”

 

Sophia-  “You are the Creator, who forgives all and trusts us to do our best. Who guides us in rough times and loves us and takes care of us.”

 

Claire- “I believe in you God, our God, and the savior of all. Who created me, created you, and is still creating. I believe He watches over me and keeps me safe in His arms every day.”

 

Elin- “God is the  Holy Spirit, Creator of earth and all living beings. The Shepherd who is watching over me and everyone. The light in the darkness.”

 

Elizabeth- “I believe in You, God, who created everything I know and don’t know. I believe that if I hold you in my heart and talk to You, You will always protect me and I will always be okay.”

 

We can knit these words from our youth into a tapestry that reads like this:   “Lord, you have always been by me, living and eternal, the creator of Heaven and Earth, who guides us in rough times, and loves us, who created me, created you, and is still creating; the Shepherd who is watching me and everyone. If I hold you in my heart and talk to You, You will always protect me and I will always be okay.”

 

This sounds like a 23^rd Psalm for a new generation, direct from our 2026 Confirmands, who are our legacy, our present, and our future. 

 

This Noah, this Will, this Fletcher, this Sophia, this Claire, this Elin, this Elizabeth.  Children of God who shine like stars in the world, holding forth the word of life.

 

Paul would most certainly call  our Confirmands stars.

 

Here he have this letter from Paul, who has traveled all over the world seeing this and doing that, who has now come to a place of age and wisdom. 

 

Paul is in prison, but his spirit is free.  He uses this time to reflect and share the good news of Christ. 

 

Or as Noah would say “You have helped me out in the hardest times and through the hardest decisions.”

 

Paul’s faith in Christ gives him comfort; joy, generously sharing that joy with the Philippian people to pass on some of what he knows to be true.

 

Like Will, Paul knows that God “brings us together, in happiness, sadness, peace, and reconciliation.”

 

Paul encourages the people to be of one mind in Christ.  His theology of Christ is a lot like Fletcher who states “You have sent to us a man named Jesus. He nourished our lives and gave His world for ours.” 

 

His theology of Christ is a lot like Claire as she testifies “He sent him to help and heal others.”

 

As Sophia states “Jesus, the Savior, who died for us because He was spreading the word.”

 

Paul shared his view in hopes that we can live as Christ did.  In verse 15, he writes  that when we are blameless, we shine like stars in the world.  How very much this is reflected in Elin who wrote about the Good Shepherd being “The light in the darkness.”

 

And Paul, in his concluding words, easily mirrors the words of Elizabeth who states “As God’s presence is with me now, I believe it will be with me forever.”

 

Today is a celebration, a celebration that has been a long time coming.

 

Today is not just about the confirmands, but how Christ dwells within each confirmand.

 

Today is not just about the church universal, but how Christ dwells within the universal church.

 

Today is just not about the history and legacy of St. Lucas UCC but how Christ dwells within St. Lucas’ legacy.

 

And because it is all about Christ, and has always been about Christ, we all can shine bright like stars in the world, holding the forth the word of light. 

 

May our 2026 Confirmands continue to do so as they continue their journeys of faith. 

 

Amen and amen.

 

The 2026 Psalm

 

“Lord, you have always been by me, living and eternal, the creator of Heaven and Earth, who guides us in rough times, and loves us, who created me, created you, and is still creating; the Shepherd who is watching me and everyone. If I hold you in my heart and talk to You, You will always protect me and I will always be okay.”

 

 

By Noah, Will, Fletcher,

Sophia, Claire, Elin, and Elizabeth

May 17, 2026

In The Worst of Times, The Christians Stayed; Philippians 1:1-11

 

Rev. George Miller

May 10, 2026

Philippians 1:1-11

 

Last week we were with Paul, all alone, in Athens.  Now it’s about 10 years later.  Paul has done a lot, seen a lot.  His actions and beliefs have landed him in Rome, under arrest.

 

He is a person with a lot of time to reflect, think things over and see clearly from a lens wide enough to observe his past, present, and future. 

