Category Archives: Lectionary and sermon

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Jeremiah 1:4-10
  • Psalm 71:1-6
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Isaiah 58:9b-14
  • Psalm 103:1-8
• Second reading
  • Hebrews 12:18-29
• Gospel
  • Luke 13:10-17

The gospel from Luke:
Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?”

When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Sermon:
Pastor Stevensen told about how he took his two children when they were very young to the grocery store to return bottles and cans. The children inserted the cans and bottles and collected the deposits. The daughter when arriving back home would show how much they had earned. The child was focused on what she alone did. We go about the world in much the same way and play a small role. Jesus came to the synagogue and there was a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. Jesus had compassion and saw healing as freeing her from bondage. The leader of the synagogue was offended. He needed to keep order there and his basis for offending Jesus’ actions was that the Jews do not work on the Sabbath. He suffered from a small perspective and Jesus had a broad perspective. To Him the sabbath was a day of rest, but also healing and restoring. Our modern perspective also is narrow. We often feel that God cannot do anything, that we live in a world that is broken, for example in the Ukraine, that evil holds us in bondage, that evil runs wild and we cannot do much about it. When will God deliver us from evil? He sent his Son. Liberation is underway. . . . .

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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Isaiah 5:1-7
  • Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Jeremiah 23:23-29
  • Psalm 82
• Second reading
  • Hebrews 11:29-12:2
• Gospel
  • Luke 12:49-56

First reading from Jeremiah:
Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back–those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

The Psalm 82:
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.”
Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!

The gospel from Luke:
Jesus said “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!

Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens.

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Sermon:
Jeremiah is harsh at the end, where God askes “Is not my word like fire?”. The Psalm continues about the coming Judgment and the prophets who saw it coming. Pastor Stevensen begins with our natural impulses and tendencies and that a theme of the Judgment is unpopular. Nobody wants judgment on friends nor on themselves. Jesus said “I have baptism of firel” He sets off a chain of events and is caught up in these events. He would suffer. He knows that He is innocent, but He joins with the guilty and accepts the punishment. At great cost to himself Christ asked us also to be children of God.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
  • Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Genesis 15:1-6
  • Psalm 33:12-22
• Second reading
  • Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
• Gospel
  • Luke 12:32-40

The First Reading from Isaiah:
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation– I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The gospel from Luke:
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Sermon:
This Sunday, Pastor Stevensen based his sermon on the First Reading from Isaiah and the Gospel from Luke and the contrast between them.

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Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Hosea 11:1-11
  • Psalm 107:1-9, 43
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
  • Psalm 49:1-12
• Second reading
  • Colossians 3:1-11
• Gospel
  • Luke 12:13-21

The gospel from Luke:
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Sermon:
A professor at Luther Seminary in Minneapolis spoke at a funeral and was so saddened that when he went to a MacDonald’s for a hamburger he sat with a sad look until an old man in work clothing told him to cheer up. This week on his way to conduct a funeral, Pastor Stevensen was delayed by an accident that had occurred on the road, was reminded of the professor at the MacDonald’s and wondered where the nearest MacDonald’s was. But then he thought of all the volunteers at St John making preparations and so he knew that things would be okay. A Frenchman touring our country encountered many aid associations, of which there are more than there are in Europe. But the Progressive Movement here has reduced the need for them and their number is decreasing even today. Our church is an aid association. In today’s gospel reading Jesus is asked to be a judge. The rich man thought he could be a party animal, since he had done his life’s work. In Ecclesiastics and in Psalms we can read that the rich man’s responsibilities had just begun. In Jesus’ parable, God has a claim on us. The members of St John do a lot. The rich fool missed this chance.……… We need to participate in local communities and when we need it, receive aid ourselves.

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Hosea 1:2-10
  • Psalm 85
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Genesis 18:20-32
  • Psalm 138
• Second reading
  • Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)
• Gospel
  • Luke 11:1-13

The First Reading from Hosea:
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the LORD said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.” Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

The gospel from Luke:
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Sermon
In chapter 1 of Hosea, Hosea, a prophet, is told by God to marry Goma and they have three children. In chapter 2, Pastor Stevensen tells us that Hosea learns that Goma was not faithful. In chapter 3, Goma runs away and Hosea is told by God to buy her back. God is faithful but Israel is not, just as God brings back his people by the death of His Son. Our Lord’s Prayer is given in Matthew and with slightly different wording in Luke followed by a parable about the power of prayer. To ask for bread, search and you will find, knock and the door will open. Trust the Lord and be persistent in prayer. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask “give us this day our daily bread.” God is faithful. A hymn sings “God is thy faithfulness and trustworthiness.” Luther emphasized God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness repeatedly. The Christian faith is in His promises…………

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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Amos 8:1-12
  • Psalm 52
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Genesis 18:1-10a
  • Psalm 15
• Second reading
  • Colossians 1:15-28
• Gospel
  • Luke 10:38-42

The gospel from Luke:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.

But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Notes:
A short essay on the artistic and spiritual meaning of this artwork is available from The Visual Commentary on Scripture,   https://thevcs.org/jesus-visits-martha-and-mary/sibling-harmony.

