I will start this sermon with a quote from Isaiah 55:6 – Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near. Dear friends, have you ever experience going to the church and feeling that the church is not a place where the Lord dwells. Unfortunately in my country I experienced that many times. As you know I was born and raised in Orthodox Christian environment. While growing up I was attending the local Orthodox Church. I was seeking the Lord and seeking the Lord. But it seems that many times I could not find him in Orthodox Church. In my country priests in their sermons very often do not preach about Jesus. They rather preach about politics. They preach about Kosovo, in a way that we (Serbian people) need to go in war to free Orthodox churches and monasteries and the entire Kosovo. They preach about brother`s Russia and Ukraine presenting Russia as a victim of war happening in Ukraine. They support Putin`s aggression. And many times they justify things that are against common sense. They also preach about homophobia. They strongly oppose to all people who are LGBTQ+ trying to make their life even harder. The materialism is highly present within the church where many people invest a lot of money which priests use for their own benefit instead of giving charity and doing things according to the Bible. I don’t want to judge them I just feel the need to say that there are many churches like that. Churches seem to not having Christ. Not only Orthodox. Roman Catholic is not far from that. Croatian Catholic priests as well as Serbian Orthodox priests were blessing weapons in the wars between these two countries. They also like preaching about nationalism and homophobia in a positive way rather than talking about Christ. After many disappointments during my seeking for the Lord I kept seeking and seeking. And I am happy that back to 2016 I found Unified Old Catholic Church. In the coming years I found Anglican and Episcopal churches and in Serbia and in Germany where I live now. The church where Jesus is preached. The church where people love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other and respect each other no matter if they are ethnic Albanians, Hungarians, Serbs, Croats and no matter if they are straight, gay or trans no matter if they are while or black. The churches where ALL are welcome, where ALL are respected and loved. The words from Isaiah 55:6 – Seek the Lord while he may be found, could really have their fulfillment if you keep seeking. Maybe you live in a small village and you miss the real congregation. Maybe you live in a big town but there is no church. Thanks God, today we live in era of Internet and we can connect online from the places worldwide. There is a church. There is the Lord. There is Love. Just keep searching. Keep seeking. Maybe you feel uncomfortable in a local community, or you do not understand hate that you may encounter there. Maybe there is a lot of judgment, nationalism, homophobia, hypocrisy. Just keep seeking. This is what the Bible says.

Philippians 1:27 – Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.

If someone hurts you, what action do you take? Do you respond to your anger and pain? Do you retaliate or respond? Do you seek reconciliation and recovery?

From time to time, we all feel like stepping into our shell. We would all like the world to go away. Today’s world is a good reminder that we are not meant to live in isolation; we are all much too interconnected. We need each other, and when we’re separated, we become unhappy.

The famous English preacher Charles Spurgeon once visited a man who had isolated himself from his church community. Spurgeon walked into the man’s residence without saying a word and sat with him by his fireplace. The man felt a bit uncomfortable. Spurgeon took a lump of coal from the fire and placed it on a brick. The two men stared at that solitary coal as it dimmed and cooled. Spurgeon then stood up, and as he opened the door to leave, the man said, ‘I understand pastor; I’ll see you next Sunday’.It is not always easy to live with others. Often, tension and conflict arise, particularly when someone does something wrong. However, as Christians, we have a responsibility to look out for others, even when they disappoint us. This is the message from today’s readings, which provides us with three ways to respond when we find ourselves in conflict with someone.

In our first reading, God asks the prophet Ezekiel to watch over his people in Jerusalem.  He is responsible for protecting the people by speaking up if they do anything wrong or if they put themselves in danger.

However, speaking up can be challenging, so St Paul in our second reading reminds us to always respect others. He refers to the Ten Commandments, saying that it is important to respect the other person’s life, marriage, property and integrity.

Then go and talk openly and honestly with the person who has hurt you, he says, but do it privately, to avoid any embarrassment. If that doesn’t work, invite one or two others into the conversation, not to gang up on them, but to help them reconnect. If necessary, invite someone else, perhaps a mediator, to resolve the matter.

In his book, The Great Divorce, CS Lewis describes hell as a large, dark place, where there is no connection between people. Hell started out small, he says, but people quarreled with one another and split apart. At the same time, there were other squabbles and people moved even further away, until no one could even see anyone. And there they lived, alone in the darkness.  Jesus wants us to avoid this hell.

We are not solitary rocks or islands. As the poet John Donne wrote, ‘No man is an island entirely; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main’. We are all meant to live and grow and flourish together, in our families and communities.

What is your definition of success? What would you define a successful life?

