Preached on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10 A), July 12, 2026, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, Washington by The Reverend Samuel Torvend.
Isaiah 55:10-13
Psalm 65: (1-8), 9-14
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
Jesus Preaching on the Shores of the Sea of Galilee, by Abraham Willaerts
A few nights ago, my spouse and I watched the 2012 film, “Arbitrage,” a movie starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon – a movie in which Gere plays Robert Miller, the CEO of a Manhattan hedge fund, and Sarandon plays Ellen, his wife. [Spoiler alert!] As the film opens, Gere is on the verge of selling his company as he nears retirement; a company in which his daughter, Brooke, works as an accountant. What becomes apparent is this: the character played by Gere lives for one thing above all others, and that is the accumulation of wealth. “What makes you happiest in life?” asks a reporter. “Why, one thing,” says the CEO: “M-O-N-E-Y.” But, then, it becomes apparent that the CEO has engaged in fraud in order to sell his company. His daughter, the accountant, brings to his attention the fact that the firm’s financial books have been cooked – something he ignores to her consternation. He tells his wife and his adult children that he loves them and lives only for their welfare and yet we see that he has a much younger mistress named Julie upon whom he lavishes much wealth. While dozing off while driving Julie to an upstate cottage, his car slams into the railing, killing her, leading him to leave the scene of the accident in order to escape blame. He becomes desperate in his attempt to cover up his complicity in her death. And yet all of this – the fraud, the adultery, the lies, the evasion of responsibility – is treated as simply normal – as if such behavior is to be expected in the world in which we live, a world in which greed, lying, and unfaithfulness are ever present.
It is this world that St. Paul speaks of when he discusses sin and the flesh, as he does in today’s second reading from his letter to the Romans. That is, when Paul speaks of sin, he is not talking about infractions of law or cultural custom, but rather about an energy field that pervades all cultures, an energy field that can be quite attractive yet one which distorts human life. And when he mentions the flesh, he is not – he is not – speaking about the human body, one of God’s gifts, but rather about the ego: the ego that lives for the self alone as if to live only for oneself were something quite normal, indeed something to seek, to admire. And it is this striving for the self alone – “It’s all about me!” – that permeates the energy field into which you and I have been born. That is, to live in the flesh is to live in the small self, the “self” trapped by the self, the ego that sees only itself. And thus this energy field easily leads one to welcome only that which serves the self alone: a sense of superiority to others; blaming others for one’s mishaps; the lust for wealth; always needing to win.
Now, it’s not uncommon these days in some churches and in some communities to point to the current federal administration as a singular example of corruption, greed, and lying – and of its whole-hearted complicity in a narcissistic energy field. And perhaps there is truth in that claim. But to do so can lead us to imagine that the problem is “out there” and – if we only had another administration – all would be well. But Paul wants us to recognize that we are affected by this energy field that draws people into believing that they, that you and I, need nothing but the self – no real need for others much less for God – and that whatever serves the self – legal or illegal, ethical or unethical – is worthy of our attention and energy.
I have a university colleague who is quick to say, and say far too frequently in my hearing – “It’s All Good; It’s All Good” – as if life is really a breeze, as if all we need is a good dose of “positivity” and everything will be well. And yet I wonder: Is it all good for the immigrant or person with brown skin who is persecuted by agents of the state? Is it all good for the millions of people in our nation, caught in poverty, who cannot pay both medical bills and food bills? Is it really all good for the 20% of children in our state who live daily with food insecurity, not knowing if they will have any food tomorrow? Is it really all good for the environment that continues to suffer from human arrogance? Is it really all good for those who live daily with racial or gender injustices? Is it really all good for women who continue to earn less than men though they are equally or better qualified? Is it really all good for the majority of Americans – over 60% - who experience chronic loneliness and a sense of isolation?
In the midst of this not-so-good energy field and the temptation to care only for oneself, we are not alone, writes Paul. For there is another energy field available to us and the name of that energy is Jesus Christ, the One who divests himself of privilege, of being at the top, so to speak, in order to become one with us in his birth, public life, death, and resurrection. For you see, he does not ride above this world marked by outsized and even predatory egos to shower it with the fairy dust of “It’s All Good.” Rather he offers a far more life-giving yet challenging way of living, what Paul calls “walking in newness of life.” Well, that’s a lovely phrase, a compelling promise: to walk in newness of life. But what might that actually mean for you and me?
Paul writes that to “set one’s mind on the flesh is death,” that is, to live in the small world of one’s ego robs one of that essential dimension of life which is relationship. To set the mind on the Spirit, he writes, is to be guided by the Spirit’s energy which is filled with life and peace: peace with one’s limitations, with one’s losses, with one’s mortality; peace with others – even the troublesome others; and certainly, peace with God. Thus Paul, our patron, sets before us the opportunity to live as the children of God: not with aggressive competition in which someone always loses but with mutual responsibility; not blaming others for our mistakes but admitting them honestly and seeking forgiveness; not hoarding our gifts and talents as if we alone created them but rather using them for the good of others.
The truth of the matter is this: we can never fully escape or transcend the energy field of the small self who serves the self alone and yet we can live into that energy which frees us from the toxic individualism so alive in our culture. Indeed, we can taste that life-giving and soul-expanding energy on our lips as we receive the Body and the Blood of the One in whom your large and generous self comes to life.