Matthew 14:13-21

One day in mid-March 2020, my husband came home with a 50-pound bag of oats. Connecticut was about to go into lockdown, and even though grocery stores were going to stay open it wasn’t exactly clear what the supply chain was going to look like. My husband figured, “at least we can eat oatmeal.”

Most people have similar stories of pandemic purchases. Was yours reams of toilet paper?  50 pounds of flour for sour dough baking? A case of canned goods? Perhaps it was hoarding, but we were just trying to be prepared to provide for our families in a situation beyond our control.

The crowds on hillside could not provide for themselves in our Gospel lesson today. Perhaps

Matthew 13:24-43  

What is your favorite tool for getting rid of weeds? Trowel, hoe, weedwhacker, Round Up? Anybody just leave the weeds? 

Well, that’s what the owner did in the parable in the Gospel lesson today. He planted good seed, but an enemy came and sowed all kinds of weeds. When the slaves asked if he wanted them to tear out the weeds, he said No. You might tear out the wheat along with the weeds. Better wait for harvest, and the reapers can separate the two. Maximize your crop. 

…except that weeds compete for soil, sun, and water. Crops can get overcome with weeds. I once had a trumpet vine from the neighbors which threatened to crowd out the raspberries that I had planted earlier that

Matthew 11

I am an amateur and slightly lazy gardener—I love perennials because they are low-care, and I love to see what vegetables I can grow in my less-than-perfect beds. The results generally are pretty modest, but given my effort, I am satisfied.

But the year my husband built me raised beds for vegetables was different. We filled it with a yard each of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. The first season was awesome—not only did the vegetables grow great in all that compost, but there were no weeds. I was so surprised! But I guess I shouldn’t have been, because most weeds come from seeds in the soil or from weeds moving in from an

Matthew 11

We Christians have some old stories. One of the oldest is about work in Genesis Chapter 2—

“Long ago, God made the man Adam and placed him in the garden ‘to till it and keep it.’ It was a place of abundance. Tilling was not hard in the place loaded with fruit trees. Adam and Eve knew the satisfaction of labor and the joy of a job well done without struggling for it.

“But when the man and the woman disobeyed God, they

Romans 6

Have you ever had an immersion experience? Mine was a month in Mexico, studying Spanish after my junior year in college. We went to language classes, learned about Mexican history and politics, and visited cultural sites. We lived with host families, shopped at the open market, and worshipped at the local cathedral. I even began dreaming in Spanish. It was an immersion experience into the life of the Mexican people, and it changed me – I experienced another way to live, and I appreciated the tenacity and

Matthew 9:35-10:8

 I once had a friend who made a habit of reading the first page and the last page of a mystery novel before reading the whole book. 

I thought that was a terrible idea – after all, the surprise would be destroyed, knowing “who dun it” before even starting! But my friend liked to see how all the pieces fit together, and he could do that easier when he knew the ending at the start.

Matthew 9

It was Saturday, the 29th of August 2021. I was in Columbus, cleaning out my parents’ house after moving them to senior living. I was relieved to have them moved; my dad’s cancer had returned during the pandemic, and my mom’s memory had declined significantly as well. I hoped they would have some good years there, but if their health failed, I knew the care they needed was in place. 

Two days earlier, I’d got a call

Matthew 28 

I was teaching a bible study on the sacraments, and I shared this passage from Matthew 28: 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations 

Baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit 

And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” 

I was going to talk about baptism, but a woman said, “I

It’s graduation season. Like many of you, two weeks ago I attended my son’s college graduation in Indiana. In the baccalaureate service and commencement ceremony we heard the usual things: congratulations on a job well done; stories of growth and achievement; encouragement for graduates to take on the challenges life has to offer. 

But it wasn’t until one of the student speakers stood up that we heard what