Let’s all close our eyes for a moment and envision what we would look like if we were successful. What would your home look like? How would your children or spouse be like? What would be my waistline? What would your life look like? What concrete examples of what a successful life looks like for you? Have a picture of that in your mind. I believe this is an important spiritual exercise, as you will see in a moment. Nonetheless, if your answer to this question was, my life is successful just the way it is. Congrats! Good for you. I think we all desire that for ourselves. However, you are not off the hook. Ask yourself, why did you answer in this way? What are some examples of why you feel like your life is successful right now? Imagine it in your mind.

The reason why I am asking all of us to consider our definition of success is because our definition of success and the bible’s definition of success don’t always see eye to eye. Take our first reading for example. Jeremiah laments, “All day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.” Why was Jeremiah an object of laughter? What caused everyone to mock him? The reason for this was because he was trying to do God’s will.

Imagine for a moment how that would feel right now, to be an object of laughter, for everyone to mock you? It wouldn’t be enjoyable, would it? In our second reading, St. Paul tells us, “To offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” It is important to understand what Paul meant by the word “sacrifice” in this context. He is referring to the actual sacrifices that were conducted on the temple altars of his time that everyone listening to him would have known about. It is not a pleasant image. He is urging us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, our spiritual adoration. Doesn’t really sound like fun, does it?

And, just in case if we misunderstood what St. Paul was saying, we have our Lord himself challenging his disciples in our Gospel reading, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” What is Jesus talking about when he says take up your cross and follow him? He is talking about that. He is talking about the cross. Does he look successful to you? And yet, Jesus is the most successful person the world has ever known.

Remember last week, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am? This is the most fundamental question we can ever ask if we call ourselves Christians: who is Jesus? Peter shined like the prince of apostles he is by answering correctly, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This week we discover that after Peter’s bright and shiny moment, he simultaneously answered the question incorrectly. And it underscores why the final exams for neurosurgeons should never be multiple choice.

Peter had the correct answer, but he also had the wrong answer. Peter believed Jesus was going to be the new King David. He believed that Jesus was going to liberate Israel from all oppression. He thought Jesus was going to usher in a new era of prosperity and peace for his country. Peter believed all this because if Jesus was the Messiah, who is what he had in his mind what a successful messiah would look like.

What was Jesus’ view of a successful messiah? Jesus says, “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” That is what success looks like. And what was Jesus’ definition of a successful disciple? ““Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (“Matthew 16:24 – Take Up Your Cross – Bible Hub”) For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (“Matthew 16:25 AMP – For whoever wishes to save his life [in – Bible Gateway”)

My friends, I believe it is appropriate to search and ask ourselves the question, how do I define success? In our society, people who have bigger homes, better cars, better clothes, perfect spouses, perfect waistlines, and children without acne, are all somehow seen as more successful. The Bible defines success in a different way. In the Bible, success is about achieving God’s will, period, what may, even if this requires, we must suffer for it. Or as St. Paul tells us in our second reading, and this is good advice by the way for anyone suffering from any anxiety right now, from what is going on in our country today. Success according to St. Paul states, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (“Romans 12:2 – BibleGateway.com”) How about that? It would be beneficial for us all to take some time this week and reflect on what St. Paul is saying here and ask ourselves the question, what does this look like? What does this require me to do?

