Homily, Shoulder to Shoulder
The Seventeenth Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 20A (2026)
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Psalm 145:1-8
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16
Think about the last time you were in the back seat of a car, squished together with your siblings or your friends on a trip, shoulders pressed against one another.
Or think about the last time you went on a stroll with a close friend around the path of a park, deep in conversation, your toes facing forward but your faces turned to one another as your shoulders move together in sync.
Or think about the last time you were at the airport with someone you love, sitting next to each other after a long flight delay, watching the people walk past, shoulders leaned up against one another.
Being shoulder to shoulder is an interesting posture. It’s sort of an intimate one, though not always. It’s one that signifies relationship or community or solidarity.
But it’s unique because whereas in the posture of hugging or kissing you are facing one another, giving all of your attention to another person, when you are shoulder to shoulder you are facing something else. Rather than attention being place upon the person you are beside, both of your attentions face forward in the direction that you are moving or observing.
In that way being shoulder to shoulder doesn’t just signify relationship, but shared experience. You witness something together. You travel somewhere together. You do something together. And your relationship grows not simply because you are turned in to one another, but because you share a common goal—a destination to which you are traveling as one.
It is this posture that St. Paul speaks about in his letter to the Philippians that we read this morning.
St. Paul writes from prison and deep suffering. In fact in this passage he ponders whether it would better for him to be put to death by the authorities or to go on living. He says, “Living is Christ, but dying is gain…I’m hard pressed between the two,”
And yet as he writes to his friends in Philippi, one thing brings him profound comfort and encouragement. He says, whether I am able to come see you again or not, “I know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.”
As Paul writes, you can hear in his words a profound love that he shares for the church in Philippi. He knows that his experience of suffering is shared, in some way, by their own experience of suffering. He knows that through it all they have a shared conviction. A shared attention. A shared destination. A shared goal in life—the gospel of Christ.
And it is that shared goal that joins them with one another, even in the midst of trial. What binds them together is not simply shared personalities or perspectives or backgrounds or even every belief (The Church in Philippi actually had quite a bit of diversity). What binds them together is a common goal: Living faithfully as followers of Christ.
And so Paul, suffering in prison, is strengthened by them, knowing that they are striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel side by side. Shoulder to shoulder.
A community is strengthened not because they hold everything in common. Not because they have no differences in belief and opinion. Not because they all enjoy the same things. A community is strengthened because they hold at least one thing in common—a shared goal. A destination to which they travel together side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Attention towards what’s ahead, but unity with who’s beside.
This month I’m preaching a series all about community. We’ve already heard about the role of conflict and differences in perspective in Christian community. Today, we’re thinking about sharing a commitment to walk together side by side for a common purpose. That that is a central part of being community.
Perhaps you, like St. Paul, are undergoing a great amount of suffering. Your life is bearing down on you and you’re not sure you have the strength to move forward. Or perhaps it’s not so much suffering as it is confusion. You’re just not sure about how things are going in your life. Things feel hectic and unfulfilling. Or maybe you’re just tired. No need to call it suffering or a loss of purpose, just tired.
The shoulders next to you (or behind you or in front of you) may just be the most important shoulders you need right now.
Often when we are in pain, or confusion, or exhaustion, we step back in isolation. We’d prefer to be alone, away from others and the world around us. And there are times when solitude is profoundly important. But more often, what is needed is not to be alone, but to be shoulder to shoulder.
Every week as the people of St. Peter’s we gather together shoulder to shoulder in our pews, each of us carrying our burdens, each of us being strengthen by one another, as we join together for a common purpose, to lift up our prayers as one.
Each week we come forward and stand around this altar, yes, with palms extended and eyes lifted up, but also shoulder to shoulder. Striving together as one.
And our strength and encouragement come not only from the sustenance that is placed in our hands, but in that we receive that sustenance together side by side.
And even when we experience turmoil, or disagreement, or disappointment with one another in the parish, each week when our shoulders come close to one another, we are reminded that what truly matters is our common love for Christ that we share with one another.
We are a shoulder to shoulder community. Moving forward together. Walking side by side with one another. That’s what really matters in community.
So where are you in life? What are you going through? What experience is weighing you down and what joy is lifting you up? And where are we as a parish? What challenges are we walking through? What opportunities are set before us? How will we get through them?
Look around you. The shoulders of your neighbor are right beside you. When you come forward for communion today, let them touch each other. For we are strengthen when we strive together, side by side, for the life-giving gospel of Christ as one. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- In what areas of my life am I experiencing a sense of isolation or struggle, and how can I reach out to others for support and companionship?
- Who are the individuals in my life that I can count on to stand shoulder to shoulder with me during challenging times, and how can I strengthen those relationships?
- What common goals or purposes do I share with my community or parish, and how can I actively contribute to that mission?
- How do I respond when faced with conflict or disagreement within my community, and what steps can I take to foster understanding and unity?
- In moments of joy or fulfillment, how can I ensure that I share and celebrate these experiences with others, reinforcing our bonds and collective journey?
