Pastor Don's Ponderings

 "Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and your visited me. . . . . I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me." Matthew 25.35-36, 40b CEB This is the parable by which Jesus completes the fifth and last major block of His teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. The first major teaching block in Matthew is known as the Sermon on the Mount and begins with Jesus addressing the crowds with what we now commonly call The Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . . " From the first teaching block to the last, from blessings to judgment on the lips of God's Son - and I am caused to ponder: Have you ever wond...

 "The desert and the dry land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the crocus . . . The will see the Lord's glory, the splendor of our God." Isaiah 35:1, 2c Most days, I have only to walk in the house and it becomes apparent that our good friend, Mellanie Portz, has been by. Usually the tell-tale sign is a flower from her garden in a simple bottle or small vase, sometimes it is something on which to nibble and yet at other times it is a mention of something which she has read and is recommending for us to consider. Always the gift. Always the smile. Always the thoughtfulness. This particular vestige of a recent visit was sitting on our counter when I arrived home after a long day at the office. Maybe I am deluding myself, but in my heart I believe that many folk imagine that Pastors just sit in their offices all day, read scripture, play their favorite music, consider the lilies of the valley, ponder the open tomb, then prepare for next Sunday inspir...

 "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Matthew 9:37 I was blessed to spend yesterday at the farm helping with harvest. As equipment changes and becomes more complex, so are reduced the number of farming operations I am prepared to step into on a moment's notice or on the chance day off from ministry. Hauling grain, either to the elevator or to the farm for storage, is something I still know how to do, so haul grain I did. Corn in the morning, soybeans in the afternoon. You couldn't ask for a better day. Late afternoon, as the sun was winding its way down towards the western horizon and the dust from the combine was hanging in that lazy lingering fashion like a shroud covering the land for a half mile or so, I caught this picture of my brother, Larry, as he was maneuvering the combine through the field. Less than one percent of the total American population is actively engaged in farming, an even lesser amount are on true family farms. Larry, along with...

 Looking at this picture of our granddaughter, Liza, and grandniece, Lily, it occurs to me that our culture spends far too much time insisting on giving children answers, rather than inviting them to imagine, inquire and explore. Maybe if we spent more time considering the place of the princess or prince in our life, and less time insisting that we be named king of all there is forevermore, we would find more joy and laughter in life and less stress on our heart. In these days of Covid-19, nearing elections, the causes of injustice and inequality in our world, and the general malaise concerning the care and welfare of anyone other than the person in the mirror, take a moment to step back from all of your pat and certain answers and watch a child at play . . . and learn. As much as most of us disdain the inevitable youngster's questions of, 'Why?' or 'How much longer?', perhaps it is time we look to our Parent God and, as the child, ask the question . . . then wait f...

 

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...