A sermon for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 10
July 13, 2025, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, AR
Readings: Luke 10:25-37
Cindy and Charlie were innkeepers. They didn’t know it, but they were. Friends from church, they were in my life as a child, from around age 7 when my single mother started going back to school until around age 12 when they moved to Oklahoma. But for those years they were innkeepers to my brother and me. We spent as much time with them–maybe more time–than we did at our own home while mom was in nursing school. When mom couldn’t be there, Cindy stepped in. She picked us up from school, made us breakfast burritos and dinners galore, let us help make banana pudding. She was the one who told me it was high time to start wearing deodorant. And because mom hadn’t met the man I call my dad yet, Charlie stepped in more than once, helping me make my pinewood derby car for Cub Scouts, or going to the dad-and-son events at school. He taught me how to operate a lawn mower, and how to rake leaves. That’s what the innkeepers do–they step into lives for a time. They bring their ministries of healing to the wounded, providing love and support. They may not know it, but they do the work of Jesus. That was Cindy and Charlie.
Continue reading “The Innkeepers”
Storied Grace 