Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

Year A – Holy Trinity – May 31, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

Matthew 28:16-20

Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, from Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and from the Holy Spirit our Sustainer; one God in three persons, the blessed Trinity. Amen.

***

I'm sure you're well aware… but this coming Independence Day… 4th of July… well… it's a big one… 250 years… that's big!

But… I have to say… the preparations underway for these unprecedented celebrations in our nation's capital… and all the conversations and news coverage surrounding them… have given me pause.

I find it all… unsettling… and not just because I'm not a fan of fighting for sport. To each their own.

But I think that… it is because the new backdrop for our lives is this intense nationalism …and it's because of this intensity… that I think I could not tear my heart away from the words of the Great Commission from our gospel reading today.

These are words that I've heard and read countless times… I've taken them to heart as inspiration and instruction in my life of following Christ… and yet… they sit differently with me now.

Jesus tells his disciples… "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

And we hear this text on this day in particular because it is Holy Trinity Sunday, and it is here where Jesus names the three persons of the Trinity.

So today, we are supposed to celebrate and wrestle with how our God shows up for us in these three expressions… but I'd rather save that kind of wrestling for another day.

Now… if you're disappointed about that, I'd love to meet for a beverage and geek out over trinitarian theology. That is fun… but… for today…

I want to address… I need to address… this Great Commission, because it's so very relevant for the age we are living in.

"…make disciples of all nations…" is a command from Jesus that has been taken in dramatically harmful ways across the years, from the Crusades 1,000 years ago, to the current rise of Christian Nationalism.

Jesus tells us to go make disciples… and that he is with us to the end of the age… and then, pumped up on this mission with Jesus in our corner…

[big breath] …we forget what discipleship is all about… we forget… and go straight for coercion and violence. …in the name of Jesus, of course.

But no one can force love… and coercion has no place in a life shaped by mercy and grace.

And yet, these are the basic tenets of the Way of Christ… these attributes of love, mercy, and grace… are what shape a life of discipleship.

To be a disciple is to be in relationship with God… and with Jesus… and with the Holy Spirit, and to celebrate the enduring and borderless love that our God-in-three has for all people in every nation.

And yes, Jesus calls upon us to go… and share this life of discipleship with everyone in every nation, multiplying ourselves and creating more followers of Christ… but our translation does us a disservice by choosing to say, "…make disciples OF all nations…" because a "nation" cannot be a disciple.

A nation isn't a person… we cannot be a Christian nation… and even to proclaim that this is, or hope for this to be a "Christian nation," is wrong… it would dissolve…

because it puts patriotic nationalism into the ring with devotion to God… and the patriotic nationalism would have to stand down…

…because a disciple's primary allegiance will always be to God…

and so a disciple should therefore obey God's primary commandment, which is above all commandments… and that primary command is to love God, and love others as we love ourselves.

This kind of love has no borders… and no national identity. … and we cannot force another into a relationship shaped by love. …Love can only invite.

Furthermore, proponents of Christian Nationalism, and those who desire to rebrand and reform the United States into a Christian nation, seem overwhelmingly drawn to models that would eliminate people they find unworthy… eliminate those who don't look like them and whose lives don't conform to their own.

Except none of us are truly worthy of God's forgiveness… we are all of us in need of a savior… all in need of grace and mercy, and therefore… redeemed by Christ's love, we are sent forth to be gracious and merciful in the name of the one who loves us beyond measure.

And despite all this, these Christian Nationalists believe that Christ is on their side in this endeavor to force conversion to discipleship, or at least compliance… because Christ promised to be with them to the end of the age…

And while, yes, I do not dispute that Christ is with us always, as Christ promised to be… this does not mean that Jesus fully supports all our actions taken in his name…

Jesus states that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him… but too many skew this into a conquering Christ… a version of the Messiah which doesn't appear in scripture, except as the previously hoped-for Messiah that would overthrow Rome.

That is not the person of Jesus who was born to a humble family surrounded by livestock, who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

And yet… Jesus DOES have all authority in heaven and on earth… and what did he do with it?

He did not force or coerce… but instead, he embraced non-violent love and vulnerability… even unto death on a cross… then he defeated that death, because he is God…

and instead of retribution, he offered forgiveness and a continual invitation to come and see… come and experience a different way… a way of love… of mercy… grace and compassion.

