Pastor Caitlin Trussell, Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver—August 30, 32026.

[sermon begins after two Bible readings]

Matthew 16:21-28

Romans 12:9-21

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Dolly Parton dazzled with both savvy wisdom and diamanté rhinestones while she crooned country songs backed up with business smarts. She said what she meant and she meant what she said. I admire her for a lot of reasons. Many of you probably could list a few of your own. I preached last fall about her Imagination Library that puts millions of free books in the hands of children to the tune of millions of dollars.[1] And one of my favorite all time movie lines is hers. “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion,” from Steel Magnolias.

When Dolly died last week, I was sad and I smiled. My first thought was that we lost a light. My second thought was that I felt similar emotions when Mr. Rogers died. Both Dolly and Mr. Rogers were famous people I never knew but had touched my life during rough patches. I couldn’t name it when I was younger, but I got that Dolly knew suffering deeply which is why her joy meant so much. Her joy had strength and grit. Her joy was hard won, in and after her own rough patches. She could hold both suffering and joy.

Holding both suffering and joy was Jesus’ invitation to his disciples. He told them that he was going to undergo great suffering, be killed AND BE RAISED. Peter was at the head of the class last week when he testified about Jesus. Now? Not so much. He appeals for Jesus’ safety. Who among us wouldn’t do the same for a friend? But in the temptation of Jesus way back in Matthew’s 4^th chapter, the invitation to Jesus to avoid his own suffering was deemed “satanic.” [2]  Hence, the name-calling here in the 16^th chapter. The cross talk is confusing. Jesus warns against self-preservation in the face of suffering as he tells his followers to “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow [him].” Jesus’ first disciples knew that crosses killed slaves and political rebels who defied Rome at their peril.[3]  They hadn’t seen crosses on top of church buildings or worn around people’s necks. Crosses didn’t become a Christian symbol until the 5^th century.[4]

Here, Jesus BEGAN to instruct his disciples’ about suffering and the cross. He knew his teaching about the cross would need some repetition. The cross of Christ isn’t something that’s easy to bear or to understand. We remind each other that the cross is the foundational story of our faith while spending a lifetime working out what it means, while our minds try to figure out the difference between divine and human things. This is the tricky part, isn’t it?

Divine things sound simple to figure out but we get them confused with human things all the time. For instance, denying self and picking up your cross does NOT mean forsaking your own wellbeing in persistent situations of abuse and violence.[5] Jesus doesn’t go to the cross to annihilate himself. Jesus goes to the cross as a consequence to the life he lived and the solidarity he showed.[6] Self-denial is an attribute of the Christian community who follow Jesus in seeing and acting on the image of God in each person, in taking risks to do so, and in facing the consequences of those risks with grace.

Congregationally, we try to discern together the difference between divine and human things. An imperfect system, yet somehow our collective wisdom across different points of view lands us in a new place. Arguably, our advocacy and legislative work on issues of human dignity holds a tension between divine and human things. We attempt to figure out which community partners we’re going to work with while working alongside those who face injustice from local and national challenges that deeply affect our neighbors next to us in the pews, in our city, in our country, and around the world.

Welcome 150 is another such thing. Celebrating this congregation’s 150^th anniversary of our founding in 2028 gives us chance to think beyond ourselves into a future some of us won’t live to see. Much like our ancestors in the faith who first gathered as this church and built one building, and then another building, and then this building, we are renewing this building as we learn to care for a building that’s more than 50 years old, and as we care for what we were given so that we can share it with others in welcome and grace. That’s down the road a piece but Welcome 150 is a way to say that this place matters as a place of Jesus, a place of grace, a place of welcome, a place of belonging, and a place for the community outside these walls. A place for people now and for generations to come.

