Context is everything. When we try to understand something, it's so important to know the context. I want to share some thoughts this morning on this reading, that letter that Paul wrote to the Romans and allow that to engage us in our lives at St. Paul's. (Romans 13:8-14)

... Vincent Donovan, who was a missionary to the Masai people in Tanzania many years ago, ... was teaching the people there about the seven sacraments of the church, and described a sacrament as a physical encounter or event in which you experience the transcendent or grace or the holy... (Exodus 3:1-15)

... There was a saying that Robert F. Kennedy was known for, actually a line from George Bernard Shaw, "Some men see things as they are and say, Why? I dream things that never were, and say, Why not?" (Matthew 16:13-20)

If you ever walk around the old city in Jerusalem, you'll find a lot of commemorative plaques all over the place. Now it is primarily a Jewish and Muslim city, but you'll still find markers of various Christian sites and points of pilgrimage, places that people have visited again and again to remember and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.... (Matthew 15: 10-28)

Today's gospel reading has been resonating around in my head for several weeks. Peter stepping out of the boat to walk to Jesus is probably one of the best known stories. You all have probably heard it preached many times over the years. So my dilemma was to find a new way of presenting it. (Matthew 14:22-33)

Today is a feast day in the church, the Feast of the Transfiguration. It always falls on August sixth. And whether August sixth is a Sunday or a Wednesday, it's the Feast of the Transfiguration. We have the white vestments and the white hangings to remind us of this great feast. The Transfiguration is decribed to us in the Gospel reading for today, (Luke 9:28-36).

The Rev. Tony Wike considers Romans 8:26-39: "The question for us, given that sometimes things happen that leave us broken and wounded, is 'what is God doing to bring about the greatest good possible?' -- not to make the situation go away but to redeem the situation and thereby reveal God's love for the world and God's presence in it."

The Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista contemplates Genesis 28:10-19a: "“It’s not about the mountaintop experience. It’s about who we are afterward, between those moments.”

The Rev. George Adamik reflects on the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

The Rev. Candy Snively discusses Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30: "We can easily buy into thinking that productivity reigns, that the measure of our lives will be how we have worked hard and made a good living."