This is how the God of love chose to exercise his total authority in heaven and on earth. …not to annihilate those who don't follow the way… or force them into compliance… but to offer grace and mercy… and to never shut the door on the invitation to come and experience God's love.

Jesus invited us into his mission of sharing the love and light of God in all places and for all people… and this is an important mission… making disciples in all nations.

We are co-collaborators with Christ on this mission of sharing the good news… of sharing this life-changing Way of Christ.

But making disciples is not actually about converting others… or saving their souls… only God saves souls…

Making disciples is about converting our own lives… every single day… it's about choosing every single day to live according to the love and grace that we have first received… it's about letting our lives be a testimony for others… witnessing to God's love and grace.

And when that love and light shine out from our lives, which it most certainly does, it will reshape communities and the people in them around the Way of Christ.

As disciples… as part of the body of Christ… our part of this mission is to shine and invite others to come and experience this light… to witness what God's love does for us and for the whole world.

That is how we make disciples… by being one ourselves.

We can only demonstrate how we ourselves are changed by this love and communion with the full body of Christ, and trust in the Holy Spirit… to do the Holy Spirit's thing of encountering us and moving us always toward love for others.

So yes, we will go and make disciples in all nations… we will participate in this Great Commission… and we will do so, by starting first with ourselves… trusting that Christ is with us in this mission, always, to the end of the age.

Amen.

Year A – Pentecost – May 24, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

Acts 2:1-21

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

John 20:19-23

Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, and from Jesus Christ, our redeemer, who poured out their Spirit upon all flesh, blessing us to the end of days. Amen.

***

Yes, Pentecost …is the birthday of the Church! Happy Birthday, Church!

For our Jewish ancestors and siblings, Pentecost was part of the Festival of Weeks, or Shavuot… it was celebrated 50 days after Passover.

This is why there were so many pilgrims in Jerusalem on that day… the day the Spirit blew through town.

These pilgrims were there for this harvest festival, and it was during this time that they celebrated God's gift of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai.

It's not the whole Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament… It's just the first five books, also called the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Torah contains the historical narrative of what God had done for God's people… it holds the stories of creation… and the stories of the matriarchs and patriarchs, and of the Exodus from Egypt.

The Torah also contains the law… the holy teaching… 613 commandments given by God at Mount Sinai… the divine instructions for how to live according to God's will for humanity.

And so then… on this festival day celebrating God's gift of the law to God's people, God gave another gift of blessing… God poured out God's Spirit upon them, inaugurating a new era!

On this day, the same Spirit that rested on Jesus at the Jordan River was poured out on them… and that same Spirit… has been poured out upon you.

Yes, this is the Church's birthday! It is OUR birthday!

And in thinking about this celebration today, it is worth considering what it means to be the Church… and what it means to be the Church together.

In what ways are we still shaped by that first community of believers… and how have we grown in the Spirit since then?

Because Pentecost was only the beginning… a great reversal of the ancient story of the Tower of Babel… when humanity, in their arrogance, wanted to reach God, and so they began building a tower so great that they might ascend to heaven from earth.

And God scattered them by diversifying their language. …but on this day, God's Spirit graciously descended to the earth, to us… to swirl through and around God's people… bringing them together…

not by reintegrating the language, but by preserving that diversity and instead giving each the ability to share the good news of Jesus in as many different languages and cultures as there are.

The Holy Spirit blew through and moved those frightened disciples out of the locked, upper room… moved them outside and into the crowd… into their community.

The Spirit gathers people… gathers us… across difference and across fear… it does not gather us into sameness, but rather… into beloved community… into the living body of Christ.

The Spirit gathers us in… and… the Spirit also sends us out… out to continue Jesus' mission and ministry… out into the world… to be church together… to be the whole body of Christ.

And this is where we are today… a diverse and beautiful tapestry of humanity. We don't all worship the same… or sing and pray the same… and we may disagree on theological points, but…

if we are following Jesus's mission and ministry, and loving the way Christ taught us to love, then… we are still… one body.

I was blessed this week with the perfect example of this diversity in the body of Christ… Mike Nussdofer introduced me to Shari Montgomery, the founder of The House of Promise in Lansing, which helps women escape trafficking and rebuild their lives.

I had a lovely morning with her as she showed me around the campus… it was beautiful and peaceful… and I couldn't imagine a more loving way to care for these women who have been so brutally harmed.

