August 9 ~ Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/3ef8bd_9255bdd529374309b4c61e1d991a32cf/720p/mp4/file.mp4

A recording of Bishop Halmarson's sermon

Sermon by Bishop Halmarson

1 Kings 19:9-18  

Psalm 85:8-13  

Romans 10:5-15  

Matthew 14:22-33  

Today the ELCIC Sermon Series brings us to Winnipeg and the Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod. MNO Synod is known for its strong emphasis on youth and young adult ministry. Bishop Jason Zinko has been serving the MNO Synod as bishop for just over 8 years and served congregations in Brandon and Winnipeg prior to his election. He is a strong believer in congregations understanding their purpose so that they can follow God more effectively in ministry. Bishop Jason is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon and recently completed an MA in Executive Leadership from Royal Roads University. His wife and 8-year-old son are a constant joy. The photo you see is Bishop Jason at Luther Village camp, a ministry of MNO synod located on Dogtooth Lake east of Kenora, Ontario.

Here, in his own words, is a reflection on the gospel text for today.

“Hi everyone. I am Bishop Jason Zinko, serving the Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario Synod of the ELCIC – sharing the lands of Treaties 1, 2, 3, 5, and the Robinson Superior Treaty.

I would imagine that most of you here know this story. You have probably heard it many times before. And even if you haven’t heard the story or you’re not sure of the details, I’m sure that you’re familiar with the fact that Jesus walked on water. This is, after all, one of Jesus’ more well-known miracles.

But as we hear this story again today, I wonder what stood out for you. I wonder if your imagination was drawn to the fact that Jesus sent the disciples on ahead of him. Or maybe it was the stormy seas and the disciples afraid in the boat. I can imagine that some of you zeroed in on Peter stepping out of the boat at Jesus’ command. And some of you may have connected with Peter sinking and crying out for help. Some of you will no doubt understand the anxiety and doubt that blankets the whole story. And others would have seen God’s grace revealed in this story.

In the work that I do, I am generally working with congregations – with groups and systems. And, I usually work with those groups during periods of anxiety and unhealth. So, the version of this story that often comes to me is the one that focuses on the disciples being in a boat out to sea, taking on water, and needing saving. And just between you and me, it’s not usually saving that they want – it’s a return to happier times that happened yesterday.

I can empathize with that story. And I can relate.

But I don’t think that’s the story that Matthew is telling.

This story, in the end, is not about anxiety, fear, failure, or doubt. This is a story about faith and grace.

This gospel reading comes right on the heels of last week’s story of Jesus feeding the 5000. In fact, it comes ‘immediately’ after the crowds have finished eating and the leftovers have been gathered. Jesus hadn’t even been allowed to mourn the death of John the Baptist yet, and so after the crowds leave and the disciples are sent on their way, he takes some time alone with God on the mountain.

Then the scene switches over to the disciples. They are tired after fighting the wind and waves all night. They think they see a ghost and are frightened. When Peter does take a chance that he can walk on water, he ends up almost sinking before being pulled out of the water and back onto the boat.

Our normal read of this is to say, “Well, Peter sank because he doubted. If he just didn’t doubt, he would have been fine.”

Maybe that’s true. Maybe, if Peter had kept his eyes on Jesus and believed beyond all doubt that his faith would allow him to do the impossible, this story would have ended differently. And there are some religious traditions that would say that if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we’ll never sink again.

But there’s a problem with that message. The problem is, basically, that it’s a load of you-know-what.

I can’t think of a single person who has ever had total, unwavering faith in the face of all obstacles and challenges. I have never heard of anyone with such a strong faith that doubt never crept into their minds through any storm.

Think about the metaphorical storms that we face. We are scared, anxious, and insecure about a lot of things. We worry about kids and grandkids, friends, significant others, finances, health, politics, work, and on and on. We worry about if we will be accepted for who we are, if we have the courage to speak up when needed, and about the world around us.

Those worries can toss us around like we’re adrift at sea. And no matter how often we try to leave it in God’s hands, we can’t help but be distracted and try to take care of all those things on our own. I mean really, there is no shortage of things that we can worry about. And to hear “oh just keep your eyes on Jesus and everything will be OK” doesn’t help matters. In fact, I think that it might just make us feel worse. Because then we would have to worry about being a bad disciple on top of everything else.

