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St. Marks Lutheran Church, 1015 Windsor Street, Reading, PA (2026)

02/19/2025

Epiphany is a time for Christians when God is revealed to us in the life of Jesus our Lord. In Jesus’ sermon on the plain as told by St. Luke in chapter six, verses 17-49, Jesus uses first the Law to lead us to the Gospel (Good News), in the blessings and woes. Jesus then challenges us in a series of commands that are hard for us to live into. “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Yet just like the blessings and woes, Jesus is using commands to look at the promise He offers when we live into what He as declared as a way of living as a child of the Living God. That is Jesus’s message to us in no uncertain terms. And we can’t just cut and paste the things that Jesus said that we like, or that we find easy to do. We also have to tackle the harder things, too. We have to wrestle with what it means to love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us, and bless those who curse us, and pray for those who mistreat us. An example for us is in the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
When I think of this passage, I think of people who have shown us what this looks like in extreme circumstances. People who have endured real hatred and abuse, and who still have managed to love. And one in particular that I want to talk about is Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He died back in December of 2021, but his legacy certainly lives on, because he was a Christian who taught us and showed us how to love even our enemies.
Bishop Tutu served as a leader in South Africa during the struggle to dismantle apartheid. And he certainly earned a lot of enemies along the way. And what makes him such a great example of what today’s gospel reading looks like is how he treated those enemies. Bishop Tutu never became bitter or hateful. He never deviated from what the Bible taught him, to love and forgive one’s enemies. He managed to go through his entire life with this focus.
He was asked his secret to doing this. How was he able to live by these challenging teachings of Jesus? Bishop Tutu’s answer was both complicated and simple. The simple answer is found in an answer he gave in an interview, when he said this: “I hold on, and often only by the skin of my teeth, to believe that God is in charge of his world, in spite of all appearances to the contrary.” (Bishop Tutu’s Hopes and Fears
The more complicated answer is found in several of his books, including his memoir, “No Future without Forgiveness.” In this book, he talks about forgiveness as a process that is not simple, and not quick. As he puts it so eloquently: “Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.”
“Forgiving,” Bishop Tutu went on to say, “is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering – remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning.” And this kind of forgiveness is only possible when we truly believe that God is in charge of this world. When we don’t really believe that, we can try to take matters into our own hands. That is when we lose the ability to love and to forgive and to bless and pray for those we might consider our enemies.
In Jesus our Lord and Savior we have a perfect guide to how we should live into His words of promise. Jesus chose to love His enemies, even when they mocked Him and spat upon him. He was determined to do good to those who hated him, even when they cried out for his crucifixion. He opted to bless them when they cursed Him, and He prayed for them when they abused Him. Even when hanging from the cross, He forgave those who put Him there: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Jesus did exactly that for us all. Jesus didn’t come to judge us, or to condemn the world, but to save this world, and to love us. And in the same way, Jesus sends us out into the world not to condemn it or to judge it, but to bless it and to love it. And to do all this trusting in the One who is truly in charge, even when the evidence might suggest otherwise. “God’s dream,” Bishop Tutu once said, “is that you and I, and all of us, will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”
The world will know we are followers of Jesus by our love for one another. But the world will become convinced of this love when we love even our enemies, just as Jesus taught us to do. Yes, Jesus gave us what sounds like commands or the law, but Jesus went on to say this is a promise, this the Good News. We are loved more than we can ever know. What we do with this gracious, merciful love, is up to us. Jesus calls us to a higher standard, not only to love one another, those we choose but to love the unlovable in our lives. Then let us love God, and love ourselves, and love one another. And let us also love those who will not love us back, until all the world knows the love that we are blessed to have in Jesus. To the glory of God. Amen.