And yet, throughout the morning, I gathered from our conversation that she and I likely have some pronounced theological differences.

And yet, as I took in the larger context of her work… the fruits of her labor… I saw that it was good… and full of love… and there was no doubt in my mind that the fire of this woman's passion to serve others came from the Holy Spirit.

And so, I give thanks for her… for her passion and her ministry to care for the most broken and abused among us … and for being part of this body that is… the Church.

And I give thanks for the Holy Spirit for giving us each different passions… different gifts and abilities, so that together, we can address the needs of all.

And I give thanks that God continues to guide us… continues to show up for us, sometimes as a rushing wind, or a fire that burns and does not consume… or sometimes… as still, small voice… God's Holy Spirit is still with us.

And because we still have God's Holy Spirit… we still have the Church… a community of believers who come together to discern what this voice of God is calling us to do…

…and how this Spirit is calling us to move and act in the world… guiding us to those who need us and our particular gifts, the most.

I give thanks that the Holy Spirit still strengthens weary hearts… still illuminates difficult decisions… and still gives courage when faith feels costly.

I give thanks… thanks for God's Holy Spirit… and how it called me into pastoral ministry… and brought me to you!

Pentecost is not merely the story of what happened long ago in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit is still blowing through this place… still gathering us in… still creating faith… and still ushering in new life out of death.

The Holy Spirit is still breathing peace into troubled hearts... and I for that I give thanks.

And so, on this day of Pentecost… we celebrate with our Jewish ancestors that God's law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai… But God does not discard the first gift in order to give the second.

God who gave the Torah at Sinai is the same God who pours out the Spirit at Pentecost.

Just as Jesus did not abolish God's law, neither does the Holy Spirit… but instead… the Spirit writes God's love upon human hearts and empowers us to live it.

So, we now also celebrate our Advocate in the Holy Spirit, who guides us always in the way of love and grace and gives us the power and strength to share the good news of God's forgiveness and salvation through Jesus…

This is a celebration, indeed!

Therefore, on this day, I pray… may the Spirit transform the way we love across difference… transform the way we forgive those who have hurt us… and guide us to seek reconciliation when we have caused the hurt.

May the Spirit light a fire in us that sends us to serve and live according to the will of Christ.

…and may we carry this fire of Pentecost into our homes… into our workplaces, our families, and into our communities… so that the world may encounter, through us, the living and enduring presence of God. This day, and always.

Amen.

Today, we had a special musical performance of Shut Amen!! by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Published Under License From Essential Music Publishing, LLC

Year A – Seventh Sunday of Easter and Ascension Sunday – May 17, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

Acts 1:1-11

Luke 24:44-53

Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who ascended to the Father, and has therefore blessed us to go into the world, for the love of the world. Amen.

***

Allow me to set the scene…

We have been in the Easter season, called Eastertide, now for seven weeks… which is poetically… one more week than Lent.

And Bethany was a village about two miles east of Jerusalem, on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives. It is the same place from which Jesus began his Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem.

…and, the Mount of Olives was the place where, according to the prophets, God was expected to appear to reign in love and mercy over all the earth.

The place… it carries weight… and expectation.

On the day of his ascension… a day that the disciples would not have known was different from the day before… the resurrected Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures… telling them once again that while God's mercy originates in Jerusalem, it is destined for the whole world.

Then he led his disciples out of Jerusalem, toward Bethany… toward the Mount of Olives.

They have heard… but still… do not know what to expect. And that is where we find ourselves today…

I'd like to share a poem with you from Pr. Steve Garnaas-Holmes… it's called:

Ascension As we walk out of the city (why are we leaving?) the day feels fresh and open, green blades springing up (the sower knows not how), songs of birds we hear but can't see. Thomas stops to blow dandelion seeds into the breeze. To our questions, the rabbi frames his answers in more silence than usual. The wind wraps its soft baby arms around our necks, whispering. We walk on grass; behind us it springs back up. Then words not of departure but of sending. Dispersal. Then he isn't there. Stunned, silent emptiness. (The wondergrief. The traumajoy. The un-knowing.) Our cherished certainties float away on the wind. A space between us so real, it seems full of something. No one speaks. On the way back it does not surprise me when Thomas, without asking, reaches out, takes my hand.