To me, reading the story this way takes away from the gospel, and turns the story into plain old advice. Don’t get me wrong; it is good advice. We should keep our eyes on Jesus. But to leave it at that robs the story of the gospel that lies at the heart of it.

I would say that to hear the gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ – in this reading, we need to forget about Peter for a minute and look at what Jesus is doing. Jesus was the one that went to the disciples. Jesus was the one willing to prove (again) who he was. Jesus was the one who reached out and caught Peter in his most desperate time.

As fellow imperfect disciples, we need that Jesus. We need that good news that no matter what storms we face, Jesus will be there to catch us. We need to know that not even an ocean can separate Jesus from his disciples. We need to know that despite our imperfections, we are perfect and loved in the eyes of Christ, and we are worth being grabbed before slipping under.

The life of faith is not perfect. Even the disciples who traveled with Jesus saw death, injustice, and brokenness. They saw fear and doubt. Jesus didn’t magically make that go away. But through it all, Jesus was still there to help and to heal, to guide and to teach, to love and to forgive.

We too, see death, injustice, and brokenness. More often these days we hear about groups being marginalized. We hear about leaders fostering conflict and polarizing the people they lead. We hear about record-breaking profits while large portions of our country suffer and struggle to pay for life necessities. It is understandable that being bounced around in seas like those, we too will have our moments of doubt, anger, and fear.

But that is the life of faith. It is not about being perfect and completely unwavering, no matter what. The life of faith is one in which we know we will not be perfect, but where we know enough to realize that we need God’s saving grace in Jesus.

We will fail as disciples. Of that, I am sure. But I am even more sure that Jesus will reach out to catch us in our doubt and fear and failure. It doesn’t matter our size, shape, colour, expression, experience, or station. Jesus will continue to call us, continue to hold us up, and continue to lead us on. That is the faith and grace that we can rely on.

There’s one last thing that’s worth mentioning.

This wasn’t the end of the story for the disciples.

Jesus continued to call and lead his disciples into ministry in the world. Despite their imperfections, Jesus goes on with his disciples to heal people, eat with those on the margins, restore people, witness Christ’s Transfiguration, and continue in ministry after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

And Jesus continues to call us into that work as his disciples. Despite our flaws, our moments of doubt, and our imperfections, Jesus calls us to be with the marginalized, to feed the hungry, to bring comfort, to bring healing, and to live out and share the promise of life and grace that we have come to know through the gospel.

I pray that you and you congregations will have the courage to hear Jesus’ call, to risk getting out of the boat, and to know when we need Jesus’ help to carry us and move us forward.”

As I read Bishop Jason’s reflections, I thought of the many things that worry me, the times in my own life when I had no hope except to count on the gospel of grace and love. Jesus is faithful. And his faith in us leads us to be the kind of Christians who follow him into the hard places where we help to create the kind of world God intends, one of justice, peace, kindness and abundant life for all. Our congregations exemplify discipleship that is faith active in love in the many ways we engage with the communities around us. We do our best, depending always on the grace of God through Jesus to make our best enough.

May God make it so. Amen

August 2 ~ Leading a disoriented world to share, until all are satisfied.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/3ef8bd_ae2036072eeb4ae296b4b3a16dbb8d31/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Video recording of Rev. Nelson's sermon

Sermon by Rev. Nelson

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 2, 2026

Turtle Island

True North, Strong and Free

Isaiah 55:1-3, Psalm 145:8-18

Romans 8:35-39, Matthew 14:13-21

Our first lesson, from Isaiah 55, contains some of the most moving sentiments placed in the mouth of God. God is cast in the role of a street vendor who offers food and drink at no cost, and all are invited to come to God to be refreshed and nourished. They/we are offered water, grain, wine, and milk… basically the staples of life. Water was especially important in the land of Palestine. All these years later the above are still the basics for a country devastated by war. The bottom line of all this is; the word of God is offered, God was re-establishing the covenant.