 

With sage wisdom he writes to a group of believers in Philippi who have had his back, sent him a sweet-smelling gift, and embodied what it means to be the hands, feet, heart, and mind of Christ.

 

Paul gives thanks to God for their legacy and prayers, offering blessings of joy and good tiding, asking that the Lord allows their love to overflow with insight and intelligence.

 

Though Paul has had his freedom taken away by the Romans, he celebrates how the Philippians are growing in what is right and what is good, what really matters and what is truly true.

 

While others could be bitter, or ruled by regret, Paul is living his days focused on all things made possible through Jesus Christ for the glory of God and God’s kingdom.

 

Paul is aware of his own mortality, but the joy of  Resurrection fills his being- Christ is alive!   

 

Paul is part of something exciting and new.  A movement of people going out into the world doing what they believed Jesus to do. 

 

This is a mixed group of long- time disciples and fresh faces who exist during a time of unrest.  They’re doing something that hasn’t been done before in the city of Phillippi- being CHURCH.

 

At a time when others worship the Roman Emperor as a god, pray to Zeus, or seek python spirits, Paul is part of a people united in Christ.

 

These women and men are gathering in small groups and private homes.  They’re having potlucks, reading Paul’s letters, saying prayers, recalling the work of Christ-

 

The one who told them to care for the least of these.  The one who said “When you welcome a stranger, feed the hungry, or visit the sick, you are doing it for me.”

 

This group of folk, who before knowing Christ were just doing their own thing.  Peter, a fisherman. Nathaniel, sitting under a tree.  Lydia by the water.

 

What it must have been like to be alive between the middle 30’s and 50’s,  when others are worshipping Zeus or think that snakes are a path to righteousness.

 

Along comes these working-class women and men, some of them with their hands dyed the color purple, others smelling like fishing boats,  inviting you to come to their home to have a meal in which you can learn about some guy named Jesus who was born illegitimately, never got married, was seen with street urchins, spent a lot of his time around the sick with no face mask, touching folk with skin lesions, and  rubbing mud in their eyes.

 

These first followers of Christ, told how Jesus was arrested, executed, and rose from the grave- how in the world did they believe such a tale?  How did something like “The Church” take off?

 

And yet, thanks to people like Paul and Lydia, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the tenacity of God, that is exactly what happened.

 

This group of eclectic, hard-working, faithful men and women become the ones in their cities who were known for offering food and supplying fresh water.

 

The early Christians, with no guidebooks,  Zoom calls, or bylaws, found a way to do the ministry of Christ.   

 

At a time in which Rome’s emperor kept saying “Me, Me, Me” these early Christians said “Sister” and “Brother.”

 

At a time in which citizens were always under the threat of attack, the followers of Christ offered comfort in the Kingdom of God.

 

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day and the women in our lives who have made a difference.  It is also Nurses Week, and on the 12^th it’s International Nurses Day.  Mindful of this special time to honor Moms and nurses, role models and care givers, hear this story: 

 

In the year 249, a pandemic hit the Roman Empire, taking millions of lives.  There was fever, vomiting, folk dying in the street.  Known as the Plague of Cyprian, 5,000 people a day died.  It was so intense, so nasty, that the “who’s who” of the city fled. 

 

The priests of Zeus and the worshippers of snakes were too afraid to stay.  All those who claimed their Emperor was divine or had a shrine to Serapis  took the next Uber and Amtrack out of town.

 

It was the earliest followers of Christ who stayed behind.  It was the Christians who bravely remained in the cities, cared for those in the alleys, and went into homes of the unwell. 

 

During the 13 years the Plague lasted, these followers of Christ did not care if you were of the same faith, skin tone, or caste-system, they nursed people back to health, or, like a compassionate mother, stayed with them even if it seemed hopeless.

 

The Christians were there, and they were the ones to bury the dead, even when families refused to be around their own son or daughter.