I appreciate Pr. Garnaas-Holmes' poetry… his imaging of what it must have been for them… to witness such a thing. A departure with echoes of Elijah… yet this time, there were no chariots or horses or fire, but instead… an enveloping cloud, and then…Jesus is gone.

And then just as at the tomb… two figures in dazzling white call out to them… why do you stand looking up toward heaven? …he is not here… a new era has begun!

Jesus, who has been taken up into heaven, now reigns over all of Creation… Just as all things came into being through him, Creation… all of Creation is his.

And his disciples obey his word and go back to Jerusalem… and there they wait… they wait and pray… and grow in their understanding that they are to be a community that responds to God's action.

Elijah passed his mantle to his disciple, Elisha… but Jesus passes his mantle to all of us. We… are to carry out the mission that Jesus began.

You see, the world was waiting for a Messiah who would save them from oppression and trouble, but Jesus… in typical Jesus fashion, flips that all around.

We can almost hear him say… "you may have heard it said 'wait for a Messiah,' …but I say to you, take up my mantle, for you too, have a role to play in God's story of redemption."

"You are witnesses of these things, and so you shall proclaim the good news with your words… and especially with your lives!"

There's a learning model that's rooted in medical training… it goes, 'See one, do one, teach one."

And I see that model demonstrated in grand scale with Jesus and the disciples… and ultimately… us.

Jesus came, and showed us the way… showed us what it truly meant to live in a way that brings close God's kingdom… a way that brings abundant life to all…

Then Jesus guided them to do this themselves… to experience the joy as they worked together to follow this new way.

And then… Jesus told them… it's time for you… for us to teach this way to others, as we ourselves continue to learn more each day.

But even though Jesus ascended, we are not alone… for in his ascension is the promise of another Advocate… the Spirit of truth… the Spirit of God… to be connected to us for all time, and our ever-present guide in this holy mission.

We are still… very much connected to our Christ.

This is work we do together… beautifully demonstrated in our synod assembly this past weekend… we are connected, and because we nurture that connection, we will continue to grow and thrive as those who are sent into the world… for the love of the world.

I'll leave you with the words from Dr. Rick Mixon:

"Jesus gathered them as a community, taught them as a community, and left from the midst of their little community.

The Spirit was promised to them in community.

Of course, individuals can and do have experiences of the Spirit, but Jesus makes it clear that it is the Spirit, working in the community, that will spread the good news around the world and bring in the reign of God.

That reality has not changed in two millennia. It still takes a community of faith, Spirit-filled, to spread the good news and bring in the reign of God.

That is our challenge and our commission as the body of Christ, followers of the Way."

And to that, I would add… that is our joy… and our blessing… as a body of Christ that is connected and willing to nurture those connections into a love that can grow until the end of time. Amen.

Today, we had a special musical performance of Wade in the Living Water by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Published Under License From Essential Music Publishing, LLC

Year A – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

Acts 17:22-31

John 14:15-21

Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, who, together with Jesus Christ, abides with us, and in us, and we in them. Amen.

***

Just a year ago, Robert Francis Prevost became Leo XIV and… the first American Pope. Now, I do have great respect for the Pope in general, but… as a Lutheran, I don't subscribe to the idea of Popes.

However, as an American who started life in Chicago, I have been rather delighted by Leo's election. I kinda love that the pope is one of us, and in more ways than I could have predicted.

Just this past week, a story came out about Pope Leo… and I promise, this is not a set up for a joke…

It seems that Leo was doing some household financial oversight, and he realized he needed to update his address and phone number… new job and everything… it's natural to get behind on those things.

So Leo called the customer service line for his bank, gave his name, Robert Francis Prevost, and answered all the security questions.

It might have been one thing if he were just moving his address from one side of Chicago to the other, but… to Vatican City??

The bank representative said that she couldn't help over the phone… "Even though I gave you all the right passwords?" the pope asked.

"No," she said, "you'll have to come in."

"That's just not possible" he replied… "Why?" she asked. "Well… because I'm the pope." Leo said. …And she hung up on him.

It turns out that once again, the pope is just like us… he also needs an Advocate!

And as it happens, our Holy Advocate… is just what we're talking about this week…

Our Gospel text today continues from last week… we are still in Jesus' "farewell discourse," …his lengthy 'goodbye' to his disciples… his friends… on the evening of their last supper.

