Neli ML

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 30, 2023. Proper 12. Matthew 13, 31-33 & 44-52 Rev. Neli Miranda The Kingdom of God has come near!  With these words Jesus opened his proclamation in Galilee amid the Roman occupation.  His audience knew very well the meaning of this announcement and most of them welcomed it with great expectation. From that moment, Jesus, like a generous sower, went out every day to sow the good seed, which began to produce abundant fruits despite the great opposition his message aroused. For centuries, the people of Israel had faithfully waited for the arrival of the Kingdom of God which was to bring justice and peace to the world. Their hope had emerged in the face of the failure and corruption of the human kingdoms. So, continuing with the prophetic tradition and fulfilling the great expectation of the people, Jesus announced the Kingdom of God among an oppressive human kingdom, the Roman Empire. His announcement is surprising because he does not speak

  Eight Sunday after Pentecost, July 23, 2023. Rev. Jennifer Hope-Tringalli   Once upon a time, there was a woman tormented by demons.  She wandered the outskirts of her village, cast out by her community as she was deemed unclean, damaged, as one who had evil within her.  And she was feared as if contagious, as if the humanity in her was hidden, as if she were a monster.  She did not know how long she had been suffering, just that she was no longer loved, no longer cared for, no longer considered a part of her community, but rather more like a scavenging animal.   And then, she had an encounter with Jesus, who cast out her demons, but who did so much more.  He brought her into his inner circle of disciples.  He didn’t shy away from the trauma she had experienced, but included her in his community of friends and students.  She remained loyal to Jesus, following him as he traveled and healed and taught, and was present with him even at the cross where he was abandoned and rej

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 16, 2023 Matthew 13,1-9;18-23 Rev. Neli Miranda   “ Listen! A sower went out to sow…!” This generous sower sows abundantly, and the seeds fall everywhere. Some seeds fall along the path but never have the chance to sprout or grow because the birds eat them up. Other seeds fall on rocky ground with not much soil, so they spring up quickly, but when the sun rises, the seeds are scorched and wither away. Other seeds fall among thorns that thrive and choke the seeds. Finally, some seeds fall on good soil and bring forth grain, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty…  “Let anyone with ear listen!” What do you hear? A sower, seeds, soil, fruit… Who is this sower who scatters seeds on different kinds of soil? What is the seed that he scatters? What do the different kinds of soil mean?  Let us listen to how Jesus clarifies this parable to his disciples, to us. Through this parable Jesus explains peoples’ different responses to his proclamation. He is the

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 9, 2023. Matthew 11,16-19 Rev. Neli Miranda What games did you play as a child? Can you remember which was your favorite one?   Hopscotch , hide and seek, playing house, playing marbles or jacks? My favorite ones were those played in the street. In Jesus’ time, children also played games in the street, and some of them might seem odd to us. They played interactive games called “wedding” and “funeral”, acting out the activities related to those events which included the participation of two groups: “the wedding game” required a group of children playing the flute while the others responded by dancing; in “the funeral game” a group wailed, and the others responded by mourning.   In today’s Gospel Jesus is referring to these games. He describes children sitting in the marketplace wanting to play with each other. However, some of them are not interested in playing the “wedding” or “funeral” game and their companions complain, “We played the flute

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 10,40-42 Rev. Neli Miranda   Good morning! The community of St. Alban welcomes you! When someone welcomes me in a community, offers me a smile and wants to share with me, I feel warm and embraced. I feel at home! To be welcoming is a Christian vocation and makes Jesus himself present in our midst. “Welcome” is the key word in today’s Gospel, and Jesus uses this six times at the end of his teaching to the twelve disciples named apostles . Apostle means “one who is sent”, and Jesus sent the twelve as an “advanced team” to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  This first mission was a local one, so the twelve were sent only to the people of Israel and Jesus commanded them, “P roclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven [God] has come near.’   Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons ” (10,7-8). They did not go on their own but were sent as envoys of Jesus to proclaim the news of God’s kingdom while healing and liberat