12/28/2024

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. Luke 2: 41-52

This is one of those passages that is hard for modern hearers to understand, largely because our lives are so markedly different than those in Jesus’ day.
But life in ancient times wasn’t nearly as individualistic as it is today and there was no nuclear family. Families, extended families, distant relatives, members of the local village and community, would have all taken such a pilgrimage together. They were likely joined on the way by other families, other caravans of pilgrims, and all formed a loose company. In this kind of setting, every child had multiple parents and every adult looked after whatever children were nearby.
So what’s most odd about this story isn’t that Jesus remained behind and they didn’t notice. According to Jesus, what’s odd is that his parents wouldn’t know just where to find him. Three days they search in vain, until the find him doing the will of his Father.
Three days. Doubtless there is some symbolism here, as his disciples will also wonder and search and grieve in vain for three days before they discover that he was again doing the will of his Father.
The agony of Mary and Joseph, searching for three days, contrasts sharply with the calm response of Jesus when they found him. Jesus asks, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” These same questions face us this First Sunday after Christmas, as peace and goodwill fade and Christmas leaves so many of us wanting. The text invites us to wonder why Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus in all the wrong places.
That’s the point which Mary and Joseph failed to grasp. Where do you find the Son of God? Doing the things of God, about his Father’s business. Mary and Joseph searched three days for Jesus. But they didn’t find him in the expected places — the safe confines of his extended family or the familiar pilgrim spots. After three days, Mary and Joseph found Jesus alive and well in the Temple, around the scholars. Jesus answers them, “Why were you searching for me?” Why did it take them three days to figure out that Jesus must be about his Father’s business?
More importantly, have we been looking for Jesus in all the wrong places? Why does it take us so long to find Jesus? Like Mary and Joseph we can spend not only three days but our entire lives trying to find Jesus in all the wrong places. If we fail to understand who Jesus is and what His mission was, we can end up like Mary and Joseph searching in all the wrong places.
The good news for us on this First Sunday after Christmas is that, like Mary and Joseph, our search has ended. We know where Jesus is. The scary part, perhaps, is that our search doesn’t end where we might expect. We should know that Jesus must be about his Father’s business. This is His life’s mission, He must be doing and be concerned about the things of God His Father. The Temple was the place where the Divine Service of His Father was supposed to be most perfect, where the Word of God was taught. The Temple was called God’s sanctuary and even God’s House, since there He, through His Word, showed His presence and was heard. So, Christ is about His Father’s business when He comes among us, when He speaks to us through His Word. Through the Word, Christ comes among us, and through it brings us to the Father. Jesus is right where we should expect to find Him. This Jesus, who brings Deity and humanity together in one person, can be found wherever we find God’s Word. Jesus can be found wherever two or three are gathered to worship in His name. He is in the waters of our baptism. Our Lord can be found whispering to us through the pages of Holy Scripture. He can be found addressing us through the preached sermon. He can be found truly present with the bread and the wine for us to eat and drink. He can be found in the response to our confession of sin, when we hear the words, “Hear the good news and rejoice! You are God’s chose ones, holy and beloved, ☩ forgiven in the name of Christ Jesus, and freed to respond in joy. ” He can be found in the love and fellowship we experience with our fellow Christians. He can be found in our neighbor for us to love and serve.
Although 2024 was a tumultuous year, the Lord Jesus was with us the entire time. Our Lord’s Word and Sacraments have been a constant source of hope, sustenance, and strength over the past year. These gifts from God will also be present for us in 2025. The reason why? The Lord has promised to neither leave us nor forsake us; He will be with us to the end of the world, as we gather as the church, in our baptisms, with the bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist, and in the Word. Rejoice. Today, you’ve found Jesus.

12/20/2024

The prophets foretold of His coming; the Angels announced His arrival; the shepherds spread the Good News; and we with the heavenly host now rejoice for this amazing gift. Rejoice all you lands, rejoice all you people for Christ the Lord has come to dwell among us, Emmanuel, God with us. No matter who you are Rejoice!
Rejoice if you are not righteous because this manger holds the one who justifies.
Rejoice if you are weak and sick because this manger holds the one who will make you well.
Rejoice if you are in captivity because this manger holds the one who makes you free.
Rejoice if you are poor because this manger holds your true treasure.
Rejoice if you are about to die because this manger holds your key to paradise.
Rejoice, for Christ is born. even these many centuries later, and his birth is good news for all people. He comes to bring peace on earth by reconciling us to God and one another.

12/14/2024

John the Baptist heralds the mighty one who is coming. John teaches that preparation for God’s reign is not a matter of identity but of bearing fruits of merciful justice, radical generosity, and vocational integrity.
The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete,(gow-DAY-tay) is the Latin word meaning “rejoice”. God, through Zephaniah, offers us a glimpses of a hopeful future and calls us to “Rejoice and exult with all your heart.” Isaiah reminds us of the ways God has delivered us, is delivering us, and will deliver us. He invites us to shout aloud and sing for joy because we shall “draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation.” And our cheerleader, St. Paul, strongly urges us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
Advent is actually a penitential season like Lent, something many people don’t realize. Just like how in Lent we use the time to prepare for the Resurrection of Our Lord, and reflect on things like our mortality and sin, we do the same in Advent to prepare for the birth of Our Lord Jesus. Thinking about how much we need Jesus helps us get ready to welcome and greet Him. It makes the contrast between the penitential season and the major feast leading to a festal season all the greater, and our joy at Christ’s birth and Christ’s Resurrection all the brighter. That’s why we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath on the third Sunday of Advent. Pink says joy, celebration, REJOICE!