He is consoling and encouraging them… they are understandably distraught. But Jesus assures them that his departure is not abandonment… they will still be together as long as they keep going along the Way … the Way that they've all been traveling…

They will still be together, since Jesus IS "the Way." …and even though he must leave, in his place, God will send them "another Advocate" who will be with us forever.

Indeed… our God knows… we all need an Advocate… even the pope! …We all need a guide, a teacher, a helper… an intercessor, a companion, and a comforter.

However we translate the word… Paracletos… it means, 'one who comes alongside.' And so, Jesus promises his followers that we will never be abandoned… never left to figure this all out ourselves… never left to navigate the Way alone.

And as we know… Jesus is the Way... the truth… and the life… and as we follow that Way, we have the Holy Spirit alongside us to sustain us… counsel us… and guide us along right pathways for the sake of the one who created us in love.

Jesus is the Way… and the Way of Jesus is always and ever… love. And so the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us in the ways of love… love for God, love for our neighbor… and love for ourselves. For everything, Jesus said, can be summed up by love.

And yet, as I shared last week… love is not always easy to feel. Sometimes, it's about the last emotion we might be able to produce, despite God's holy command.

And again this week, we are reminded that love is not a passive emotion… love is an action. Love is how we live, and move and have our being… in God, and for our neighbors.

And that is why Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." If you love me, it will show through in how you treat the least among you… If you love me, it will be evident in how you work to break the chains of injustice…

If you love me, it will be clear in how you are… in this world. Not by how often you claim to love me… but in how often it shows through your actions.

Jesus says… "If you love me… you will keep my commandments."

"If you love me…" It's also an open-ended phrase that really invites us to think about how our lives of faith intersect with a world that doesn't always recognize God.

Like Paul, in our reading from Acts… challenged to proclaim the gospel to Greeks who knew nothing about Jewish or Christian traditions. He was willing to meet them where they were… not offering condescension or judgment for their ways, but rather… invitation.

Paul fully encapsulated their spirituality by expressing that God, who made the whole world, is the same God who made them… and that God lives in them, and they in God, and through God, we all have our very being.

God is present… everywhere… even in places that do not call upon God's holy name… even in places that take God's holy name in vain. God… is still there.

And so Jesus' words to us… "If you love me..." leaves us with the very real question… how do we show our love by keeping Jesus' commandments when we are faced with people and policies that cause harm, or promote injustice and inequality?

How do we embody Jesus' love in places that are decidedly antithetical to the Way of Christ?

Are we really called to love all people, regardless of whether they value the Way of Christ that we strive to follow?

I'm sorry to be the bearer of difficult news, but… yes. Yes, we are called to love them… love them as a piece of God's good Creation that bears both the image of God, and the same promise of ultimate redemption that we ourselves carry.

For God promised that ultimately all of Creation would be redeemed… and all things would be made new. And I trust… I trust God's promise.

So yes, we are called to love them… but we do not have to manufacture that love on our own.

For as Jesus promised, we have our Advocate… the Holy Spirit… the one who intercedes for us… the presence of God who comes alongside us to give us strength, instruction, and courage to follow the Way of love… the Way of Christ.

This is the Spirit of truth who continuously reveals to us God and God's ways… and holds fast to us in that mutual abiding… of Christ in us and us in Christ, and together we are in and with God and the Spirit.

Mutual abiding… held together with love.

And so, we are called to show our love for Jesus by loving others in active ways… by following Jesus' commandments… with the help of our Advocate.

We show that love by finding ways to show hospitality to all, but especially the marginalized, just as Jesus did… and loving others by speaking up for those who are being mistreated… those who are being harmed, just as Jesus did.

Because even though we are called to love those who act in ways that are adversarial to God's Way… causing harm to others… truly loving someone often means that we do what we can to interrupt that which drives them to cause harm…

Truly loving another can look like interrupting patterns that drive them away from God's desire for abundant life for all… and showing them that there is another way to live… a way of life that transforms the whole world, and brings us just a little closer to the kingdom of God.

Only love can that.

And with each interaction, if we succeed, then not only does the harm cease, but the one who was causing that harm is moved closer to the Way of Christ… the Way of love.

Both oppressor and oppressed can be returned to the center of community, and closer to the wholeness that God desires for us all.

