A few preliminary reflections on Matthew 14 and feeding 5000 people: Any busy, overwhelmed pastor and congregation can relate to this scripture passage. Like many pastors after Lent and Easter, the Lenten study series, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, the crowds and the energy output, Jesus tries to take a mini-vacation. He rents a boat, … Continue reading What Was Jesus Thinking about on that Boat?
Preached July 30, 2017 Matthew 13:31-33 I have preached on this passage many times and I realized this week that I have often missed the real point. This is a great passage to run out to the Indian grocer, buy some mustard seed for the children’s sermon, and talk about what a wondrous plant … Continue reading Put a Little More Mustard on it!
Preached on July 23, 2017 I learned more about weeds than I ever wanted to know growing up in Iowa. I walked the soybean fields pulling weeds as my summer job from age 13. A wise farmer taught me that all weeds were not the same and could not be destroyed in the same way. … Continue reading Jesus Knows His Weeds
Preached on July 16, 2017 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 My favorite part of gardening is putting seeds in the ground. Planting is the time of possibility, dreaming of a bountiful harvest. Winter is gone, warmer days beckon, and little green shoots are everywhere. I’m the same way about most projects, I love the brainstorming, creative work, … Continue reading Gardening is Harder than Sowing
Preached on May 28, 2017 John 17:1-11 In our Gospel reading, Jesus has been preaching a long time, from chapters 13 to 16, fully 15% of his life story from John’s perspective. Perhaps the disciples sighed with relief when he starts the pastoral prayer. Like many pastoral prayers, it is a summary of what went … Continue reading “From the Many, We Are One”
Sermon by Rev. Todd Weir May 21, 2017 John 14:15-21 I don’t like notification noises on my phone. I don’t need a train whistle with every email, or a “ka-ching” sound when someone messages me on Facebook. I just set my phone of vibrate, and have ringtones for close family. But this week was different. … Continue reading Take a Breath
A shepherd’s job is to care for the sheep. Psalm 23 gives us a good idea of the job description. “He maketh me lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters.” Sheep need food and a place to graze. Sheep need plenty of good clean water to survive. So a shepherd pays … Continue reading What Makes the Shepherd Good?
Sometimes hot tears need to flow down our cheeks, as our anger burns against the injustice of death, the killing of innocent people, against cruel and senseless violence. We need a good cry, the kind that soaks a box of tissues as we wipe away all the snot from our noses and we taste the salt on our lips. Whether my heart is broken by cancer claiming another person we love, or the crass celebration of “the mother of all bombs” as something good, sometimes we really should not be holding it together.
Two weeks ago, while leading a workshop at Super Saturday, and I noticed someone from my past. “Beverly?” She didn’t recognize me, which is not surprising since I was 26 at the time and looked 18, and she must now be 90. “You taught me how to do funerals,” I plunged ahead. My first funeral, … Continue reading John 11:17-44 “Where Have You Been, Jesus”
I began the week knowing that I would be preaching on love your neighbor, love your enemies, and turn the other cheek. Since Gandhi and Martin Luther King saw our Gospel text as a strategy for nonviolent resistance to injustice, I watched for examples. Last Saturday our Church Vision and Organization meeting moved because the … Continue reading Are There Exceptions to the Golden Rule?
With all my soul 