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The Road No One Wants To Travel

Sermon
Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - A
Matthew 16:21-28
Wayne Brouwer
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Some time ago, I was riding a train through central England and a man boarded at one of the stops. As he looked for a seat, he saw my face and beamed at me with great joy. "Hi, Will!" he said brightly, in a wonderful British accent.

Unfortunately, I'm not Will. When he sat next to me and I opened my mouth to protest his mistaken notion of who I was, my flat American English paved the way for his embarrassment. Obviously, I was not the person he expected. Nevertheless, we got along "brilliantly," as the British put it, and I am no longer either Will or a stranger to the man.
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