And so when we stand with those who are cast out… and also when we disrupt sinful ways that cause harm and restore people to life… that is the holy work of the Spirit who lives in us…

The Spirit who calls us to travel alongside others… image bearers for God… disciples, who are following the Way of Jesus… which is always the Way of love.

These actions of love, though… they don't always have to be grand gestures.

The Holy Spirit, our intercessor, is also very present in the daily, simple ways that we show up for others… small ways that reinforce that we all belong to each other… and that life is better when we look out for each other.

As I mentioned in the beginning… even the pope needed an Advocate. After hearing about his customer service troubles with the bank, a priest on the South Side of Chicago, who had the bank's president as a member of his parish, called him up …and vouched for Pope Leo. Problem solved!

A small, simple gesture that reinforced our shared need for each other… a mutuality that is reflected in the Divine that is both in us, and all around us.

So may we all lean into our call to follow the Way of Christ… to recognize the presence of our Advocate, God's Holy Spirit, guiding us always… down paths of love for all people… for in all people… is the presence of God. Amen.

Today, we had a special musical performance of Standin' In the Need of Prayer by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Published Under License From Essential Music Publishing, LLC

Year A – Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 26, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

John 14:1-14

Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.

***

Several years ago, I was at my parents' home, and we were excitedly awaiting my aunt and uncle, who were coming to visit.

My dad was talking to my uncle on the phone, who had called for the address so he could plug it into his GPS and be on his way.

My dad, however, being more comfortable giving directions than trusting an app on the phone, was instead directing my uncle using landmarks and compass directions…

I'll never forget overhearing him tell my uncle to… just feel your way around the airport.

Feel your way around the airport.

If you are ever curious about something that might make me lose my mind… it would be to give me driving directions to a place without giving me the address, and instead, instruct me to… feel my way there.

Stressful! … fortunately, I was not the one driving, and my aunt and uncle eventually arrived, so perhaps he is more in tune than I am with his …emotional sense of direction.

I prefer the straightforward approach. Just tell me where we're going… I'll use GPS or a map…

I don't want to feel my way to a place… I like to be prepared, and I do not like to be lost. Feel my way there… how does one do that?

So… I deeply empathize with the disciple, Thomas, when he says, "Lord, we do not know where you are going… how can we know the way?"

I might be projecting… but when I read that, I can hear the strain and tension in his voice… maybe even a hint of panic.

Our gospel takes us back again to the night of their last supper. Jesus has just washed their feet and commanded them to love… and he told them to remember him when they gather around bread and wine… and he promised he would be with them whenever they do.

But then… they just watched Judas abandon their group… and they just heard Jesus tell Peter that he would betray him… not once, but three times!

And Jesus has been telling them he must die. The world as they know it is falling apart… and into their stress and anxiety… Jesus assures them… Do not let your hearts be troubled… do not be afraid.

These are words for us, too… Our world is in an upheaval… and Jesus assures us, as well… Do not let your hearts be troubled. (x2)

Jesus has prepared us to live in this world… Jesus has already given us our directions… a way of living that is God's will for us… a way life that brings close the kingdom of God.

A way of living that transforms our hearts and turns us back to God, again and again.

Jesus… is that way… and the truth… and the life. And the way of Jesus is always… love.

The way of Christ… is love.

A way that… actually does require us to feel our way to our destination. But also… a way that has concrete, and written directions for when we can't muster up that feeling.

It's love… Love God… and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love.

And when you don't know how to feel your way to loving your neighbor… or loving the stranger in your country… or how to feel your way to loving the needy person who is pleading for you to help them… when maybe… you'd rather judge them…

When our own baggage gets in the way, and we can't seem to recognize the light of Christ in this other person… we can get there another way.

When we can't envision what the final destination looks like, or the vagueness of the emotional sense of direction is just too stressful… You can start with the turn-by-turn directions that Jesus gave us…

Just start by feeding the hungry. Then clothe the naked. And then… welcome the immigrant and the stranger. Care for the sick and any among you who have need.

Look for those whom our society has pushed to the edges… those who are marginalized… those who are suffering under oppression… those who are treated with contempt… and warmly invite them into the fold.

And when it is our own selves whom we are struggling to love, try wrapping your heart with grace… and let it work its way through you.

That is how we find our way through Jesus.

For the least among us are the ones Jesus directed us to love first… and the way, truth, and life of Jesus is always the way of love.