Today’s reading suggests the original covenant was broken and now God is willing to restore it again. This is as true in 2026 as it was back there thousands of years ago. We, as human beings, keep destroying what is good and God keeps offering us hope again. The sad thing is we see it in our lifetime with the ‘king’ of the USA doing it again and again and then blaming someone else. A trait of people who envy someone else. In our first lesson God says he will make the covenant again because of his love for David. {Does God have a love for Trump? Ideally, I would have to say yes, but I sure have a hard time believing it!}

Our psalm today is a praise for the greatness of God. The psalmist invites all to give thanks because God’s covenant is revealed as justice, loving kindness, and truth. We rely on a God who has given us these rights. That is why it becomes very obvious in life when the above are taken from us by people who have no reason to care for one another and only live to take care of themselves.

Then we move on to Romans our second lesson. {If you did not hear, “Neither Death nor Life” sung this morning, please look up Marty Haugen’s hymn}. The question Paul poses is a rhetorical question. He believes there is nothing that can keep us from the love of God, but he realizes that it is often not visible. Paul knows that we often believe the good are rewarded and the evil are punished but it sure does not seem to always happen that way, does it? Paul turns that upside down. In fact, the writer of Romans seems to say because we are righteous, we will suffer even more??

Henri Nouwen said, “compassion is nothing more or less than the full immersion in the condition of being human.”

Bonhoeffer said, “when Christ calls a person he bids him/her come and die.” {I know I am a poor example, but I realize I would be better off if I did not watch the news and continue to see how bad Trump is.}

But the bottom line according to Paul is, in spite of how bad the world is, “nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

Finally, we come today to Matthew 14:13-21. The death of john the baptizer has prompted Jesus to seek a place where he might be by himself. {If you have followed my sermons, you know that when I was in Niagara Falls, going near the falls was a place for me to go and be by myself and yes, even yell at God about some of my issues.}

Now some would say Jesus was attempting to escape the fate that had befallen john the baptizer. {Let me be clear, when I was down by the falls, I never thought of jumping in and escaping my problems.} Jesus saw the basic problems of the people, as demonstrated in our gospel today when Jesus, with the help of his disciples, fed the people. I do not believe there was anything magical about the event other than that Jesus just got the people to share. But getting people to share, is a miracle in itself. I am amazed at the number of things your three congregations do for the larger community. When we read this story in the gospel today, we cannot help but hear an illusion to the story of the Eucharist.

Trying to explain this story in the gospel today is like trying to explain the Eucharist. Ask yourself or ask others: why do we/you share? In this day and age with all kinds of examples of selfishness Is it not a miracle every time some one shares a smile, friendship, food, the list is endless. Probably one of the hardest things for us to do, is to admit we need help. Versions of this story occur six times in the gospels, and not one account as I said earlier, says that Jesus multiplied the bread. Instead, all the stories use the language we repeat in every Eucharistic celebration, “Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples”. And then the gospel says that the disciples shared the bread with the crowd, with the people, and all were satisfied.

Many of you hearing or reading my sermon today remember when we as ‘good’ Lutherans only shared communion a few times a year. Why? “Because the roman Catholics were having communion all the time and not sharing the word.” If it was ever true it surely is not true today. The Roman Catholics read all four lessons at their main worship services, and the ‘father’ will usually refer to all of them in his sermon. So why then is this story today the most often-told story in the new testament? The “miracle” here was not nearly as impressive as raising the dead, but those accounts are not repeated like this one today. Perhaps it is that this incident puts concrete details on the greatest promises Jesus made.

Whether it was; “Ask anything in my name and it will be given” or, “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do … and greater,” This is the story of what happens when disciples do as Jesus did. The disciples saw a need and expected Jesus to tell the people to fend for themselves. But that would have negated everything Jesus had been doing. In the moment of crisis, Jesus allowed himself to be ‘called’ by the needs of others. That action revealed Jesus as the image of God, the one who emptied himself. [Philippians 2:7] Jesus invited his disciples to risk following him with a generosity and a faith that gives all. For the sake of others. When the disciples did their part, the crowd became a bread sharing community, whose hunger was satisfied. People of God;

God does not love me/you because we are good,

God loves me/you because God is good!

God is love and all God can do is love.