Reading Bible and understanding Bible in the right way is a very responsible activity. During the history many evil things were happening because of the wrong Bible interpretations. Many people were killed in the name of Jesus and many wars were started for the sake of church. Today we also have many evil activities that Christians do for the sake of God. There is a special group of people who are victims of satanic and anti-Christian propaganda that certain Christians spread by saying that LGBTQ+ people deserve to be persecuted and to disappear from this Earth. Recently I have joined an online meeting conducted by LGBTQ+ Ministry within Church of Christ the King, here in Frankfurt. We were discussing about the issues and hardships that LGBTQ+ Christian people are struggling with for years just because of wrong interpretations of the Bible. The story about Sodom and Gomorra talking about the violence and violent people who were punished because of the violence. Violent gang bang raping was also included and their desire to hurt angels. But first of all it was about violence. There are some other verses condemning ritual same-sex activities which in the context of that time might be related to pedophilia and worship satanic rituals. There is not a single sentence talking about the love between two same sex people including mutual respect, dedication, emotional and physical affection and love. As straight sexual activities are also defined sinful as we know that Jesus even said that when a men even for a moment think sexually about the women he already did adultery in his heart and further we know that adulterers should be eternally condemned. Does that mean that the Bible talks about straight people that all straight population is not going to enter the Kingdom of God? If we would interpret the Bible in a wrong way we could say so. This is why it is very wrong to interpret Bible in a way that it should not be interpreted. I would also like to add here that God when giving us Bible he has also given us a common sense to understand that if one’s biblical interpretation could lead to discrimination and make another human being feel endangered and hated just because of who he or she was born to be, a healthy functional brain and a common sense would realize that something is wrong with this interpretation. One of these wrong interpretations exists for the centuries and centuries and they are related to the definition of the Roman Catholic Pope. In today’s reading Matthew 16/13:20 we read promise to Apostle Peter that Jesus will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[d] loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Even though it does not have much common sense and that it totally runs out of the entire Biblical context many people believe today that the Pope is the new Peter and representative of God on Earth. There is an interpretation that by this sentence Lord Jesus gave the power to Apostle Peter to be a new representative of God, in Latin we would say Vicarius Filii Dei which means Representative of the Son of God. Roman Catholics believe that after Peter every new bishop of Rome (read Pope) has a special privilege to be called as a representative of the Son of God on the Earth. Through the history churches have done many evils because of wrong interpretations of the Bible. And people were lacking to use brain and simply have common sense. Today that same church is fighting against human rights to love and create a family. Unless straight family. God is still showing them that it is wrong while there are over 8.000 pedophiles within Roman Catholic clergy said Pope Francis. There are many gay sex scandals happening within all traditional and homophobic churches, not only in Roman Catholic but also in Orthodox Church and other conservative protestant churches. We lack of scandals in Old Catholic, Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran and all of those churches that respect equality and human right to love a person of same sex. And look, there are no more scandals, no more hidden sexual activities of self-called saints just because church (read believers) use the God-given common sense to admit that everyone is free to love who they want to love and that the core of our faith is love. And that is a real natural condition. For someone that is astrophysics but for someone it is just a logical thing and a common sense. And I would like to end this sermon with a message while reading the Bible please use your brain and use your heart. Your brain will tell you the common sense, your heart will tell you that where love is there is no sin. And only in this way you would have the power to understand and to preach the Bible. In the name of Love. Amen.

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

          It is refreshing to read scriptures that are more connected than they are apart.  I mean, there feels like an actual theme running through these passages  for a change and I am glad that I got them to work with for this week.

          For years, I have felt like an outsider of sorts.  On more than one occasion things have happened to put me on the outside of what was considered normal by many others around me.  I grew up with six sisters (one older brother) and so I did and learned many things that my sisters did.  For so long, it became clear that I was able to do things that they did, or any other girl did, just because I was around them and watched them do it.  By the time I was about eight years old, I was twirling a broomstick or a mop handle, marching around our yard as the drum major or majorette of an imaginative marching band; and by the time I was eleven, I was cartwheeling, flipping, doing splits and straddles and even mastered just about every cheer that any cheer leading squad seen on any Saturday or Sunday sports football game (college or national) was doing.  My sisters were doing it, so it felt only natural that I was able to do it, too.  But, not everyone was okay with this. 

          My stepfather had no problem hurling names at me from time to time just to make himself feel good.  My Boy Scout Troop enjoyed doing the same and then carried the name calling to the halls of our schools.  It was all done in an attempt to push me out and make me feel like I was “less than” they were.  I was never taught that anyone was “less than” anyone else and I especially never felt that way growing up and listening to the Word of God in church, any church that I attended.

          In third grade, my teacher at the time, taught every one of the students who wanted to learn, how to knit.  It looked fun and so I decided that I would give it a whirl!  I knitted a long purple scarf, and at the end of the school year, along with many of the other students in that class, participated in a fashion show to allow our parents see the work we had done throughout the year.  I was not the only boy who learned how to knit but I was the only one who was ridiculed for learning how.  And, one of the boys who was the most cruel had learned to knit much more than I did and yet, the other boys in the school thought that what he had done was ‘cool’, I was a ‘sissy’.  Anyway, I was as proud of my scarf as he was of the baby outfit that he had knitted for his new little sister.          

          In our OT reading, we read of how during the reconstruction period after the exile the matter of who was eligible to be a member of the community.  Although some wanted to be exclusivists and keep out disqualified people, these verses make clear that the Third Isaiah advocates an inclusive policy that is extended to “eunuchs” and foreigners.

          One of the reasons I was strongly attracted to the Episcopal Church and our church is our policy of inclusiveness.  I will never forget the first time, not so long ago, when while sitting in the pew of an Episcopal Church, I heard the words “gay” and “people with AIDS” shared from the pulpit!  I got all choked up because for so long I wanted to feel like I wasn’t stuck sitting on the margins of my faith. 

          But up until this moment, and like so many before and after me, sitting on the margins of most things has been the norm.  Isaiah 56:5c, 6 says “even the foreigners will not be cut off.  They will be given a new name.” and then in verse 6 further says:  “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant – those I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL peoples. Thus says the Lord God; who gathers the outcasts of Israel. I will gather others to them; beside those already gathered.” And, yet, many ‘churches’ refuse people access to the church or even refuse to give them the Body and Blood of Almighty God.  Why?

