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There is a lot of material in the readings for today, but the two questions which jump out at me are; How is our soul harmed? And why would Jesus say he did not come to bring peace but a sword? I just cannot help thinking that these two are connected.

Jesus says; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The lost sheep, what does it mean, and who are the lost sheep? Can one be lost without knowing it?

To talk about all nations is both about the large number and the diversity as well. It seems fitting that this be the gospel for Trinity Sunday. We talk about the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one. One God, but three aspects. The best metaphor for the Trinity was someone describing their favourite cherry pie.

“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 – So the living water is the Spirit of God within us. This is the sense of being beloved and finding living water with us.

Jesus says; ”I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me.” Why not the whole world? Perhaps this says something about the connection between prayer and action, and also a connection between the person being prayed for and the one doing the praying.

The Sprit of Truth, this sounds like the second part of the sermon from last week, and the reading is exactly that, a continuation. The question seems to be, what is truth? This could devolve into a full philosophy lecture; however the story which comes to mind is from Ernest Kurtz.

Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. I cannot help thinking of the scene from Rocky Horror Picture Show; when the young couple comes to the mansion in the rain, soaked to the bone, and the butler who answers the door invites them in with the words; walk this way. He proceeds to walk from the door into the mansion with a funny walk, and the expectation is that they walk the same way.

The shepherd, the sheep and the thief are the characters for today. The greatest trick of the thief is to say there is no God, no shepherd, that we can do it alone, and that there is no need for prayer, it doesn’t seem to do any good. We feel like we are wasting my time.

The most common model and metaphor for evangelism is: Paul on the road to Damascus, but the Road to Emmaus is a better metaphor. This passage suggests walking with those walking in the wrong direction. Jesus was walking with the two going from Jerusalem to Emmaus, when everything was happening in Jerusalem, so walking away from the truth of the situation.