7th Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 10 - 07/16/2023

 Readings for today (Track 1).

‘In my mind’s eye, I see today’s gospel story unfolding on a nearby beach - maybe Golden Gardens or Lake Washington.  It’s a beautiful day like today.  Jesus goes out and sits beside the water to teach the people.  When the crowd gathered becomes unmanageable, he gets into a boat and moves a little offshore.  I think it’s actually Lake Washington, fewer waves and no current so the boat stays in one place.  Jesus sits in the boat, just far enough out so that everyone can see and hear him.  He begins to teach in parables.    

Today’s parable of the sower is the first of many we will hear from Matthew in the next few months.  Using parables, Jesus unpacks the depths and richness of the kingdom with metaphors that would be familiar to his audience: farming, animal husbandry, household chores, vineyards.  Each parable is like a seed, falling on the soil of our hearts and minds.

5th Sunday after Pentecost - 07/01/2023

Readings for today (Proper 8, Track 1)

As a parent, I cannot skip over the near-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis.  Reading this story several thousand years later, on the other side of the world, from a fully industrialized and city-centered life, this story is horrifying!  

3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 06/18/2023

Readings for today (Proper 6A, Track 1)

Have you ever received a gift you weren’t really sure you wanted?  A gift from someone you love and respect - and whom you think knows you pretty well - and you wonder how they could have picked this “unusual” thing for you.  And, of course, it came without a tag or a gift receipt – so you couldn’t just discreetly return it.

 

How did you react?  Did you fake loving it? Boldly ask what about it made them think of you? Or offer faint thanks while deciding in which closet to store it until the giver comes to visit?  And what about the gift that you can’t give away or hide?

2nd Sunday after Pentecost - 06/11/2023

Readings for today (Proper 5, Track 1)

What would Matthew’s story of Jesus walking along look like if we set it in our neighborhood, 7th-9th Avenues, between James and Madison?

In Matthew 9, Jesus is already well-known.  He has called the fishermen Peter and Andrew, and James and John; given the Sermon on the Mount; healed many people; stilled the stormy sea with a word; cast demons into a herd of pigs; and most recently healed a paralyzed man.  At this point, who hasn’t heard of him?

Trinity Sunday - 06/04/2023

Readings for today.

Good morning, Trinity family!  

I am so excited to welcome Easton and Charlotte into the body of Christ this morning!  As I met with their parents Matt and Kelsey and Rachael and Connor to prepare for today, we talked about their deepest desires for their children.  They shared things like:  happiness, strength of faith and morals, belief in themselves, a sense of unbounded possibility, love for themselves, agency and freedom to make their own decisions in life, a rich breadth of learning and experiences, a loving and supportive home and family. 

Through baptism, this Trinity community joins in supporting Rachael, Connor, Kelsey, and Matt as they, with God’s help, raise Easton and Charlotte to love God and all creation.  And speaking of baptism and water...

6th Sunday of Easter - 05/14/2023

 Readings for Today.

The 8:00AM service this morning started a few minutes late because at 7:55 we were calling 911 and administering Narcan to a neighbor on our front steps.  Fortunately, she was with a friend whom I noticed trying unsuccessfully to rouse her.  EMS arrived within minutes and she eventually got up and walked away.  

It was the first time I have ever administered Narcan and I was really glad for all the media coverage I have heard about it recently.  It was easy to use, and I have learned that if someone doesn’t need it it won’t hurt them.  And if they do, it can save their life.

5th Sunday of Easter - 05/07/2023

 Readings for Today.

Good morning, church!  It finally feels like spring!  Occasional sun breaks bring some much needed warmth, and send us Seattlites scrambling for sunscreen and hats.  Birds singing, pollen flying, azaleas and rhododendrons coming into full glory.  And the true meaning of ‘growing like a weed’ is evident before our very eyes!

What I love about spring, beyond the beauty of flowers and light for after-dinner walks, is the sense of renewal and rebirth.  Blinking at the bright sunlight, smelling the sweetness of cherry blossoms, anything is possible.  The unknowing, which seemed so ominous in the shorter, colder, darker days of winter, now feels hopeful.