 

Being a Christian truly meant to be the hands and feet of Christ, in which gifts of nursing, offering food, water, and presence saved folks lives. 

 

People took notice. 

“Hey- the priests who followed Zeus and Serapis all left us behind.”

“Those who claimed the Emperor was All-Powerful fled as if on fire, but the followers of Christ stayed, held my hand, and knew my name.”

 

Those who survived associated the care they received with what it means to be a Christian.  Instead of fear and abandonment, the Christians demonstrated faith and presence. 

 

Their witness was not doctrine or dogma, who was in and who was out, but presence, care, comfort, which all became a compelling reason why a life in Christ mattered.

 

Today we live in uncertain times.  It has seemed like a decade of delirious days in which we don’t know what’s next- more masks, return to monarchy, the third world war.

 

And yet here we are, as a church, as the Body Of Christ, honoring our legacies and always discerning where we are next being called to be. 

 

I don’t know about you, but I find this to be exciting and affirming.  Paul would say that he is confident that our good works will continue, that we are partners in grace and witness.

 

Mother and Fathers, Nurses and Doctors, Sisters and Brothers in Christ- we are so blessed to be recipients of Paul’s faith, with our sights set on Christ.

 

Just as the earliest Christians were able to figure it out, so will we.  Just as those in Rome were able to minister even during difficult times, so will we.

 

For we are children of the Living God, the one who knowns us by name and does not let anyone go astray. 

Amen and amen.

To Belong; Sermon on Acts 17:16-29

 

Rev. George Miller

May 3, 2026

Acts 17:16-29

 

Since called to serve St. Lucas, one thing that’s apparent is how many people have deep established roots here at the church and county.

 

It’s beyond “where did you go to high school” and beyond “our road used to be an apple orchard,” it’s “my family has been part of this soil for multi-generations.”

 

It’s walking through the graveyard and driving across the city, seeing tombstones and street signs with the name of St. Lucas families.

 

Such knowledge requires great respect and understanding, an appreciation for legacy and roots.

 

Which means that it can be difficult for anyone to move here if they are from somewhere else.  It can take time to find your niche, your tribe, your spot.  But when you do, you sense yourself becoming part of the earth around you. 

 

Everyone wants to feel like they belong.  Throughout the St. Louis landscape are people who can say they have lived on this land since Martin Van Buren was President and before Texas became a state.

 

In the Book of Acts we are following how Paul and others are building their own tribe and finding their own niche founded on Jesus Christ.

 

Paul’s tribe began with Ananias, who called him “Brother,” expanded as he bonded with Barnabas, grew when he joined the disciples in Jerusalem, settled when he set sail with Silas and expanded when sat down with Lydia.

 

Paul became part of a community that included enterprising women in Thessalonica and burly bros in Bereo.

 

And then…it came to a screeching halt.  Due to a religious upraor, Paul’s life became endangered.  He’s separated from his traveling friends and sent to Athens, all alone.

 

There is no more tribe. No clique. No niche.  No cohorts, friends, or streets named after family.  No Silas, no Lydia’s House.  Just Paul, in a strange land, with strange customs and shrines everywhere devoted to deities who don’t even have names.

 

I wonder how many people have an idea of what Paul was feeling, alone in a place with folk you don’t really know?  No class reunion, no church, no one who recalls where the original Freddie’s Market was.

 

Paul is the lone follower of Christ in a city of folk who believe in Zeus or have no belief at all.  Not only is Paul alone, abandoned in Athens, he has not a single person to sing “Jesus Loves Me” with.  He has no one to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” or “Apostles’ Creed” with.

 

He has no one to break the bread and share the cup with.  Or eat donuts cut in half during Coffee Hour.  Paul is a single, solitary sparrow in a world of strange shrines and curious customs.

 

On the surface, today’s scripture sounds triumphant, but read between the lines to realize that it’s about a very real person going through aspects of what it means to be all alone.

 

That Paul did not lose his faith in God or lose sight of the Good News is amazing.  With nary a friendly, familiar face in sight, Paul just keeps on keepin’ on.

