Pentecost 7, July 19, 2020

The are some of us here today, I’d say most of us, who may look back in our past – sometime in our youth – and recall some reckless and irresponsible behavior on our part – before our adult brains were fully developed –while we were still “in process.”  We usually refer to these sins of our youth as “sowing wild oats.”

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Pentecost 6, July 12, 2020

My daughter Leah did a little planting project this spring. It was kind of a pandemic thing. She took all kinds of tiny vegetable seeds and very carefully planted them in these little dirt cups she had prepared.  And as they grew she would thin out the tender shoots to help them grow bigger and stronger. Eventually, when they got big enough, she took them and planted them in a little raised bed in the backyard. And when we got all done our backyard neighbor looked at all those carefully planted seedlings and said, “you know the rabbits are gonna eat those, right?”  So we got some chicken wire to put around the raised bed to prevent the rabbits from getting them and now they’re growing big and strong and they have produced all kinds of delicious produce.

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Pentecost 5, July 5, 2020

For over 130 years, the Statue of Liberty has been a symbol of freedom especially for immigrants who came to America’s shores searching for freedom and opportunity.  The Statue of Liberty stands in the New York harbor welcoming those who come to this nation longing to throw off the shackles of persecution and oppression to live in a free land.  Inscribed on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue are the words of poet Emma Lazarus:

 

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Pentecost 4, June 28, 2020

We are dealing with big things right now.  Global things.  Systemic things.  It feels like these things are so beyond our ability to do anything about.  Public health, economic downturn, racial inequities, political polarization – these all require BIG responses.

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