(Jesus) said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’  Mark 6:31a

We read this portion of Mark’s gospel recently in worship, but it continues to come back to me throughout this summer.  This is the theme for the week’s Bible study and worship at Sugar Creek this summer, and I am very thankful for the opportunities that our ministry through Sugar Creek is providing for so many young people to “Come away with Jesus” this summer.  I am also thankful to so many of you who have supported this ministry with you contributions and volunteer efforts.  As Garrison Keillor is fond of saying:  “Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.”, but especially providing an opportunity to experience God’s love through camping ministry is a great gift for many.

All of us need that time for rest and renewal that Jesus invites his disciples to share, even if we don’t travel far.  It is wonderful just to be here during these summer days.  Watching the people wander the Art Fair and the Kaffe Stua, enjoying the music in the park on Wednesday evenings, or just lingering over coffee on the back patio during a summer morning, there is a time to give thanks for a change of pace and a beautiful place to live.

But you know the story, the time away is not a destination, only a respite along the way.  We are called to come away, but we are also called to go into the world, to make disciples, teach, heal, feed, build up, reconcile, and show compassion, all in the name of the one who has blessed us so richly.  I pray that each of you will find the blessings that surround you this day, and then find a way to share those blessings with your neighbors near and far.

From the Pastor

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 (RSV)

When preaching on the parable of the mustard seed last Sunday, one of the stories that I told was the true tale of “The Man Who Planted Trees”.  This story from France tells how each morning this single man would get up and carefully plant one hundred acorns.  By his faithful labor over many years the landscape was transformed from dry desolation, to a place of new life and growth.  Much in the same way Jesus told how the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, starting very small but transforming its place.

As I reflect on “The Man Who Planted Trees”, along with other of Jesus’ parables, I’m also reminded that not only the kingdom sometimes come slowly, it also comes with many not so successful plantings.   The man who planted trees figured that only one of ten acorns planted would become a tree.  Jesus talks about seed scattered on both good and bad soil, and only some of them growing.

It makes we wonder, what marks will the world show of our ministry together here?  It is also a reminder that our task is to faithfully be about the work of planting seeds of love, mercy, kindness, and hope.  We shouldn’t be surprised that not everything works like we imagine.  Kingdom growth takes time, patience, and persistence, but it does happen, because the one who call us to this work is faithful.  So thank you for your time, patience and persistence.  Never quit trying good things, sharing new ideas, and doing compassionate works, and never fear, for God will provide the power to change the world around us.

Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

From the Pastor

“O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!”  Psalm 98:1a (RSV)

We’ve just celebrated “Worship through Music” Sunday, and I’m always so thankful for the musical gifts that are shared in the people of this congregation and I’m especially grateful for the leadership of Diane Dangerfield, Gary Doty, and all those who bring the best out of others in praise of God.

It is a good thing to sing songs of praise, not because somehow God needs our praise.  I don’t believe God’s self-image is in need of reinforcement.  God is not like the small child whom we praise for his or her accomplishments.  Rather our words, prayers, and songs of praise serve better purposes.

First, praise is our best counter to darkness, evil and self-centeredness in this world.  When you are caught up in praise you are drawn toward God and away from lesser concerns and troubles.  When we turn our minds, words and voices toward the Lord, we realize that we are not in charge, and that there is power far greater than the world.

Also, when we praise God with give testimony to others.  That is part of the purpose of gathering for worship.  We are there for each other, and our presence, our voice, our songs of praise bear witness to the good things God is doing in our lives, and in our world.

Finally, we are challenged by the distractions of the world around us every day.  There are many other songs being sung.  Some of those alternatives are attractive, and it is easy for church people to complain about how others wander away.  But complaint is seldom helpful.  It’s not helpful to belittle other’s choices, we simply need to sing a better song.  Other answers are attractive, but are they sufficient for life?  We need to sing the praise of the one who is always there for us, always ready to love, forgive, and bless.  We need to bear testimony with our presence, but much more with our joy in the one who comes to save us.  “O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”

From the Pastor

The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.   The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.  The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.  The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:8-9; 14-18

There are many promises in this short piece of Psalm 145:  The Lord is good, compassionate, just, kind, loving, and near to us.  The writer pours out those words of promise, but in the midst is the reminder:  “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.”

That phrase, “in due season”, caught my attention as I read it again.  Perhaps, because as I write this the snow is falling once again, I feel anxious about the season.  I think we all get impatient.  We get ahead of ourselves and worry about things that haven’t happened yet, and may never occur.

Faith, at its very heart, is the trust that the Lord is ultimately the one who holds our future.  Instead of anxiety about what might be, perhaps we need to focus again on the things we know.  The Lord is gracious and merciful, good, just, kind, and loving.  Jesus, our Savior, has promised to be with us always.  Easter is the announcement of ultimate victory.  All of what we know about our God reminds us that we have many more reasons to be at peace, that to live in fear.  So, as the new season of spring finally arrives, rejoice in this day.

Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

“Now it was Mary Mag’dalene and Jo-an’na and 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, and they did not believe them.”              Luke 24:10-11

The great news of Easter morning was first shared by the women who discovered the empty tomb, but the apostles, along with most of the world missed it.  They were preoccupied with their own assumptions and their own fears, so that when the good news of new life was right in front of them, they didn’t believe it.

I sometimes wonder if we still miss out on far too many of the great things our God is doing today as well.  There is a wonderful prayer which observant Jesus sometimes use on the Sabbath.  It begins:  “Days pass and years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles.” That’s the issue for many of us.  We are so busy, so distracted, so full of our own assumptions and fears, that we walk sightless among miracles.  Every time I stop and look at my own life, I can get the feeling of years vanishing.  But when I ponder those days and years, I have been blessed beyond words.

When I walk down the street early each morning and hear the birds, watch parents bustling their children off to school, and see good, honest, hardworking people beginning another day, there are countless blessings.  When we see the world spring to life again in all its beauty, when we gather around a table with family and friends, and most of all when we come together to worship, sing and share the Lord’s supper, there are miracles we shouldn’t miss.

God’s Peace,

Pastor John Twiton