09/05/2024

We live in a noisy world, where we hear other messages all day long. On tv, in social media, in the words that we read and the words that we hear, our world is filled with words, and this can make it hard to hear God’s voice. But the Bible tells us that there is a deeper cause of our lack of hearing, our hardness of heart. And that is sin. Sin blocks our ears from hearing God’s word of hope. Sin shuts our eyes so that we can no longer see the glory and love of God in our midst. But most damaging of all, sin hardens our hearts.
Jesus, the Word who became flesh to live among us, was on a mission, and still is, to open the world’s eyes and ears, but also to open the world’s hearts, to soften them, so that the voice of God could be heard, with the ears of our heart. But Jesus knew what he was up against. He quoted Isaiah about this very thing, when he said: “This people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15). Our hearts have grown dull, and our ears are hard of hearing. So, what do we do? What did Jesus do?
In the case of the deaf man, it was pretty simple, really. Jesus took him aside, put his fingers into his ears, spat and touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Simple enough, right? But what about for us? When our hearts are hardened, it is more challenging, isn’t it? How can Jesus open our hearts? What does an “Ephphatha” moment look like when it involves the heart? How does Jesus open our hearts, so that we can hear his good news, not just with our ears, but with our hearts?
Let’s call these “Ephphatha Moments.” Ephphatha being the Aramaic word that Jesus used to open the deaf man’s ears. What does an “Ephphatha Moment” look like when it involves the heart? Let’s think about some famous ephphatha moments, when people’s hardened hearts were softened and opened, to get an idea of how Jesus accomplishes this.
We can start with perhaps the most famous “Ephphatha Moment” of them all, the conversion of Saul or Paul. Before his heart was opened, Paul was an angry Pharisee, breathing threats and murder against the first Christians. He was headed to Damascus to bring any Christians he found there bound to Jerusalem. And on his way, a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” A dramatic “Ephphatha moment” and conversion, to be sure, but sometimes that is how Jesus opens our hearts to the gospel.
But we still need “Ephphatha moments,” don’t we? We still need those moments in life that soften our hearts, and help them to hear again, as if for the first time, how very much we are loved by God. We need those moments, and God gives them to us in an incredible variety of ways. Moments when we remember, in our heart of hearts, that we are God’s beloved. That Jesus died for us. That we are forgiven, that we are loved, and that nothing in life will ever separate us from that love.

This account in Mark invites us to think again of those times in our lived when our hearts were softened, and when our ears and our eyes were opened. It may have been in church, or when we were reading the Bible, but it may have been at other times. It may have been through a friend. It may have been through what others would call a coincidence. It may have been through a beautiful sunset, or an unexpected rainbow. It may have been at a concert, or experiencing the birth of a child, and on and on. We all have those moments when something happens that causes our hearts to soften, and when we find ourselves hearing again God’s loving voice in our heart of hearts.
Let’s call these “Ephphatha Moments,” and let’s look for them, and let’s ask for them, and let’s not miss them when they come. One last point to make about Jesus healing the deaf man. When Jesus healed him by saying “Ephphatha,” he did not just open his ears. He also released his tongue. And this man began zealously proclaiming what Jesus had done.
When our hearts are opened to the Gospel, our tongues are released, too. To proclaim the good news of God’s love in Jesus, the news that is far more important than any other news we will hear, this day, or this week, or ever. So, let’s pray not just to have an “Ephphatha Moment,” but to be an “Ephphatha Moment” for someone else. Let’s pray for the opportunity to share our hope, to invite someone to church, to send them a timely text, or share a quote or a book or something that helps to have their heart opened again to God’s amazing grace, mercy, and love. So that they, too, can hear with the ears of their heart, and remember that they are loved by the God who is love.
Ephphatha. Be opened. May the ears of our hearts be opened, that they can be filled with God’s love. And may our tongues be released, to share this love with all. To the glory of God. Amen.
In Christ’s service,
+brother Doug Didyoung, Sr. S.A.L.M.