          And still there are well meaning people associated with the church that are quick to cast people aside because they don’t look right, have on the right clothes, smell right, live in the right neighborhoods, drive the right cars, go to the right schools, have the right jobs, and on and on and on.  You get what I mean.  And, we don’t do anything to try and welcome people into the fold of God where they belong.  Our job is to be the example of Christ.  The Canaanite woman was doing nothing wrong.  She knew who the Almighty was and she wanted to see Him to be with Him to tell Him what was going on with her daughter.  Those around Him didn’t want Him to be bothered with that.  They didn’t want for Him to have to deal with probably ‘another whiner who just wanted to see Jesus.’ And, what is wrong with that?  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David!” I say this prayer more than once a day and I don’t care who hears me.  I know that God hears me and in spite of those around (wolves in sheep’s clothing) who are quick to tell me that I am wasting my time, I still pray that prayer because I know that by the precious blood of Jesus, I no longer sit on the sidelines, in the margins, in the ditches, in the background…wherever.  I know that my redeemer lives and has delivered me to move to the head of the class, to the front of the line, passed GO, to the foot of the cross and live eternally with Him.  This is the message we need to always be willing to share and exemplify.  No one should ever be told that they are not good enough.  When we get so high and mighty to think that we are even remotely better than anyone else when we look in the mirror, like my 11-year-old niece reminded me when I told her that I was prettier than her, “GET SOME WINDEX!”

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Jesus walks on the waters of the sea of Galilee, one of most famous biblical stories. It is
the middle of the night. By all reports it is what was called “the fourth watch of the
night”, today’s equivalent of 3am.
It had been a busy day by anyone’s standard – to say the least – 5,000 men plus women
and children had followed him into the open countryside. There, in the late afternoon,
in the spring sunlight, on the green slopes above the seashore he had fed them all with
the breaking of the blessed bread and the fish.
As the feast was ending Jesus had ordered his disciples to get into their boat and cross
over to other side of the sea. He stayed behind alone. First, politely, he personally sends
off the crowds back to their homes and their ordinary lives. Then he heads up into the
hills, to pray. At the quiet ending of that momentous day there is a love both of God, his
Heavenly Father, and of his neighbor. An openness to both with all his heart and soul
and strength.
Now in the darkness and the wind he comes to his disciples, walking on the waters. “Do
not be afraid. I am with you. Take heart.” As so often, he believes that the opposite of
faith is not unbelief but fearfulness, anxiety, timidity or paralyzing terror. We all have
experienced that time in our life, where we forget who we are in Christ and that He is
with us.
The disciples on the boat are not at this point caught up in a storm. It is rather a matter
of a strong head wind and high waves battering the boat in the open sea. They have lost
control. They are getting nowhere. Directionless. They have no power. Jesus knows
what we are going through.
You have to ask why Peter says what Peter says. What puts it into his head? It is such a
strange request: “Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you across the waters”. How many
times have you questioned God?
“Come,” says Jesus. Peter steps out of the boat and across the waves towards Jesus.
And then, hit by the blast of the wind and the failure of his faith, he falters and stumbles.
Immediately, without a disruption, Jesus stretches out his arm to save him and leads
him back to the boat. “O man of little faith why did you doubt? We forget the faith that
mustard seeds can move mountains!
Now all of this is happening in the wee morning hours. If you have worked a “dogwatch”
you know nothing good is happening at this time. It is that lonely weak point when our
fragile humanity is at its weakest and most vulnerable to fear. There can be few of us
who have not woken up at this point in the night, appearing from a deep sleep into
confusion and swamped suddenly by anxieties as things from the past flood in on us. Or
fears for the future, or what the next day will bring, overwhelm us. We are incapable of
reasoning as the turbulence overtakes us and terror drags us down. Like Peter trying to
walk on the water, we are in water over our head, drifting and panic filled.

Perhaps then it is at these times that the Christian is to say into the darkness, “Lord if it
is you, tell me to come to you across these dark waters.” And for us to hear the voice of
our compassionate master saying once more, “Come, take courage, I am with you.” And
to feel too the touch of his outstretched hand and the gentle lecture, “O ye of little faith
why do you doubt? I am with you, with an outstretched arm”.
So as this short story ends, something of shimmering beauty has been revealed in the
darkness, and a firm foundation of courage and hope in God has been given in the midst
of the turmoil of the sea. Back in the narrow confines of the boat they worship the
cherishing massiveness of the divine presence: Jesus. Son of God and Son of Mary. I AM
with you.
“Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you. I called you by your name and you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they will
not overwhelm you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.
Do not be afraid for I am with you.” (Isaiah 43. 1-5).
Jesus is Jesus, God is God, and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, it is us that forget the
power we have in the Trinity.