Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

preaching commentary

A Tough Way to Start Ministry

You don’t have to spend much time on Twitter or Facebook to be reminded that schadenfreude (taking joy from another's misfortune) is alive and well. Depending on whose downfall or misfortune is in view, you might not even have to log on anywhere, finding globs of glee bubbling up in your own heart. Some of this is to be expected in our present political climate, where the fall of an ideological opponent can make it seem as though your own view is inching closer to an elusive vindication (and it doesn’t help that many conspiracy theories and irrational views currently have large followings). So the antivaxxer gets sick. The smug politician is proven to be a…