Because God has loved me/you freely and lavishly,

I/you must love our neighbour.

As I said, the new testament tells this story of loving and feeding people ‘six’ times. Those of you at the three congregations in Ottawa and hopefully those of you ‘hearing’ this sermon in many places, disciples in every age, you and I are called to bring these six stories of communion to a perfect ‘seventh’ time, by leading a disoriented world to share until all are satisfied. Amen.

You satisfy the hungry heart

With gifts of finest wheat.

Come give us, o saving lord,

The bread of life to eat.

You give yourself to us,

O lord, then selfless let us be,

To serve each other

In your name in truth and charity.

[ELW 484 refrain & v. 5]

July 26 ~ It is the smallest of seeds... but when it has grown, it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree

Video will be uploaded at a later date.

1 Kings 3:5-12

Psalm 119:129-136

Romans 8:26-39

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Bishop Cindy Presiding

Grace and peace in the name of Jesus Christ.

Over the next few Sundays while Pastor Joel is away, we are privileged to hear sermons from some of the leaders across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Bishops and synod staff members prepared sermons for the Sundays from May through September to assist retired clergy like me and lay worship leaders in proclaiming the gospel in congregations across the church. Further, it gives you a chance to learn a little about the ELCIC and what it means to be part of a church that stretches from coast to coast to coast.

The ELCIC was established on January 1, 1986, through the merger of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada and the Lutheran Church in America-Canada Section. At the present time, the ELCIC includes about 80,000 members in about 450 congregations across the country.

The church is organized into five regions called synods. St Peter’s Lutheran is a member of the Eastern Synod which includes congregations from Sault St Marie, Ontario to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Each synod has a bishop and ours is Bishop Carla Blakley.

The ELCIC is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, a global communion of churches in the Lutheran tradition, living and working together for a just, peaceful, and reconciled world. Since 2001 the ELCIC has been in full communion with the Anglican Church of Canada.

Today’s sermon was prepared by a staff member of the Eastern Synod. Since 2020, the Rev. Christie Morrow-Wolfe has served as an Assistant to the Bishop in the Eastern Synod. She offers accompaniment and care for congregations and other ministries in the process of calling a new pastor, and the formation of new pastors and other rostered leaders. She is married to the Rev. Mark Wolfe and in their spare time, they can be found on the soccer pitch, baseball diamond, community pool or local arena as the equipment managers and taxi service to their two athletic daughters.

Here is Christie’s reflection on today’s gospel, in her own words:

This past school year, I spent a fair bit of time at the kitchen table with my daughter, wrestling with middle school math. A leap in the learning curriculum this grade year made some concepts more challenging for her, so we would find ourselves trying to figure it out, together. What she was learning, I learned a generation ago, so the method was different even if we were working towards the same answer. There was a lot of “that’s not how we learned it, Mom!”. And usually in her showing me how and what she learned in class, it would click for her at the quiet hush of the kitchen table in a way she hadn’t been able to grasp in the busyness of the classroom earlier that day.

To be honest, even though there were tears of frustration (from both of us), I cherished this time with her. And what I hope she remembers is not the math help she might have received (because, honestly, that’s truly forgettable…there’s a reason I studied theology and math is not it!), but what I hope she remembers is the time we spent together. The formulas may fade; the worksheets will be recycled; the test scores won’t matter so much anymore…but what I hope she remembers is the time we sat and faced a challenge, together. I hope she remembers that when something felt confusing, she wasn’t alone. I hope she remembers that someone showed up with her…that there was laughter mixed in with the frustration. That there was patience on some days and grace on the harder days. That there was a place at the table for her questions and curiosities.

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed; like yeast hidden in flour; like a treasure buried in a field; like a pearl of great value.

God’s kingdom doesn’t always arrive in dramatic moments. Sometimes it is hidden in ordinary Tuesday evenings and math homework spread across a kitchen table. The kingdom of heaven looks like people showing up for each other again and again, even when the task itself is rather forgettable. In this case, the treasure wasn’t really the math. The treasure was relationship.