That may be all well and good in theology and theory and our broader work in the world. But I’d like to drop us into what’s real for many of us right now, today, this week. Perhaps the world’s woes are more than overwhelming with the flash flood devastation for our human siblings in Nepal and Tibet; or the wars in Africa’s Sahel region, or in Iran, or Ukraine, or the Holy Land. Or perhaps physical or emotional pain makes it hard to see straight or to even get through the next minute. The 30,000-foot theological view can be too much and not enough. We hear the reassurance that Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross means that God knows suffering personally and suffers with us when we suffer, but the promise falls flat because the fatigue and challenges are too great.

Phew, thank God for Paul’s letter to the Roman church. Basic directions for the faithful are listed—no assembly required. Sometimes what we need is one simple tip that focuses us on making it through the day. Here’s a quick bullet point summary of Paul’s list:

Hold onto something good.

Show honor.

Welcome a stranger.

Serve.

Pray.

Be humble.

Feed an enemy.

Cry with someone who’s crying.

Laugh with someone who’s joyful.

Joy IS defiance in a culture that benefits from perpetuating fear, anger, hate, and division. Dolly doubled down when she was ridiculed for her big hair and sparkly clothes—her hair got bigger and her clothes got more sparkly. She embraced joy despite the suffering she endured and celebrated our shared humanity when life was painful. Dolly was a faithful saint no matter her fragility.

Faithful saints remain fragile sinners. No one is perfect. Hence that grace that Jesus so freely gives us and we are free to give ourselves and others even when it may seem risky. We are a congregation who celebrate God’s grace and one another, who find good in the world and who do good in the world. We are Jesus’ people who follow the One who makes us one. Thanks be to God and amen.

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[1] Hope Holds Laughter Through Tears and Hope Lives Here | Caitlin Trussell on November 9, 2025 at caitlintrussell.org.

[2] John Petty. Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28 on August 28, 2017 for Pentecost 13. http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Cody J. Sanders, Associate Professor of Congregational and Community Care and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Sermon Brainwave podcast for August 30, 2026. #1099: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 30, 2026 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary

[6] Matthew Skinner, Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Sermon Brainwave podcast for August 30, 2026. #1099: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 30, 2026 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary

Pastor Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on June 14, 2026

[sermon begins after two Bible readings]

Romans 5:1-8 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Matthew 9:35-10:14 Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
^10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. [⁹ Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹² As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³ If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.

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The positives about social media are rarely touted. That there’s anything to feel positive about is tough to imagine if you haven’t experienced it or you’ve experienced the opposite of it or you’re in recovery from addiction to it. Acknowledge that that’s a lot of “ifs,” humor me for a moment, if you would. Besides the fact that the socials connect me with childhood friends, extended family, and neighbors who don’t live on my street, the social medias give me ready access to my favorite cooks, artists, writers, comedians, professors, historians, and leadership experts. My Grandma Ruth, who was a librarian, would be stunned by the information at our fingertips. But what I find most amazing about the social medias is the human connections there, especially around health issues or grief and loss. I’m not talking about large scale events around the world. Our very human bodies aren’t designed to hold all the things all the time all at once.

I’m talking about when someone I know posts about the death of someone close to them, the compassion pouring towards them from the rest of us is immediate. Similarly, encouragement flies fast towards someone who is in the hospital or on the slow road of healing. Obviously, the encouragement isn’t sufficient to alleviate the suffering. But it is a human glimmer of hope as it can help people feel less alone. The social media example breaks down pretty quickly when it comes to biblical interpretation, just to say it out loud, but there is something to be said when we see support and encouragement play out in the world analogous to how we’re encouraged to be the church in the world.

As I preached last week, Jesus invited unlikely people to follow him. It’s no secret that God collects the unlikeliest people into God’s plan and sends them out to show love the world. It just surprises us when it happens. Today’s Bible story shows Jesus moved to compassion when he sees harassed and helpless crowds of people. He commissions his followers to heal the suffering that they see around them. The kingdom of heaven coming near brings practical help to hurting people. Jesus instructs his apostles to start with those closest to home, their fellow Jews. They already have a shared language and a shared God. They are a good place to start. As the apostles heal people, Jesus tells them to travel light and hold their message lightly when there’s resistance. Dust off your feet and keep moving, he tells them. Jesus prompts urgency because people are suffering.

