Claimed, gathered and sent

I had plans for this week. I knew who I was going to visit in the nursing home and hospital. I had plans for meetings. I was good to go. I had been sick, but felt like I could carefully dig back into the ministry of my internship.That was my plan. Then along came Wednesday night. I had seen the doctor during the day and we agreed I was making progress though I wasn't yet 100% better. All my plans went down the tubes as I had an asthma attack in the middle of the night. Rather than sleep, I coughed and wheezed and used my inhaler. It was scary and I was uncertain what else I should do. So much for my plans. This resonated so much with me as I read it. How about you?         Out of the Depths I Cry to You Out of the depths I cry to you; O Lord, now hear me calling. Incline your ear to my distress in spite of my rebelling. Do not regard my sinful deeds. Send me the grace my spirit needs; Without it I am nothing. All things you send are full of grace; you crown ou

This is the gospel text for the sermon I preached this morning at Grace Lutheran Church.              I have a story to tell you. It’s a true story about sheep and goats and a shepherd. In the 1980s I lived in Bethlehem, in the Holy Land. The sight of shepherds and their sheep was common in our neighborhood. From the balcony of my second floor apartment, I could look down into a field where one young shepherd boy frequently took his sheep and goats. This boy had formed a caring and playful relationship with his flock, with one of the goats in particular. If you watched them for any length of time on any given day, this is what you’d see—a miniature soccer game going on between the boy and one of the goats. The boy would throw or kick the ball to the goat and the goat would butt it back to him. This would continue for quite a while. This shepherd had a connection with his flock—sometimes dutiful, sometimes stern, and sometimes playful.             We often have our romantic notions