Proper 12, Year A, RCL, Track 2 Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Whether you are a gardener, a fisherman, or a baker; a collector of fine art or a bargain hunter; our set of parables today seem to have something for everyone. Since there are so many to choose from, it may be easy to pick out one of these parables that fits your imagine of the kingdom of heaven. Yet to choose just one would be like attempting to create a beautiful painting with only a single color. Today Jesus paints us a picture of the kingdom of heaven. It incorporates images from several other parables. And it is only when we combine all these bits and pieces, all the various colors in the palate together, that we be
Proper 11, Year A, RCL, Track 2 Isaiah 44:6-8, Psalm 86:11-17, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 It seems all too human to make judgments about others. We may see someone who appears to be poor and we think to ourselves that if they just worked harder they could do better. We may see someone asking for a handout on a street corner and think, how could they have let themselves get to such a state. We may meet someone who doesn’t speak English and wonder if they are here legally or not. Some of us may see a younger person and wonder why they are always on their phones; why they are less . . . less financially prudent, respectful, and loyal to their jobs. And when making a suggestion all
Proper 10, Year A, RCL, Track 2 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 Today Jesus tells us a story of a sower who is being very reckless. He scatters seed in an aimless, haphazard manner; on the sidewalks, in the flower bed, under the trees where nothing will ever grow. Some of it does eventually make its way to the beautifully fertile soil but not most of it. This reckless scattering seems like a waste of time, money, and energy. The people hearing this parable must wonder why the sower is not focused on that patch of land where we know the seed will grow. Now we know that this parable, like all parables, is not exactly what it seems and we can’t take it too literally. In Jesus’ explanation, we learn that h
Proper 9, Year A, RCL, Track 2 Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 We are fickle people who don’t really know what we want, Jesus says, like the children in the marketplace. We set expectations and when they are met we want something different. John the Baptist, for example, was not extravagant. He did not eat or drink in lavish ways. If we remember he ate wild honey and locust. He wore very modest clothing. His father was a priest and he was being raised as a priest. The people he would have associated with were likely honorable. Yet the leader and authorities, those of influence, didn’t listen to him. According to Jesus today, they said he was possessed by a demon. Jesus comes, with a
