Sermons from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug 23, 2026 · 12 min · 6 segments
Sermons from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta
Aug 23, 2026 · 12 min · 6 segments
Some of you may have heard an ancient parable from India before, and it goes like this.
A group of men were blindfolded, and they were led together and quietly to an elephant.
And each one of the blindfolded men was taken to a different part of the elephant, one to the tail, one to a leg, one to an ear, one to the big trunk snout, and one to the tusks.
And they were taken there quietly and in given time.
And each one was certain that he knew exactly what he was dealing with.
The one touching the tail said, oh, this is certainly a whip.
The one hugging a giant elephant leg said, this is no doubt a tree.
The one holding a big ear said, this is some sort of tropical plant with a giant leaf.
The one holding the big trunk snout said, certainly this is a snake.
And the one touching the big tusks says, no, oh, this is a spear.
And each one with complete certainty said, went back together certain that they knew exactly what they were dealing with in our gospel lesson this day jesus says to the disciples who do people say that i am who do people say that i am and the disciples say well some say john the baptist others say elijah some say you are jeremiah or one of the other prophets Now, usually the disciples are the comedic relief.
They usually get everything wrong.
They usually get everything wrong as a teaching point for us.
But this is a rare occasion when the disciples seem to be on to the right path.
The disciples are remembering what is the truth of our physical existence.
God gave us two ears.
And one mouth, which means we should listen at least twice as much as we talk.
And it's so clear for a change that the disciples are listening.
Jesus says, who do people say that I am? And the disciples have actually been listening, paying attention, considering the perspectives, the voices of others.
Another disciple says, I've been listening and talking to a group that say Elijah.
And another says, I've been listening and talking to a group, and they say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
They were listening.
They were listening.
Some of you may have heard an ancient parable from India before, and it goes like this.
A group of men were blindfolded, and they were led together and quietly to an elephant.
And each one of the blindfolded men was taken to a different part of the elephant, one to the tail, one to a leg, one to an ear, one to the big trunk snout, and one to the tusks.
And they were taken there quietly and in given time.
And each one was certain that he knew exactly what he was dealing with.
The one touching the tail said, oh, this is certainly a whip.
The one hugging a giant elephant leg said, this is no doubt a tree.
The one holding a big ear said, this is some sort of tropical plant with a giant leaf.
The one holding the big trunk snout said, certainly this is a snake.
And the one touching the big tusks says, no, oh, this is a spear.
And each one with complete certainty said, went back together certain that they knew exactly what they were dealing with in our gospel lesson this day jesus says to the disciples who do people say that i am who do people say that i am and the disciples say well some say john the baptist others say elijah some say you are jeremiah or one of the other prophets Now, usually the disciples are the comedic relief.
They usually get everything wrong.
They usually get everything wrong as a teaching point for us.
But this is a rare occasion when the disciples seem to be on to the right path.
The disciples are remembering what is the truth of our physical existence.
God gave us two ears.
And one mouth, which means we should listen at least twice as much as we talk.
And it's so clear for a change that the disciples are listening.
Jesus says, who do people say that I am? And the disciples have actually been listening, paying attention, considering the perspectives, the voices of others.
Another disciple says, I've been listening and talking to a group that say Elijah.
And another says, I've been listening and talking to a group, and they say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
They were listening.
They were listening.
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