So we can feel our way there… and when that is just too abstract, or when we are legitimately struggling to manifest love for our neighbor… or… love for God… yes, there are those days… days when we are more angry at God than loving…

Or days when we are struggling to manifest love for ourselves… yes, total honesty here… there are those days, too…

Because yes, we are human, and even though love is a divine command from our God… that doesn't mean we can just force ourselves to feel it.

I'm being real with you… and Jesus knows this about our humanness… knows that we can't always feel our way there.

So even though we are commanded to love… commanded to feel our way… Jesus also showed us how to follow the turn-by-turn directions to get there… showed us how to follow our way through the way of Jesus.

We follow the way Jesus taught us, and little by little, this way of love will transform our own hearts into ones more capable of loving… and then, little by little, our loving hearts will transform the world around us.

Love is a way of life… it is a daily discipline… a habit we form… a guiding light.

Love doesn't have to be sporadic, grand, and glorious gestures… in fact, I think love is better expressed in the daily, reliable series of little things that shape our whole lives… around love.

Because ultimately, for love – the kind of love that transforms – for this kind of love to become action, it must first begin with relationship… and it begins with abiding in the source of all love.

For we cannot give what we have not received… and so we must return again and again to the love of Jesus.

Because Jesus… is the way, and the truth, and the life… "and all things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life… and the life was the light of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. (John 1:3-5)

Jesus… is the source of abiding love… of love that transforms… love that liberates… love that makes all things new.

And so Jesus tells his disciples that if they cannot believe that he and the Father are one, then believe because you see how the way of love transforms the world…

He tells them that those who follow the way of light and love will do greater works than he did… because he is going to the Father, but we are still here.

Jesus fed the five thousand… how many people have his disciples fed since then?

Jesus cared for the sick… how many people have his disciples cared for since then?

Jesus welcomed the stranger… how many people have his disciples welcomed since then?

Indeed, across millennia, the works of love in the name of Jesus… have done so much more.

And the light of the world continues to shape us… and to guide us… through love… and that way of love, draws us all back to Jesus.

So we do know the way… we know the way by how love feels… and we know the way by following the directions.

We do know the way… and the truth… and the life… we know that it is Jesus, who is the light of the world… and the way of Jesus is always… love.

Amen.

Today, we had a special musical performance of The King of Love My Shepherd Is by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Published Under License From Essential Music Publishing, LLC

Year A – Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 26, 2026

Pastor Megan Floyd

Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 23

1 Peter 2:18-25

John 10:1-10

Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, who came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Amen.

***

The Common English Bible translation of John 10:10 reads, "I came so that they could have life - indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest."

I share that… because I've often heard this verse misconstrued as promoting the acquisition of wealth and power. …choosing instead to understand Jesus to mean a "life of abundance" rather than… "abundant life."

The abundance that Jesus has in mind… the fullness of life… isn't a life of material wealth, but rather, it is a life that is full of love and intimacy with God, and with Creation… like that of the trusted companionship of sheep and their shepherd.

But this comparison of sheep and shepherds… and of Jesus being the gate to the protective enclosure of the fold… it doesn't come out of nowhere…

Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, who have accused him of being against God after he healed the man who was born blind…

A man who proclaimed Jesus to be from God… and that Jesus must be the Messiah. He came to this conclusion after having worked out the only possible explanation of his miraculous healing… and for his proclamation, the Pharisees cast him out of their community.

And Jesus, ever the Good Shepherd, finds that man again… and returns him to the safety of the fold among his disciples.

Jesus protects him from those who would do him harm on account of his being a follower of Jesus.

Jesus is the shepherd who protects his flock, not for the sake of harvesting wool or mutton, but rather for the sake of the sheep themselves…

So the sheep may have lives that are flourishing… thriving… abundant… so we may have the very fullness of life.

And by identifying himself as the gate, Jesus proclaims that through him, the sheep will find protection from the dangers of the night, and in the morning, it is through him that they will go out to green pastures to find nourishment.

And we, who are the sheep, know and follow the sound of our shepherd's voice… not because we are mindless, but because we recognize that our shepherd has our best interests at heart, and also, we rejoice and glorify God …and so we live in a relationship of mutuality with our shepherd.