Suffering cannot be compared. It’s a lot like beauty that way. What’s more beautiful—the fiery orange of a Colorado sunset or the riotous tumble of pink peonies? It’s a ridiculous question. Suffering is similar. Being with someone who is suffering for any reason is NOT a time to get into qualifying their experience, giving a different take on it, or redirecting them to someone else’s experience of suffering worse than they are. That stuff is the opposite of helpful. Being with someone who is suffering IS a time to listen and to wonder. It’s a time to share their burden by holding space for it without rushing to comfort. Sharing the burden lightens the suffering without imagining that it can be taken away.

Suffering is something the Apostle Paul seemed to deeply understand in his letter to the fledgling Roman church. How often do you suppose he cried out to God withOUT a pen in hand? It must have been a lot given his transformation from the one punishing the earliest Christians to the one being beaten, stoned, and imprisoned for his faith.[1] He knew suffering intimately to be able to write about suffering as he only he could. He knew suffering like a friend, just like he knew God as a friend.

If you would, open your worship bulletin to the Romans reading again. In verse 8, Paul connects God’s love to the cross. Love is the heart of the matter for Paul as he pivots into the next four chapters of his letter.[2] Now look at the end of verse 3 and follow along with me:

…affliction produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

The Apostle Paul is talking to all of us. One reason his words about affliction and suffering resonate so strongly is because he describes what he knows and what we know. He knows enough to be comforting. Comfort is no small thing. It’s not appeasement – meaning I’m not making you feel better so that I feel better. Comfort is deep knowing shared across our human experience. Most of us have experienced suffering and still we live on. Some of us live in the struggle but still we live. Paul’s account of moving from affliction to endurance to character to hope is a description not a strategy. He describes what we know by faith and experience about how suffering works. There are days in the midst of it that we wonder how it’s possible to make it through. Days in which we’re not sure who we are anymore. And then, in the body of Christ, the church, we’re reminded once again of the main things – God’s promises to us no matter what is happening.

Paul talks about affliction, endurance, character, and hope NOT as a way to redemption. We’re not better people because we suffer. We’re not made more pure because we suffer. Rather, sometimes we see more easily what’s most important when we are suffering. Paul alludes to it in Romans and later writes in Corinthians that the most important thing, the greatest thing, is love.[3] As much as Paul likes theology, he’s not solving a theological problem here, he’s encouraging the first century churches that God’s story is a love story. God’s love story about how God demonstrates God’s love for people through action, through Jesus’ self-sacrificing death on the cross. The cross defies explanation but insists that it reveals love.[4] Divine love. God’s love.

We’re at a time on the planet when the church is especially positioned to talk about being human and to simply be human together. Pope Leo just wrote a formal encyclical about the grandeur of being human and being human together in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Organizational thinkers are reflecting on our shared humanity and what it means to think and work together with A.I. and without it. Artists and musicians are creating purely human expressions of our experience—both the beauty and the pain of being human. Church is an inherently human experience encountering the divine.

Jesus connected his followers with each other, coached them, and sent them out to heal. As he prepared them to deal with conflict, he also gave them hope. Hope that healing was possible through their hands because they were sent by God who loves the world.

God’s love is known through action. For the church, we’re promised God’s action in Jesus. Jesus’ ministry of love and justice while he walked the earth. Jesus’ death on a cross revealing the depth of divine love. Jesus present in water, bread, and wine so that we become the mercy and love that we receive. God’s love certainly isn’t limited to God’s church, but we are commissioned into God’s work of love, of healing, of hope for the sake of the world. “Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Thanks be to God. And amen.

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[1] Acts 7 (when Paul was still Saul); Acts chapters 9, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, and 23.

[2] Matt Skinner, Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Sermon Brainwave Podcast #908: Third Sunday after Pentecost – June 18, 2023.

[3] 1 Corinthians 13:13

[4] Ibid., Skinner.