 

That’s what faith in Christ can do.

With no one by his side, Paul sets out to do what he can.  He speaks up.  He reaches out.  He finds his voice.

 

He talks so much that the locals label him “The Babbler” and eventually the people begin to listen; they become curious; they ask to hear more about the resurrection.

 

All those lonely days and long walks has paid off; Paul uses what he sees to share what he knows to be true.

With only Christ to confide in, he conjures up a conversation no one was prepared for-

 

“You see that shrine over there,” he says, “That shrine devoted to an unknown god?  Well let me tell you who that god is; and let me tell you what God has done!”

 

While standing amidst a throng of unfamiliar-faces, in a place where people put philosophy over faith, Paul tells them all about God-

 

God the creator, God unlimited, God who can take one ancestor and make a nation and secure a legacy.

 

We may wonder- is Paul actually preaching to himself?  At this time in which he has been abandoned by peers, shipped off, left on his own, in which he’s spent countless days by himself, could it be Paul’s preaching is to remind himself of who he is and what God is about?

 

Maybe today is a story in which Paul is reminding Paul who God is-

 

God is not restricted to to one spot, not stuck to one building, not limited by circumstances or geography or people who look or act as you.

 

God can take a single sparrow and create an abundance, a flock, a nation.

 

Paul tells them and tells himself that no matter what- GOD. IS. THERE.  Even if we are that one lost sheep.

 

Even if we have to make it through dark valleys and death’s shadows; God is there.

 

Even if we have to wait, wrestle, and walk it alone; God is there.

 

So when we discover that no matter what, God is there, we can live, and we can find belonging.

 

Guess what – after this experience Paul  finds some friends in Dionysus and Damris, and with this  new group of folks, a brand-new chapter begins.

 

Today’s scripture reminds us that the Christian story is about moving forward, co-creating and celebrating new communities.  Reaching out and finding out that there are others reaching back.

 

God is not limited to or found only in buildings, people and places that are familiar, God is found in the strange places, the new places, and the lonely places.  God can even be found within ourselves and the stories that we share. 

 

God is found in the communities we create and circles that we form, in which Christ is the center and the Holy Spirit moves through all.

   Amen and amen.

Facing Dragons; Acts 16:16-24

 

Rev. George Miller

April 26, 2026

Acts 16:16-24

 

Thursday was a bit of a fun day in England- the day they honor their patron saint, St. George.  It was a day to raise a pint to celebrate courage, faith, and facing evil.

 

The story of Saint George goes a little something like this:  Once upon a time in 303 there was a Roman soldier born a Christian.  As a soldier he had success, respect, and alignment with political power.

 

The emperor he served under was cruel, targeting Christians, arresting them, destroying their churches, burning their scriptures, and killing them if they didn’t renounce Christ.

 

Though a soldier with privilege and status, George refused to renounce his faith.  Some say he protested the emperor’s directives in public; others say he declared himself a Christian in court. 

 

His actions cost him- arrest, torture, death.  Torture was meant to break him, but he held on, kept strong and refused to deny Christ.

 

His story was told again and again, somehow growing to include a dragon and a princess. It was said that one day there was a dragon who poisoned the land and controlled access to fresh water.

 

The people offered the dragon sacrifices- sheep; their children.  Eventually the King’s daughter.

 

George confronts the dragon, makes a sign of the Cross, attacks, destroys, and frees the town.  15,000 people are baptized and a church is built in honor of George and Jesus.

 

Regardless of what was fact and what was poetic truth, St. George is remembered for facing evil and oppression with courage, morality, and Christian love.

 

He became the patron Saint of Georgia, Ethiopia, Portugal.  During the Crusades, soldiers heard stories of his courage.  By 1348 Kind Edward elevated his role, by 1415 King Henry declared St. George’s Day a Feast Day.

 

Now, in 2026, St. George’s day is a celebration with people wearing red roses, flags popping up on pubs and t-shirts, folk gathering to raise a pint, eat fish and chips, laugh and celebrate English pride.