The abundant life that Jesus longs for us to have… the fullness of life… is one that is full of love… full of grace and mercy… full of community that genuinely cares for one another and ensures that all are provided for and all are safe from harm.

The abundant life that Jesus longs for us to have is built on faith, which manifests itself as experiential love and trust, and shapes the way we live.

Yes, that…. That is abundant life…

It looks a lot like the community described in our reading from Acts 2… which gives the four marks of a faithful community: they are devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to sharing meals with each other, and to prayer.

And equally so, an abundant life looks like the trust proclaimed in Psalm 23… of being led to green pastures where no one goes hungry… of a cup that overflows so there is plenty to share.

An abundant life looks like pausing long enough to appreciate all God has done for us, and trusting that God's goodness and mercy pursue us always.

Yes, that is abundant life… life lived to the fullest.

It's a glimpse of what the full kindom of heaven looks like… a glimpse of what we are building as we live together as children of God, grounded in our faith… in our trust in God's promise and provision.

I appreciate this glimpse of abundant life in our reading from Acts and the Psalms… but you might be wondering how the suffering that Peter writes about comes into play.

This one is difficult for our modern ears to hear, and we really should not hear it without also acknowledging the immense harm that has been done at the knife's edge of these words.

This passage seems to glorify suffering and has led many to seek suffering. But moreover, it takes an even more chilling tone when we include the verse immediately before our selection… a verse our reading left off…

Verse 18… which is… "Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh." …the text goes on, then, to talk about suffering for Christ.

I knew this woman who got married young and then found herself in an abusive and oppressive marriage. She had two kids and was torn between her drive to protect herself and her children… and her marriage vows, which she had taken seriously.

She consulted the pastor of her non-denominational church and was told… her suffering was for the Lord, and she needed to endure it. She was told her husband was her Lord and she needed to submit to him.

She was cast aside as less valuable in God's eyes and in the eyes of the faith community… she was alone and full of shame. She tried to endure it for years…

But the violence was harming her children, and so she eventually left her husband… and the church… never having heard the promise that our Good Shepherd desires to protect us from harm… never having heard the promise from her faith community that her life mattered.

This is one of those passages that oppressive powers have used to justify their oppression… to keep themselves in power and to dismiss and even glorify the harm they perpetrate on others… all in the name of being a "faithful Christian."

The woman I knew was one of countless wives across centuries, who have been abused and worse, and told they must endure. …and I'm willing to wager that many of you also know someone who was shamed into enduring harm, with scripture as the threat that kept them there.

This is one of those passages also wielded like a whip by people who kept other humans enslaved… they used these words to try and break the wills and spirits of those they kept in shackles… refusing to consider the one they held in bondage was, in truth, their brother… or sister… in Christ.

The twisting of these teachings, and the incredible harm that has been caused, and is still caused today… is heartbreaking.

But it can only be achieved by taking these passages out of context… and by not considering the population to which these letters were addressed.

You see, most of the early followers of Jesus were already enslaved… already living in servitude… marginalized and oppressed… and already enduring pain and suffering at the hands of those who held power over them.

It was NOT oppression in the name of being a "faithful Christian."

It was oppression in the name of Empire… in the name of attaining and retaining power, wealth, and privilege… something that can only be achieved if you keep entire groups of people as a permanent underclass.

And so, these words… they were never intended to be a prescription to seek suffering… or to justify gross abuses of power… no…

These words were meant to be a lifeline… a message of hope that the harm you are already suffering is not all there is in life… that the Christ who suffered with you has defeated death and the grave… and offers you salvation.

The encouragement to endure is shared to strengthen the wills of those who are being harmed on account of their faith in Christ…

And so that they can make it to the next gathering of their faith community, where they are welcomed as equals… sharing together in the fullness of the life their community offers.

It is important to name all this "Because any interpretation of the Gospel which supports, justifies, or remains silent in the face of slavery and oppression… is not the Good News… and it is not the way of Jesus." (Pulpit Fiction podcast)

So, for us to understand this text from 1 Peter, we must hear it in the fuller context of God's promise of abundant life for us.

We must hear it alongside the promise of Jesus as our Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures…

And alongside the celebration of faith communities that share all in common, and are devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to community, to fellowship, and to prayer.

And we must hear it alongside Jesus' promise that we will know the sound of his voice… and trust in his provision.

For Jesus Christ came so that we may have life… and have it abundantly.

Amen.