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Wednesday Chapel: “Good Fruit”, National Cathedral

For chapel today we are looking back at a morning prayer service from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. from June 23, 2021. It’s a timely message and one that is good to hear anytime. Rev. Duncan encourages us to bear Good Fruit!  Below the video are some thoughts and questions for reflection or discussion.

The Text for the message is:

Matthew 7:15-20

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Some thoughts and questions for reflection:

  • The world is complicated. Sometimes it is hard to know what to believe and who to trust. The text from Matthew that is discussed suggests that looking at results of peoples words and actions will truly show their character.
    1. Can you think of a time when you were not sure if you should trust someone?
    2. Have you ever trusted the wrong person? How did you find out it was a mistake?
    3. What about those times where it worked out good. How did you realize your trust was well placed.
  • The second line of reflection is given really clearly right at the end of Rev. Duncan’s message. Everyone wants to say they are a good person, and be thought of that way. But do we act in ways that show we are good and trustworthy? She suggests that we all need to look in the mirror and “check our fruit”. She suggests these questions and they are good questions for reflection and discussion:

    1. In what areas of my life am I basically a good tree? (what is something good you have done lately?)
    2. Am I a “tree” that strives to produce good fruit? (How hard do I really try to do good things for others and myself?)
    3. Where in my life am I struggling to produce good fruit? (What are the ways I usually mess up and don’t do good things? Are there patterns? How can I improve?)
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“You Are Amazing!” Chapel Worship, March 23, 2022

Did you know you are amazing? God thinks so. Today’s message looks at two short parables of Jesus that show us just how amazing God thinks we are.

(note: We had a long prelude time in this live stream. I’ve trimmed the video in YouTube, but that takes a while for them to complete that edit. So, if the video does not start right away at the beginning of the service, you can skip ahead to 8:14 in the video to the start of the service itself.)

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“Lent is About Mercy, Not Sacrifice” From the National Cathedral

This is a service of morning prayer from the National Cathedral on March 4, 2022. Rev. Patrick Keyser gives a brief, yet excellent message that can serve as good reminder for us as we continue our Lenten journey. Lent is NOT meant to make us feel bad or to just keep being reminded that we are sinners. It is to remind us to be merciful and compassionate towards one another. Some suggestions for conversation and reflection are below the video.

Discussion and Reflection Ideas

Lent is About Mercy, Not Sacrifice

This is a great brief service about what Lent is NOT. It gives us a chance to pause and remember the true meaning of the Lenten season: Lent is about God’s mercy and forgiveness towards us. It is not a season to feel bad and guilty, but to celebrate and share love.  

Te text discussed in the service is, Matthew 9:10-17 (New Revised Standard Version).

10 And as [Jesus] sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

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For both discussion ideas below, the key verse is Matthew 10:13 (in Italic in the text above) “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  

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Discussion ideas:

1) What does mercy mean to you?

( From Merriam-Webster; Some common synonyms of mercy are charity, clemency, grace, and leniency. While all these words mean “a disposition to show kindness or compassion,” mercy implies compassion that forbears punishing even when justice demands it.)

      How can we show these qualities of mercy to others?

2) What’s Fasting/giving things up for Lent really for?

How does giving something up for Lent help you?

Does it help you be more Compassionate?

Remember: The fast, giving things up, can help remind us about people who are suffering and in need. It can help remind us to be charitable toward others.

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