Uphill idealist

Sing First Verse of “When the Poor Ones” 1   When the poor ones, who have nothing, still are giving;      when the thirsty pass the cup, water to share;      when the wounded offer others strength and healing:   Refrain      We see God, here by our side, walking our way;           we see God, here by our side, walking our way   Late one night this week, I was thinking about the scriptures selected for today. These short, but powerful portions of  welcome from Jeremiah 28 and Matthew 10, rattled around in my mind – making it impossible for sleep to come. So, in the middle of the night I wrestled with the message of this scripture and noticed a bunch of cilantro that had arrived in a produce delivery earlier that day. As I got a closer look at the freshly cut sprigs of green – they were clean and dried off  - but wilting and scattered o...

If you received this summons – what would be your response? Call for Disciples: Looking for people willing to go where they are told to go, without a map or future notice. Be willing to help people that they do not know. Be able to travel light – no baggage allowed. This work is expansive, and the staff is small. Payment made in fish dinners. In today’s text we learn about Jesus and his summons of the disciples – a calling to take action in the name of God… Matthew 9:35-38 "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Today’s text gives us direction in the acti...

The world has a way of expressing things - feelings that we sometimes find difficult to express. There are things that rush around us - like strong wind.  There are distractions - unnecessary things that clutter the edges. There are moments of calm - light reflected - warmth. Where do you find yourself this day? What might we learn from the earth where we live?

We are are facing difficulty - but where do you find  encouragement to let your light shine? Ink and watercolor by T.L. Eastman 2020

Five years ago this Sunday, I gave a sermon on this text with the help of a visual aid: a door! I used a door – a real, full sized door and chalk to write down the things that the congregation feared. We literally wrote what we were afraid of on a door. And while I don’t have chalk or a door today for you to write on, we do have the ability to “write” in the comment section. “What are you afraid of?” And so, today – I return to the same question – in and amidst an extended Covid 19 “shelter in home”: “What are you afraid of?” If you feel you can, would your type, there? What thing or worry – keeps coming to the surface of your thoughts in these days? What fear seems to be taking up too much space in the rooms where you live right now? If you are willing – type these fears in the comment section below… or write them down on some paper at home. This gospel tells us a story about fear – the disciples are hiding away in a house because they were afraid. They had just...

Luke 24:1-12New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) The Resurrection of Jesus But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale,...