From The Pulpit To The Streets (stdavidsacna)

The wheat and the tares grow up together,Though it could hardly be saidThat they are “birds of a feather.”-Mary T. Hoffman Wheat and TaresIn this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus employs another parable to teach us. It is a story that his immediate audience–many of whom were farmers themselves–would have understood quite well. Tares were one of the curses against which a farmer had to toil.Tares are weeds. In the early days it is quite impossible to tell them apart from the wheat. When both had grown a little, the farmer can distinguish them but by this time their roots are so intertwined that the tares cannot be weeded out without destroying some of the wheat.

Hearers and DoersFather of mercies, we have needOf thy preparing grace;Let the same hand that gives the seedProvide a fruitful place.- William CowperIn this Sunday's Gospel, we read the Parable of the Sower. In this Parable, four different types of grounds receive the seed but not all respond alike.

In Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 10:34-42), Jesus reminds us that following him, sincerely following him, does make demands of our time, attention, energy and devotion. It makes the hard demand of utmost loyalty and allegiance. The reading jolts us from the lazy, lukewarm expectation that the life is a bed of roses. History has proven that life for the disciples of Christ is all but a bed of roses.

In the Matthew 10 directive, Jesus foreshadows that His followers in centuries to follow will proclaim the Gospel in word and deed to the nations of the world. The mission of Jesus expands to the Gentiles in the Book of Acts and continues to this day because there are lost sheep in every town, city and nation who need to hear and come to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity! - Reginald Heber Holy Trinity SundayOn Sunday, June 15, the church commemorates the Holy Trinity. Belief in the Holy Trinity is foundational to Christianity, and it is in the name of the Holy Trinity that every Christian is baptized.

Empowered by the Holy SpiritFifty days after the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we celebrate Pentecost. On this day, we seek the presence of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised in John 14, the mission and empowerment for ministry which Jesus commanded in Acts 1 and 2 and the Gifts of the Spirit which the Apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 12.

In Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, we can hear and experience Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. This prayer is a conversation framed by love. Jesus’ love for the Father and His followers. If we count ourselves among His followers, we know that we belong to the Father, and that He cares for us.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, not only do we hear Jesus say that He is the vine, but also that we are the branches. Through this powerful image, Christ shows us that we can reflect the love of God only if we are intimately connected to the Vine, even Jesus Christ our Lord. The richness of our relationship with God will be evident in the lives we live and the love we share.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praises her:(The Bible, Proverbs 31:28)