Isaiah 55:1-5 Matthew 14:13-21 It’s hard to know what there is new to say about this story which shows up in all four Gospels: a story which you and many of those who gather likely know by heart. It takes little to recall the energy of the massive crowd, the disciples’ frustration, the apparently meager …
God’s Unexpected Abundance
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 It seems to me that the stories Jesus tells today are offered to open up our hearts’ imaginations to see God at work in the world in unexpected and always abundant ways. Jesus does so by speaking of ordinary things: Like a tiny seed which grows into something tall and sturdy which …
Wheat and Weeds: Side by Side
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 If you are a child of the Midwest of a certain generation, you may have held a summer job like I did. This is how it was. When I was in high school for a couple of weeks of a couple of summers at just about this time of year, my sister …
The Extravagant Sower
Isaiah 55:10-13 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it…” Isaiah 55:11 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed… Other …
“Come To Me, All You That are Weary…”
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 I pulled up my chair at a meeting today next to a city leader the other day. In my defense, our time was short and the setting was less than ideal with others quickly arriving. Even so, unexpectedly he leaned in close and said to me, “What do you do when you …
Even a Cup of Cold Water…
Matthew 10:40-42 I am remembering this now how a good friend of mine tried to instill this kind of welcome in the workings of the Emergency Department which she directed. Again and again she would tell her young staff to treat everyone who came like they were their grandma. I can distinctly remember the joy …
“…And Those Who Lose Their Life For My Sake Will Find It…”
Matthew 10:24-39 On Friday afternoon I arrived at the wedding venue a little early and I found myself in conversation with the family friend who had come to do hair and make-up for the women and girls in the wedding party. Realizing I was a pastor, she made the connection between me and the recently …
The Harvest is Plentiful…
Matthew 9:35-10:8 It’s my observation that we are not accustomed to thinking of much of anything as ‘plentiful,’ these days — at least in our collective life in the church. At least not in terms of the things we long for or believe ourselves to need. This came home to me this last Friday morning. …
Jesus, a Grieving Dad, a Hemorrhaging Woman, and All of Us Who Have Ever Been Brought Low…
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 I have found myself struggling some as I paused with the familiar images before us now, especially that of the wondrous returning of life to a child who had died and healing to a woman who had suffered long and the sound of Jesus’ voice saying, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has …
The Face of God
Now this is so. I have never been one who knew too much of how to speak of the Holy Trinity. I expect my mind does not work naturally in such categories, with such systematic ways of thinking. More than this, and perhaps for this reason, I imagine, I have never found a good way …