 

St. George faced evil head on and said “Nope.”

 

This story ties so sweetly into today’s scripture.  Paul is in Philippi on one of his many adventures. Earlier in the week he went down to the river and joined some people in prayer. 

 

There by the gentle waters that curved through the landscape, like River Avon in England, Paul met a group of women.  He got to know an entrepreneur named Lydia.  She opened her heart to the Gospel and had her household baptized.

 

Now, Paul and Silas are on their way for more prayer when a woman who is enslaved starts to really annoy them.

 

She is possessed by a spirit of divination, basically trapped by an evil spirit.  Her owners use her as entertainment to make much, much money, pimping out her talents.

 

Every time this woman, possessed and enslaved, sees Paul and Silas, she follows them, she shouts out, she makes them all a spectacle.

 

Day after day this happens until finally, finalmente, Paul can not take any more and says “In the name of Jesus get out of her!”

 

Her possessor leaves, the woman is free of the demon…yet still enslaved to the men and their mighty dollar.

 

What’s interesting is this- the NRSVU edition says she had a “spirit of divination” BUT that’s not what the original story says.

 

In the Greek, it is said that she is possessed by “pneuma pythona”, which means a python spirit.

 

In the story of St. George the princess faces a dragon; in Acts, the woman has a dragon dwell within her.

 

For those hearing this with 1^st Century ears, they would know that it was said that a python guarded the city, Apollo killed it, created a temple where the priestess would go into trances and speak oracles.

 

In that city and culture, a slave girl who spoke with a python spirit was seen as a marketable business.

 

So here we have this issue.  Paul is where they consider this behavior appropriate; he sees it as abusive, morally reprehensible and unholy.

 

When he casts the money-making dragon out of the woman, her masters can no longer make a profit.  So they respond with violence; they respond with threats of legality.

 

Paul and Silas are dragged to the city officials.  The owners accuse them, the crowds are blood thirsty, the authorities have them stripped, beaten, thrown into prison with their feet fastened in stocks.

 

And yet, somehow, someway, like St. George, they hold onto their faith and belief in Christ, and eventually they are freed, make their way back to Lydia’s house and more people become baptized.

 

What a complex amazing story.  I wish we got to know more about the woman.  Just like her owners, the narrator loses interest in her once the dragon is slayed.

 

But wouldn’t you love to know the rest of her story- how this affected her, what she did after? Did her life become better or worse once she was no longer used as profit?

 

That is for our imagination to dance with and wonder.

 

But for today, let us leave with a thought.  The story of St. George and the woman with the python spirit can be for us a metaphor.  A metaphor for how we live, how we act, when faced with dragons.

 

Think about it- there are dragons everywhere; dragons of all kinds.

 

As believers in Christ, how can we deal with those dragons, those we can control, those we are forced to face?

 

The dragons of health, like unexpected diagnosis, draining treatments, bodies that don’t body the way they used to.

 

The dragons of home life.  The bills to pay.  The beloved pets that age or face medical crisis.  The empty nest or reality of having to move.

 

The dragons of the world.  ICE breathing threats of violence against anyone brown. Wars that don’t end.  A planet that just wants to breathe and be beautiful.

 

How in Christ do we face the dragons, how do we face the pythons, how do we hold onto our faith even if it means we can be punished, shamed, shunned?

 

Some folk here today may be saying “Pastor, what kind of dragons you think we got?”

 

Others are thinking “The pythons are many and they seem to be choking my neck.”

 

There is no easy, automatic answer to give, but in today’s stories we witness ways to confront them; to act.

 

In today’s scripture and virtually every story in the Bible, we are reminded of how people of faith faced difficult situations, and how we to can have courage too.

 

Paul could have stayed annoyed at what was going on around him, but instead he acted, and he invoked the name of Christ.

 

May we all continue to grow into our Christian legacy so that we too can play a role in facing those things that want to hold us down.

 

Amen and amen.