Sunday’s Sermon with the Rev. Michael Mayor - Christ Episcopal Church of Puyallup

In this sermon, Fr. Mike explores Jesus' challenging words about discipleship, fear, and divided loyalties. He reminds us that following Christ means more than admiring his teachings—it means shaping our lives after his example, even when doing so creates tension or discomfort. Jesus calls his followers to place their trust in God above their fears and to make the Kingdom of God their highest priority, even above family ties when conflicts arise. Ultimately, the sermon invites us to embrace courageous, wholehearted discipleship and discover the deeper life and freedom found in following Christ.

With the words “the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few” Jesus sends out his disciples to accomplish what for us would seem to be an all but impossible mission. Cure the sick and cleanse the leper? Maybe. But raise the dead and cast out demons? Not so much. Perhaps the call isn’t so much to perform miracles, but instead to be a source of care and healing in the face of darkness and despair. How might we embrace the vision and the mission the Kingdom of God, so that we bridge the gap between the real and the ideal? That’s the challenge and the hope of both our and the world’s transformation.

Set in a series of three acts, Jesus calls a tax collector, heals a woman with hemorrhages, and raises a dead girl. But all of them are framed by his early remarks to the Pharisees, and specifically by his quotation of Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The gospel story we address is about insiders and outsiders. It is about power. It is ultimately about mercy. Who are the outsiders of our day and what does it look be about the work of crossing the boundaries that polite society puts up to keep us apart?

The reality of one God who exists in three persons is nothing less than a mystery. Whether speaking of God as revealed in the Old Testament, God as revealed in Jesus, or God as revealed in the Spirit, God’s very nature calls us beyond the certainty of our intellect and into the realm of imagination and experience. Such mystery, approached with an open hand and an open mind, allows us to encounter a radically present God in ways we might never have conceived.

When we move beyond the miracle story, Pentecost is primarily a story about evangelism. Not evangelism as we have come to understand it, but a way of communicating that honors the mystery of the other and seeks to speak primarily in their language and not our own.

The story of the ascension of Jesus into heaven reminds us that we are in a time in between Jesus' earthly life and his return. To what are we called in this time of memory and anticipation? How are we to respond to participating in the in-breaking of God's reign on earth?

Julian of Norwich received a mystical vision from Jesus that "All shall be well." Who among us doesn't want to hear this assurance? Jesus promises that we shall not be alone and comfortless, but will send an "Advocate" to be with us. How might these two visions inform one another and give us hope in the days in which we live?

This week we hear Jesus' words "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places." In this Gospel passage we are promised more than a home in heaven. We are also promised hope in this life even in the midst of difficulty and loss.

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter we hear Jesus refer to himself as a shepherd and a sheep-gate, but who is the gatekeeper and what is their role? Come explore what our role is as we follow the shepherd of our souls.

In the Gospel passage this week we hear of Jesus walking unrecognized with two of his grief stricken disciples, and yet their hearts were burning within them as he taught them. Christ comes to each of us as well in the faces of those around us bringing transformation and hope.