Sermon
After conducting a memorial service the day before, Pastor Stevensen feels that the church is reaching out but people are not listening. Only at funerals, the bereaved families are interested in religion. There is a book about a mountain climber who was killed and a survivor just wanted someone to sit beside him. Pastor has two motivations for a funeral sermon. One is that the family has requested it. The other is that the family may follow with worship. To convince people to value prayer one can interest them with some history. The mother of the deceased, one of our members, Raymonde, wanted to know why her daughter had died and not her. Where is God? The epistle to the Galatians begins with doubt and question but ends with compassion. The hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness has an answer…………….

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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • Amos 7:7-17
  • Psalm 82
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Deuteronomy 30:9-14
  • Psalm 25:1-10
• Second reading
  • Colossians 1:1-14
• Gospel
  • Luke 10:25-37

The gospel from Luke:
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Sermon
Pastor Stevensen began his sermon on the Good Samaritan with a story about a Chicago lawyer outside on a city sidewalk having a heart attack. A black woman hails a cab, got him into it, and handed the driver some cash, thereby saving the lawyer’s life. The honor that anyone would feel toward the woman is an indication of the power of this week’s parable. A priest went by and a Levite went by. There is no surprise there. The surprise is that the man who stopped was not even an Israelite, but a Samaritan. The Israelites and the Samaritans were once one people but now the Samaritans were despised. The Samaritan is the hero of the story. Is that it? The New Testament is about Jesus Christ. We want to be good Samaritans, but are we? Does the Samaritan represent Jesus? Jesus may heal the man but pay the price. As Gregory the Great once wrote, the more one reads the scriptures the more one understands their meaning. As the victim in the parable, we could become stuck on the road. If we think about it, it may be Jesus who is the Good Samaritan.

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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • 2 Kings 5:1-14
  • Psalm 30
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Isaiah 66:10-14
  • Psalm 66:1-9
• Second reading
  • Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
• Gospel
  • Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

The gospel from Luke:
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Sermon
At a seminar, candidates for the ministry were each asked to write a sermon for the 4th of July Sunday. Such a sermon would have to do with freedom. So what is freedom’s relation to the Christian message? A University of Oklahoma professor wrote that freedom is unique to the Greek culture. The New Testament is the junction of two rivers coming from: Jerusalem and Athens. It was important to Paul. So freedom from what? We are given eternal life. We are not enslaved to sickness or death. Freedom means nothing controls you. The end of Paul’s letter to the Galatians has a fitting end. We are given freedom from sin and so are free. We do not enslave ourselves to vices. In Luke, Jesus sends out seventy disciples and tells them that the Kingdom of God, meaning Himself, is near. They come back saying that even demons submit to them. He Satan fall from Heaven. The seventy were an advanced guard that brought the idea of freedom. Satan’s grip was broken…….

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Third Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEE K

• First reading and Psalm
  • 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
  • Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
  • Psalm 16
• Second reading
  • Galatians 5:1, 13-25
• Gospel
  • Luke 9:51-62

The gospel from Luke:
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.

When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them.

Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Sermon
Pastor Stevensen told us that after being puzzled about our lectionary this week he now sees it in a new light. In the gospel reading Jesus comes on his final journey. The timing is the key to understanding. The Bible tells of many journeys. Here Jesus treads on a path of vulnerability. He calls on his disciples to follow his values and set aside those of society. Jesus sends a messenger ahead for lodging, but the people do not accept him. Jesus is a Jew and Jews are not welcomed by Samaritans. The disciples ask if fire should be called down upon them from heaven, just as in the Old Testament Elisha who preceded Elijah had called down fire to destroy Baal, but Jesus rebuked them. The Samaritans reject Jesus. The Jews will reject Jesus. Jesus asks the disciples to set it aside. It is a glimpse ahead. One person they meet says “I will go wherever you go” Jesus says “A fox has holes …. but he himself has no where to lay his head.” The story looks ahead. Will people like what they say? They are to forgive and tell God’s News……….

Second Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK

• First reading and Psalm
  • 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
  • Psalm 42 and 43
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Isaiah 65:1-9
  • Psalm 22:19-28
• Second reading
  • Galatians 3:23-29
• Gospel
  • Luke 8:26-39

The gospel from Luke:
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.

When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”– for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission, Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.

Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

*Notes: The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ project took nearly ten years to complete. When it was done, it chronicled the entire life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament in a series of 350 watercolors. To research the project Tissot traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in 1886–87, and again in 1890.

Sermon
Pastor Stevensen this Sunday admitted that the gospel reading this week can present some difficulty. A student class was once asked if they believe in angels. Most hands went up. When asked if they believe in demons, no hands went up, but neither would they say why. A modern view is that this reading has to do with animal cruelty. But this was not the case in Jesus’ time. So what is the benefit of the reading? Jesus had reason to go there. He was the undisputed master. He drove out demons. What is the purpose of this and the other miracles? It showed that God was present in Jesus. The miracles were like an afterthought. Jesus was God as man. The demons could not help themselves. Jesus parks them in the pigs. The proclamation goes forth in spite of the demons, in spite of evil. Is it not like the world today? Does it not depict 2022? The afflicted man was sent home to spread the news. Pastor continues in his sermon to tell us we are to go out into the world and do the same.