The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
August 23, AD 2026

Pastor Andrew F. Weisner, Ph.D.
pastorweisner@gmail.com
Pastor, New Covenant Lutheran Church,
Morganton, North Carolina, USA
Faculty, North American Lutheran Seminary, USA

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St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 12.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

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Homily

       Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, my brothers and sisters in our human story: we are in the midst of a Divine Drama, the dramatic conclusion, the outcome of which, we already know. Indeed, we have been informed. Sometimes, in our day-to-day lives, it doesn’t feel like we know, or are certain of, the conclusion of our own stories. Sometimes, the conclusion, we forget; sometimes, the ultimate, triumphant dénouement of this story in which we are, we don’t believe, or we feel like we can’t believe it, because we don’t notice, or we ignore, the events that happen around us every day that point to (or more likely, reflect, like a mirror) the glorious conclusion of the story, the Divine Drama, toward which we are moving, which is sure to come. Or maybe we forget the guaranteed conclusion of the (our) Drama because we have pushed it aside as a story too good to be true.

         We are in the midst of a Divine Drama. The over-all grand scheme of the Drama, the story, has many ups-and-downs: tragedies and triumphs, joys and sorrows, stumbles and recoveries, separations and reconciliations, challenges and conquests, disappointments and delights. And so too, our lives, our individual roles and parts in this Drama, have many of the same ups-and-downs, tragedies and triumphs, etc. as the larger story.

         All brothers and sisters with me — that is, all of you — in this Divine Drama and very human story and story of all created things — such as deserts and volcanoes and oceans and mountains and all animals and all weather and storms: all of us, all things, are in the midst of this Divine Drama, the dramatic conclusion of which we already know. There are other similar stories, „top-seller“ stories in books called „masterpieces of story-telling and literature,“ stories of which  Hollywood and Disney and Universal make big-budgeted, big-marketed movies. A few examples of these are stories of Peter, Susan, Edmond, Lucy and Aslan (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe); Bilbo, Frodo and Gandalf (The Lord of the Rings); Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and Dumbledore (the Harry Potter series); Axel and Otto Lindenbrock and Hans Bjelke (Journey to the Center of the Earth); Luke, Hans, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars).  The „good and evil“ conflicts and ups-and-downs in the stories of these characters are actually true as they are images, reflections, of the Divine Drama, the story of which we, you and I and the rest of the world, are participants.

         This Divine Drama in which we are participants is a story that we (and literary critics) might describe as sometimes comedy, plenty of tragedy, even more triumph, and some would allege that it is „fairy tale“. Yet, in the case of our story, all of it is true.

         We are in the midst of a Divine Drama… the Author of which is the Almighty God, the God of the ancient Hebrew people „Israel,“ the Creator of all that is, seen and unseen. The only way that our stories – or any story at all – exists is because of this Author. And from the very outset of his writing, he knew, and gave hints of, the conclusion. Finally, there came a point in the story when the Author (as the saying goes) „let the cat out of the bag,“ and gave away before the end of the story what will be its conclusion.

         The central, primary player in this Drama is a certain Jewish carpenter from Nazareth in the Middle East (such an un-remarkable, inconspicuous figure, “a carpenter” from a tiny piece of land) in a time long ago. The Drama, the story, begins long before him, but he is the central figure. He – his life — informs us of the finale of the story… and it is: suffering and death, and then, new life, resurrection. So it was, and is, for him… and so it is, and shall be, for all of us.

         And what part do we play – what part can any player consciously know she or he is playing – in this Divine Drama? Our part is to be in support of („supporting roles“), and even to be like, the main character.

         And what are we to do in our supporting roles? One of the earliest players, who entered the story-line soon after the main character’s resurrection, we heard from today in a selection from one of his writings. He exhorts us: To present ourselves, our spirits and bodies, as a living sacrifice. As the lead player did, and (still) does, give himself as a sacrifice for others, so we too, in our roles are to give ourselves for the sake of others: to give ourselves to others, and for others, in love and commitment to serve and help and support them; and to spend our lives – perhaps even to sacrifice – our own desires, in service to others. The central player in the Grand Story that embraces all of humanity, all of history, this Divine Drama: giving, serving, sacrificing his life for others, is what he did.

         In the community called „the Church“ — another central figure in this Divine Drama, intimately related to the main character, Jesus from Nazareth — all of the scenes of this real-life, on-going story, especially the instances of „self-sacrifice“ and the Great sacrifice of the central figure, Jesus — deserve (and even require) conversation and explanation; these events are too precious, too rich, too reoccurring in our lives and the lives of others, not to be explored and better understood. The opportunity for these conversations and discussions and explorations of the various moments and parts of the long and magnificent story, (this opportunity) comes to us certainly every Sunday, and better when every day. Let us do this (i.e., engage in these discussions and explorations) during the coming year.

         In the meantime, we know the conclusion of the Divine Drama, the Grand Story in which we all are participants and supporting actors. In the Drama, all our stories, as the collective of humanity, and our individual stories, will include tragedies and triumphs, joys and sorrows, stumbles and recoveries, separations and reconciliations, challenges and conquests, disappointments and delights, and then suffering, and death. So it shall be for all of us, because so it was for the one in whose life we participate; the one for whom we are supporting actors; the one we try to emulate; the one whose life all of creation, and all good stories, reflects. And so it will be for all of us, as it was for him: suffering, and death, and then there will be new life, resurrection; there will be triumph, glorious victory, joy, fellowship, peace, and love. So it is and shall be for us all, because so it was and is for Jesus.