Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A

Contents
“The Real Man Of La Mancha” by Frank Ramirez
“Non Sequitur” by C. David McKirachan


The Real Man Of La Mancha
by Frank Ramirez
2 Corinthians 6:1-13

…but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger… (2 Corinthians 6:4-5)

Sooner or later we are all called upon to be leaders. Introverts or extroverts, it doesn’t matter. Some of us gravitate naturally into leadership positions; others flee as fast as we can run. But, eventually, the need to lead catches up with all of us.

And the rules of good leadership apply whether we are leading a church, a billion-dollar multi-national corporation, a country, a baseball team, or a first grade Sunday school class.

“And they were filled with great awe...who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Good morning girls and boys,

It's so good to see you this morning. How are you? If you ask me how I am, I would say “splendid.” Now I have a question for you. Have you ever you been on a boat? (children answer)

Our three readings for this week hang together very well. Paul tells us that we need to work together in love, putting behind us the world’s way of doing things in favor of changing the world into the Eden God intended it to be. The Gospel lesson teaches us that miracles are possible, as it describes Jesus sleeping through a violent thunderstorm that rocks the boat, until his disciples wake him to their danger. He immediately rebukes the storm, and wind and wave become completely still.

There was a story in our local paper recently about a local television newsreader who had visited a chiropractor. The chiropractor went off to America to learn some new techniques and on his return rang the newsreader to ask whether she would like to try out his new equipment.

Faith is active and alive. Faith is never just some fuzzy belief about something opaque and indefinite. It has muscle and backbone, and it breathes with the ability to do what it sets out to do.