Grow in Grace
Proper 7
Fr. Tim Nunez
June 21, 2026
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
We had a wonderful Vacation Bible School this past week. We had over thirty children participate. That included almost all of our congregation’s children who were in town, plus a number of friends and other kids from the community. We also had a large number of middle and high school youth volunteer to help and of course a strong group of volunteers. We must thank co-leaders Amy Gammons and Meghan McLaughlin who led it all wonderfully.
On Thursday, our theme was “God is Love”, and we talked about how God’s greatest demonstration of love is Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins, and was raised from the dead for our salvation. That is what theologians refer to as, “The Big Enchilada.” It is the core of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We teach it again and again with the hope and expectation that it will sink into the very foundations of who these kids are. God loves you. God saved you. God will never let you go. If the kids remember nothing else from this week, we hope and pray they will never forget that.
It is a true joy to hear a group of five and six-year-olds articulate that. They already know it, to the extent their young minds can grasp such words and their meaning. Their family structure assumes church on Sundays, if not always then regularly, or at least when they are scheduled to acolyte.
As children grow, they grasp more of it, but challenges arise as well. They get involved with other interests and activities. They learn to drive. They get jobs. Eventually (hopefully) they leave the nest, but even if they do stay at home longer as adults, they are becoming their own person. In that sixteen to mid-twenties range, the Church loses about sixty percent of its young adults. There are a number of reasons for that, and we’ll focus on just a couple.
One problem that can arise is that the picture of Jesus they formed in Sunday School and VBS is child-sized and doesn’t appear to stand up very well as we grow more aware about the realities of suffering in this world, the breadth of beliefs people have (or don’t) and the empirical reliability of science.
If one’s theological studies keep up with math, science, social studies and your growing awareness of everything else, there is no problem at all. Theology actually ties it all together. Faith should grow as life continues to grow.
Another problem is a more subtle snare of our own creation. God is love. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, and was raised from the dead. We teach that over and over, again and again, using repetition and every example and every analogy we can think of to make sure everyone knows and no one forgets that Big Enchilada. God loves you. God saved you. God will never let you go.
Applying that to the complex realities of life is endlessly interesting. But the snare is this: “God loves me. God saved me. God will never let me go.” We can think, “So, I’m ok. I can believe. I can be a reasonably good person, whatever that means. God won’t let me go, so no worries. Relax!” Sometimes people forget that the Gospel is not only that Jesus died for us. He calls us to new life.
Paul’s answer in today’s passage from Romans (Romans 6:1-11) is “By no means!” No! Not ever! When we are baptized into Christ’s body, the Church, we are baptized into his death, death to the sinful ways of life which, by the way, come quite naturally to us. This is articulated quite clearly in our first three baptismal questions (page 302):
Question
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces
of wickedness that rebel against God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Question
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world
which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Question
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you
from the love of God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Likewise, having been united with him in his death to sin, we are united to his resurrection. That doesn’t just mean we get to enjoy life after death, it means we do our best to live that resurrected life day by day, as Paul puts it, “… so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Question
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Answer
I do.
Question
Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Answer
I do.
Question
Do you promise to follow and obey him as your
Lord?
Answer
I do.
So consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.
This morning we have a very special opportunity to welcome little Star, who is eight months old, into Christ’s body, the Church. What a blessing on Father’s Day. Star’s grandfather is Tom Sloane, whom you would normally see in the choir. Her father’s name is Joshua.
This little girl has rocked Joshua’s world. He has been smitten with love that he could not have imagined before she arrived, and love is a tremendous motivator. He will do everything he can to help her grow and prosper in life, and he will watch over her and would fiercely protect her if necessary. His love, along with the love of her mother and the rest of the family, will shape Star and we pray every blessing for her.
His name is fitting for that job description. Joshua means, “the Lord is salvation.” The Greek form of Joshua is Jesus. Jesus died so that we could be freed from the life of sin and turn toward his life of grace. Joshua, remember your name points beyond you to the One who ultimately saves.
In a few moments we will promise to do everything in our power to support Star in her life in Christ. Her promises are our promises. God is starting new life with her. He has not finished with us either. He calls us all to grow, to repent, to trust, to serve, to walk in newness of life. Don’t settle for less. Look at this child and remember: you, too, are God's beloved child. You, too, have been claimed by Christ. You, too, are called to grow up into the full stature of Christ.
AMEN!