07/24/2024

Jesus feeds five thousand. Jesus asked Philip, "Where are we to but bread for these people to eat? He said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do." Andrew pointed out a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish when the disciples were confronted by a large crowd that had gathered to hear Jesus speak. Andrew said, "but what are they among so many people." Jesus said, "Make the people sit down. " Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied he told the disciples to gather up what was left over, they filled twelve baskets. What do we see in this miracle? With Jesus there is always enough. Without Jesus there is never enough. This has Eucharistic imagery for us to ponder and give thanks for a gracious God who sent His only Son into the world that we might believe in His grace and mercy freely given. Therefore meditate on what God has done through Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

03/31/2024

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

03/30/2024

The cross stands empty, the tomb is sealed and guarded and the world waits for the most historic event that changed everything. All sit in silence, in meditation, in prayer, and the heavens ring with the sounds "the Canticle of the Turning."

02/20/2024

Our Lenten jouney, forty days to reflect and walk with our Lord!

05/25/2023

What does this Mean?
John 7: 37-39: “On the last day of the festival (Sukkot, Festival of Tabernacles), the great day, while Jesus was standing there (in the Temple at Jerusalem), He cried out, ’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” Now He said this about the Spirit, which believers in Him were to receive; yet as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
After Jesus, Resurrection and Ascension, all Jesus had promised would come to pass. Yet the disciples waited and prayed as they had done for so many weeks together. Then it happened, Jesus’ promise of the Spirit came and nothing would ever be the same again.
“What does this mean? Picture it: The disciples are gathered for worship, as was their custom. They’ve brought with them some bread and some wine, and perhaps some olives or a few pieces of broiled fish. They arrive at the specified location, greet one another with the kiss of peace, and then begin their simple and intimate worship service. One of them reads from the Hebrew Scriptures, another offers a meditation and all of them share in the communal meal.
All of a sudden, a violent rush of wind bursts into the room and flames descend upon the heads of the disciples! They try to communicate what is happening, only to discover that they are all speaking a different language! The commotion in the house where the disciples are gathered is so loud that it quickly draws the attention
Jesus had told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them. He would come to be their comforter, to remind them of everything that He had said, to speak through them the words that God had for them to share. Here Jesus fulfills that promise too. The Holy Spirit transforms these men from nervous people hiding in locked rooms to boldly proclaiming the good news about Jesus to the world. The Holy Spirit turns Peter’s impetuousness into confidently sharing Jesus’ forgiveness with all. He tells all present they are not drunk, we are full of the Spirit! He uses the words of the prophet Joel to remind them all of the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon all flesh. He fulfills the words of Jesus, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” What does this mean? Nothing will ever be the same, all things are being made new through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
What does this mean? On that first Pentecost day, when the Spirit revealed God’s call to witness to the whole world the message of the Gospel, we were called as well. The Holy Spirit works in spite of us, in and through us, that the Spirit will fulfill God’s promise, that His Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh, that all might be saved in the Name of the Lord. What does this mean? God is gracious and merciful and loves all people, and wants all to return to Him. Thanks be to God! Amen.

04/13/2023

Comments from the Cloud of Witnesses
O Lord, I acknowledge and give thanks that you created in me your image so that I may remember, contemplate, and love you. But this image has been so effaced by the abrasion of transgressions, so hidden from sight by the dark billows of sin, that unless you renew and refashion it, it cannot do what it was created to do. Lord, I do not attempt to comprehend your sublimity, because my intellect is not at all equal to such a task. But I yearn to understand some measure of your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe even this: that I shall not understand unless I believe. —Anselm, Bishop of Canterbury, died 1109. This eleventh-century monk was one of the greatest theologians of the Middle Ages. He is remembered for emphasizing the maternal aspects of God, and for the theory that the Son of God became human in order to make the necessary payment for our sin.
The Greek word translated as doubt is misleading, it means unbelief. Jesus shows himself to Thomas counter his unbelief, and through that act calls all to believe by Thomas' witness which is the only time in the N.T. that we hear "MY LORD and MY GOD!" Anselm struggled as do we all, but understood that he needed God's help to understand the Truth of the Resurrection and all that it changed in human history.

04/09/2023

"CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA" Sunday at St. Marks Lutheran Church

St. Marks Lutheran Church

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