Pastor Don's Ponderings

 

Sometimes it seems that our American culture has become so obsessed with rooting out the worst seen in each other that we have lost our own sense of the good God has placed in each one of God's own children. It is as if the Kingdom can only be that which we approve it as being. When Jesus speaks in parables concerning the Kingdom of God in the Gospel according to Matthew, He teaches about the tiny mustard seed, the beautiful pearl, the hidden treasure, the yeast . . . and of a Sower who casts seeds about willy-nilly, and of a Landowner willing to allow the weeds to grow up along with the wheat until the day of harvest. In telling His parables, I wonder if Jesus ever took into account the possibility that the created would one day weary of searching for the plantings of the Creator? That rather than seek the mustard seed we would only be happy with the full-grown bush? That instead of treasuring the found pearl we would insist on the full jewelry store? That instead of committing ou...

Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: Go down to the potter’s house, and I’ll give you instructions about what to do there. So I went down to the potter’s house; he was working on the potter’s wheel.  But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him.  Then the Lord’s word came to me: House of Israel,  can’t I deal with you like this potter, declares the Lord?  Like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in mine, house of Israel! Jeremiah 18:1-6 CEB   The good news is this: We are in God’s hands. We may be cracked, flawed, weak, unprepared, seemingly unusable, unstable or even outright broken, yet we are still in God’s hands. I don’t know about you, but I am clinging to that good news with all my heart, mind and spirit!! Pulling down statues does not change history. Changing your heart and being molded by the Potter transforms the present and the future. Covid-19 exploits our weaknesses...

"The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," (I Cor. 12.29a NRSV) Watching teams of horses or mules work together fascinates me. Whether it is a team of Clydesdales plowing a field or the huge team of Clydesdales which pull the Anheuser Busch Wagon around Busch Stadium, whether it is a team of Belgiums pulling a corn picker in the Fall or Percherons pulling a hayfork up a barn, it never ceases to amaze me how they can work together - and work together with the person driving them. In musing over that thought, it occurs to me that we may have lost that notion in these days, with the animals we raise and train - and with the people standing right beside us: We all have to work together and have need of each other. Can you imagine how a field would be plowed if one of the horses told the other they weren't needed? Can you imagine where the horses would be if the person walking behind didn't hold and guide the plow? And, for that matter, where wo...

What appears below is my most recent 'Pastor Don's Corner' article in the St. Paul UCC newsletter, The Caller. I pray you find it helpful on the journey. Blessings of Health, Strength and Faith in all your pondering! Pastor Don’s Corner . . . 23  When Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.  24  A huge storm arose on the lake so that waves were sloshing over the boat. But Jesus was asleep.  25  They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, rescue us! We’re going to drown!” 26  He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you people of weak faith?” Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm. 27  The people were amazed and said, “What kind of person is this? Even the winds and the lake obey him!”   Matthew 8:23-27 CEB Today I am thinking of stories which make me smile – and this story makes me smile. Imagine, if you can, Jesus as a child playing with the lightning in the same way other chi...

Thousands upon thousands of dollars have already been spent on replacement parts and maintenance, hundreds upon hundreds of hours have already been spent repairing equipment and servicing the tractors which will pull the equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars of seed, fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides have been purchased and are waiting in the storehouses for use . . . and it continues to rain. You do not need a drone to check out the fields around here right now: They are wet. If you have ever wondered if people still pray, stand near a closed shed door with a farmer this time of year as another round of rain covers the earth. Oh, the rain may be pretty and the smell of a Spring rain may be absolutely intoxicating, but every thought, every word, which emanates from a farmer who is ready to start tillage and cannot because of rain is a prayer from their lips to God's ears.  Watch their eyes. They may look up as though checking the clouds but, truth be told, th...

Do you remember how deep and foreboding the woods could be at night? Or maybe even a single tree, just when the light from the crescent moon illuminated the branches from the odd angle? Do you recall the sound of the coyotes howling into the darkness far down the field? Or the sound of raccoons fighting for dominance in the creek bed? Can you feel the tingle run up your spine when it felt like a hot breath breathing down your neck from behind as you walked, then ran towards the house with only the light in the faraway windows to guide you home? Or the goose pimples which covered your body as the wind, before the night rain, swept you towards safety? The words, "Do not be afraid", are said to be in the Bible 365 times. Yet, there are times when the last thing I am hearing in my parental/pastoral ears is, "Do not be afraid". Maybe it is not so much now, now that the woods and I have become companions, the various night sounds of animals give me comfort and wi...