Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the reflection sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . What are your thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 31 [Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”   33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”   44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.   45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.      

This is the reflection sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church regarding this Sunday's gospel. Any thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 24 [Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, b

This is the sermon I am preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Service. The text is Isaiah 55:10-13 The 6 th century BC prophet Isaiah, speaks to his people as a fellow exile. They are far from their home country of Judea, including Jerusalem and its environs. Some remember life there, while others only know life in Babylon. Jerusalem had been destroyed and few remained there. Babylon’s religion, language, and culture were different. They were aliens; there due to rebellion and disobedience to God. However, now this exile has done its work and it is time for the fulfillment of God’s promises. They will return to the land of their origin. God’s word has gone forth. We cannot depend upon much in life, least of all the weather. As we hear so often, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes and it will change.” Weather, however, is more dependable in the Holy Land. There’s the rainy season when it can also snow and the dry season. Even if dark clouds gath

This is the reflection on Sunday's first lesson that was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What are your thoughts? Isaiah 55:10-13 The Message 10-11 Just as rain and snow descend from the skies     and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,   producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth     not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do,     they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. 12-13  “So you’ll go out in joy,     you’ll be led into a whole and complete life. The mountains and hills will lead the parade,     bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession,     exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias,     no more thornbushes, but stately pines— Monuments to me, to God,     living and lasting evidence of God.” Isaiah is addressing the exi

This is the sermon I'll be preaching tomorrow at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In service. The gospel text is Matthew 10:40-42 . We have a reputation as a welcoming church and so we are. However, in these days of Coronavirus, we have to welcome differently. We cannot hug or shake hands with those with whom we do not live. We need to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet from others. As we wear masks, people cannot see if we are smiling or frowning. So, this leaves us in a quandary. How are we to be welcoming in these days, when physically distancing ourselves from others may be the most welcoming, loving thing we can do? Right out of the box, the basic theme of today’s gospel is obvious—welcome. Before these verses, Jesus was preparing his followers for what they may experience as they were sent out into the world; persecution. Here things have been flipped a bit with the emphasis more on the benefit to those welcoming the evangelists instead of what the sent ma

Here are some thoughts on Sunday's gospel. This was sent out to the people of S t. Timothy Lutheran Church, Bemus Point, NY. Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42 [Jesus said to the twelve:] 40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Yesterday, when Ray and I were reading from 30-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer , the book we’re reading for our Adult Study session, I came across these words that hit me like a ton of bricks. See what they say to you regarding this gospel passage. “The exclusion of the weak and insignificant, the seemingly useless people, from everyday Christian life

This is the sermon I preached today, 6/2120 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Service. If you would like to see the video of the sermon, it is here. The gospel text is Matthew 10:24-39.  Have no fear, little flock; have no fear, little flock, For the Father has chosen to give you the kingdom; Have no fear little flock (ELW 764). YouTube link Jesus says, “have no fear of them.” Who are the “them?” They are the religious leaders of the time that accused Jesus of healing and performing miracles by the power of the devil. They were the ones who persecuted Jesus and arranged for his crucifixion. Jesus is saying, “If they do this to me, they’ll do it to you.” At the time, the disciples didn’t really get what the future would hold. Do any of us? A year ago, could we have imagined months of quarantine or shortages of household supplies like toilet paper? Could we have imagined race riots like we had in the 1960s? “Have no fear of them.” Jesus is preparing h