forest hill Musings -- weekly reflections on Scripture
Musings -- weekly reflections on Scripture
I began writing these short essays for our weekly e-newsletter. They served two purposes: First, they gave me an initial run at the Scripture that I would be preaching on -- an opportunity to start thinking about the spiritual and life questions that the sermon might address. Second, they serve as advertising; an invitation to folks to join us on Sunday morning and see how my thinking has developed between the first take on my questions and the final sermon that gets delivered.
We've started collecting these at this website so that people who aren't already subscribed to our newsletter can get a sense of what's coming up in worship. Feel free to check back weekly to see the reflection for the week, or click here to subscribe to our email newsletter and have these delivered into your inbox every Friday
Rev. Stephen Fetter
July 27, 2025
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
“Asking and Receiving”
“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Luke 11:9)
It’s a lovely sentiment. It’s the sort of saying I want to post on my fridge door, so I can be reassured by it every time I’m hungry. A quick Google image search will display all sorts of memes with calm pictures and extravagant fonts. I could post a different version in every room of my house!
But is it true? Is that how the world works?
Does that ring true in your own experience?
July 13, 2025
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
“Our Favourite Parable”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is the most well-known parable in the Bible. Even people who’ve never darkened the door of a church know what a “Good Samaritan” is – though some of the nuances in Jesus’ story have been lost. In the secular world, a “Good Samaritan” is a person who goes above and beyond, at some personal cost, to help someone who’s in trouble. We even have “Good Samaritan laws” to protect people who inadvertently cause harm when they’re trying to respond to a crisis. And that’s a good thing! I want to live in a world where people are encouraged to be helpful, and not punished for stepping into the breach.
July 06, 2025
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
“The Price of Healing”
Out of the mists of time comes this Sunday’s dramatic miracle story about the healing of an enemy general.
This story has all the elements of a wonderful legend: the proud General whom everyone fears; the life-threatening illness that reminds us that even the powerful are subject to the laws of nature; the intervention by a humble slave girl and a miracle worker who won’t even deign to meet his patient in person. Healing happens when humility is served, and we’re left marvelling that a couple of “nobody’s” can make a difference when the wise fail.
June 29, 2025
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Celebration of Communion
"For Freedom ..."
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
(Galatians 5:1)
When you read that verse alone, without the context of the rest of the letter to the Galatians, it could mean almost anything. And indeed “freedom” has become such an important political buzz word in America that it’s hard to shift away from what it means in an activists’ chants. For the left, “freedom” in America has come to mean an end to domination by the wealthy white class that prevents people of colour from having the opportunities they deserve. For the right, “freedom” in America has come to mean an end to the government telling people what to do and what to think. The two camps talk past each other, both treasuring the word and yet expecting entirely different outcomes. Sometimes the conflict even gets violent – both sides appealing to this Bible verse; both sides accusing the other of oppression and lack of patriotism.
June 22, 2025
Second Sunday after Pentecost
"Advice to a Young Church"
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
It’s a pretty sweeping statement! But what exactly does it mean? Does it mean simply that God loves you, whether you’re a Jew or a Greek? Or does it mean that we shouldn’t treat one set of people as having more worth than the others, any more than God does?
In other words, is this just about how God treats us, or about how we ought to treat each other? The scholars don’t agree, and we can’t just reach out and ask the author what he meant! But given that big swatches of the letter to the Galatians are criticizing Paul’s opponents who insist that people have to become Jewish in order to be Christian, I’m siding with the scholars who think this ought to be as much about us as it is about God.
Read more: Musings June 22, 2025 -- "Advice to a Young Church"