Everyday Lutherans

  Today within our Gospel, Jesus delivers to us another parable.  In this parable, Jesus talks about the seeds that sown by God and the seeds that are sown by the evil one.  Many of us know that there are good things and there are bad things in the world.  In this parable, Jesus is highlighting though just how intertwined things are within the world.  It is hard to make clear distinctions between what is evil and what is good.  Many of us have seen a field of corn, soybeans, sunflowers, cotton, or another crop.  Or for many of us even at our homes, we have a flower bed where we have flowers to make things look beautiful but in the midst of those flowers, we have unintended plants or weeds that grow there too.  Yet in the midst of that field or flowerbed, we will see the one weed that is growing in the acres.  We take note of what is different and are able to clearly identify but when the weeds and the crops are harder to distinguish, then we must go back to the sower, the planter of th

The parable of the sower is one that we have heard over and over again.  However, when we hear a word of scripture over again, it is one then that can really take root.  It is one that we can not only hear the message but then allow it to shape and form us into the message that Jesus is sharing with us as disciples.   Thankfully Jesus went so far as to clearly explain what it is this parable is all about.  However, one concern I think we all need to consider and answer honestly is what kind of soil is your heart and mind?  Now our immediate answer is “the good kind of course”.  Yet we need to also analyze our own thoughts and actions in the world to truly determine which kind of soil.  For you can not always just look and see but look to see if the plants are bearing fruit in order to determine if the soil is right for the plant.   When I was in seminary, I would continually ask different professors and Pastors.  How can I not become one of those priests or pastors?  I don’t want to le

  John came neither eating nor drinking and they said that he had a demon.  Jesus came into the world and they declared that he was eating and drinking with sinners.  That he was a glutton and drunkard.  People seem to often not be happy.  They are willing to place labels that are negative.  They will find something that they do not like and they will latch on to it and not seem to let it go.  I want you to think back in your life.  Has there been a time that others have judged you and you were labeled?  You were declared to be in this group of people, or worse yet, you were not part of any group at all.  More often than not, this is done within the high school.  For the first time in our life, we are surrounded by people who are like us and there is a large enough group that we are segmented off from others.  However, in this separation, we also forget and lose the fullness that a community of diversity can offer to us.  When we enter into that diversity, our hearts and minds are open

  Today within our gospel, Jesus raises the question of who are we welcoming and how are we welcoming them into our lives. Jesus goes even further and declares that another who welcomes you as a disciple of Jesus Christ, will also welcome Jesus, then they shall also be welcoming the Father in Heaven.  Jesus lays this out in how it is we are treating others but also too how others are treating us.   For many of us, we have heard the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would want to be treated.  So putting these two concepts and ideas together, we have an even greater understanding of what God is trying to teach us through this tangled webs of relationships.   Let’s start simple, You and Jesus.  This is a one to one relationship that Jesus was noting because he was standing right before the people whom he was talking, which includes YOU.  Within the Christian faith, we often talk about having a relationship with Jesus, in order to understand and know-how and where we are being called to s

  Today Jesus places before a challenging text to wrestle with and in light of the recent events of the world in which we are enduring a global pandemic and difficult discussions that are coming to the forefront of the nation. Jesus gives us a reminder of how to approach.   Jesus highlights the reminder that we are all made in the image of God and that no one is above one another.  We are in this together as a people of God.  Here at the solid foundation of the cross, We find the life-giving hope and promise that we return back to week after week.  The place where we all need to be reminded of, especially in the challenge of something that can take our life in an instance and when we are having difficult discussions that will change our own sights of who we are and what we are doing.   Jesus comforts the people and ourselves in reminding us that God will care for us with every fear that we bring to him but also and more importantly, everything that will attack the soul of who we are. 

  Today within our gospel, we hear of Jesus preparing the disciples to go out into the world. He goes to cities and villages where he would proclaim the good news.  He would cure diseases and restore people back into the community.  When he saw crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. This last line really stood out to me.  Turning on the evening news and hearing crowds of protesters who are longing to be heard and wanting a community where they can belong.  What is it that they are longing for?  They are longing for compassion and to be understood.  They are longing for people to recognize them and allow them to be part of the flock, part of the society once again.  So yes, when we hear of Jesus training disciples over two thousand years ago, he is still training us.  Preparing our hearts, our minds, and our lives to how it is we are reaching out and caring for those who are in need.  Jesus goes on to give the disciples