Claimed, gathered and sent

  Here are some thoughts on this coming   Sunday’s gospel .  Gospel: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach at Bender's Lutheran Church . The scripture passage was Matthew 20:1-16 . It has been over a year since I've had the opportunity to be with these folks. Here is the sermon:             In this week’s gospel, Jesus is doing what he does best—turning everything upside down. Was there anything in the gospel that made you wonder—that puzzled you? I sure hope so. That is just what parables are supposed to do—catch us off guard—shock us—grab our attention.             In this reading, the surprises start right out of the gate. I find it curious that the landowner is the one who goes out to look for workers for the field. He has a manager who works for him because he is the one who pays the workers at the end of the day. Why didn’t he have his manager do the hiring?             ...