Jesus keeps talking about the kingdom of heaven–but not in ways that are obvious or easy to grasp. There are no grand thrones here, no mighty armies, no clear lines of power. Instead, we get seeds. Yeast. Treasure buried in a field. A merchant searching for pearls. A net scooping up all kinds of fish. It feels…almost…under whelming.

And yet, if we listen closely, there is something quietly radical unfolding in these stories. Jesus is shaping our expectations–not just of God’s kingdom, but of where and how we encounter the holy.

The kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, is like a mustard seed–tiny, easily overlooked. In fact, mustard was often considered more of a nuisance plant than any kind of noble crop. It spreads wildly, unpredictably, taking over gardens and fields. This is not the image of orderly growth or controlled expansion. It’s, in fact, messy. Subversive.

And yet, from this small, unruly beginning comes shelter–branches where birds can rest, where life can flourish. The kingdom, then, is not about dominance. It’s about unexpected belonging.

Then Jesus moves to yeast–another strange image. Yeast is hidden–mixed into flour, invisible to the eye. And yet it transforms everything it touches. Quietly. Gradually. Irreversibly. The kingdom of heaven is not always loud or obvious. It works beneath the surface–in conversations, in acts of compassion, in the slow work of justice, in the healing of relationships, and in the courage to begin again. It’s the kind of transformation that doesn’t make headlines, but changes lives.

And then, treasure. A person stumbles upon something hidden in a field, and filled with joy, gives everything to claim it. A merchant finds a pearl of great value and does the same. There is something here about recognition–about seeing what truly matters…like realizing it’s not about finding the right math answer at the kitchen table, but it’s the relationship that’s deepened by working through the hard things together.

In a world that constantly tells us what is valuable–success, wealth, status, control–these parables invite us to reorient our hearts. The kingdom is not something we earn or achieve or solve. It is something we discover with curiosity and joy, and when we do, it has the potential to reshape everything.

Jesus ends his kingdom snapshots with the image of a net, cast wide into the sea, gathering all kinds of fish–without distinction, without pre-sorting, without exclusion. The sorting comes later. And if we read this through the lens of grace, we remember that God’s justice is not about punishment. It’s about restoration and truth-telling and making things right – not on our terms, but always on God’s terms.

And here’s the thing…it’s not up to us to do the sorting. Our call, and what God is asking us to do, is to simply cast the net wide. That’s it. And by casting the net wide, we create communities where all are welcomed, where diversity is not feared but celebrated, where questions are honoured, and where healing becomes possible…because the kingdom of heaven is not a gated community; it is an ever-expanding table…perhaps a table covered in middle school math homework where God comes to us in a new untraditional way…in a way that reinforces that we are loved, not because of what we do, but because of who God is.

For us, this means that God continues to reveal God-self to us and the world in sometimes small and unassuming ways…by the quiet acts of kindness; the moments of connection and relationship; in the small seeds we plant that we trust will grow…in the sometimes-hidden work of transformation which takes root in ourselves; in our communities; and in the world.

We are called then to stay open to the delightful surprise of God and the possibility that the kingdom of heaven might show up in places we least expect…at a kitchen table; in a difficult conversation; in the courage to forgive; in the decision to begin again. It means that God calls us to hold loosely to what the world tells us is valuable, and lean more deeply into what gives life. And, it means we cast our nets wide. Because the kingdom of heaven is not about scarcity or exclusion. It is not about getting it all right. It’s about grace and relationship … grace that grows like a weed offering shelter to more life than we know; grace that rises like bread to be broken to feed the world; grace that is hidden in plain sight, waiting to be discovered and shared. Grace in middle school math and the connection formed when wading through the hard together.

So you see, the kingdom of heaven is already among us. In you; in me. In the communities we call home. I pray that we may have eyes to see it; hearts to trust it; and the courage to live it.

Pastor Christie paints a picture from today’s gospel, a warm and welcoming scene of discovery and delight in the riches of God’s grace already and always around us. Because God chooses us, we are free from limitations set by our fears, our feelings of inadequacy, or the negative messages we hear in our world. We are free to imagine the fullness of God’s reign and our own place within it. And freed by grace, we can open our eyes, our hearts and our whole selves to see where God’s reign is still unfolding, and to be messengers of God’s love to all we meet each day.

May God make it so. Amen.