From the Pastor's Desk
Thursday, July 9, 2026
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Greetings of peace!
Studying this week’s Scripture lessons, I felt inspired to write to you about them— for some of you, to give you a heads-up about topics or themes that are likely to be in the air this coming Sunday morning; for others of you, just to give you some of my perspective on these biblical passages— what I believe God is saying to us through them.
This week, our gospel text is from Matthew 13, which finds Jesus teaching at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, near his adopted hometown, Capernaum (Matthew 9:1; Matthew 12:46 – 13:1). Crowds pressed around him on the land, so he taught them from a boat in the water. Instead of listing concepts or describing spiritual things in spiritual terms, Jesus told the crowds puzzling stories, a peculiar kind of teaching called parables. “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell ….” (Matthew 13:3-4) Even Jesus’ disciples did not understand the point of this parable, so he spelled it out for them. It is important for us to grasp what the “seeds” in Jesus’ parable represent: he says the seeds are “the word of the Kingdom.” (Matthew 13:19) For us Christians, these seeds point us to Jesus Christ’s whole purpose in becoming human and living among humans: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand (or, has come near).” (Matthew 4:17: compare Luke 4:16-20 and Mark 1:14-15). Jesus reveals himself to be Emmanuel, “God-with-us,” and when Jesus Christ is present, God’s Rule/ Reign / Kingdom among His creatures is present and completely real in all physical and spiritual truth. So, if we humans become fertile soil in which “the word of the Kingdom” may multiply, we are made agents of God’s reign and parts of Jesus Christ’s body. This parable invites us to ponder the cultivation of our “soil,” and our relationships to forces other than God which resist His Reign.
“The word of the Kingdom” also points us to John’s gospel, where the same Greek word, logos, is translated “word” : The Word became flesh and dwelt among us … full of grace and truth. And, as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the children of God.
(John 1:14 and 12) Again, the spiritual point is that Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to be in God’s family, body, Reign. We are blessed to nurture and grow the precious seed, “the word of the Kingdom.”
Our lesson this week from Psalm 119:105-112 prepares the way for our understanding of God’s messages to us: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. …
I incline my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the end.
This week’s Old Testament reading is the fascinating account of Rebekah’s pregnancy with the twins Esau and Jacob. Isaac and Rebekah had been married about twenty years, but she was “barren.” But Isaac prayed for her— and we presume, she also desired children. But as the twins struggled in her womb, Rebekah was utterly miserable and she questioned everything. God revealed a prophecy through her, that her sons would become rival nations in ongoing struggle. This saga of human, earthly “seed” in perpetual turmoil is very much with us, to this very day.
But thanks be to God: “the word of the Kingdom” is perfect and sufficient though things earthly and human are not. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he is doing his part to reconcile human, earthly neighbors according to the mighty spiritual seed God provides: he counsels the gentiles and Jews of Rome, and us: those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (8:5-6)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Greetings of peace!
Studying this week’s Scripture lessons, I felt inspired to write to you about them— for some of you, to give you a heads-up about topics or themes that are likely to be in the air this coming Sunday morning; for others of you, just to give you some of my perspective on these biblical passages— what I believe God is saying to us through them.
This week, our gospel text is from Matthew 13, which finds Jesus teaching at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, near his adopted hometown, Capernaum (Matthew 9:1; Matthew 12:46 – 13:1). Crowds pressed around him on the land, so he taught them from a boat in the water. Instead of listing concepts or describing spiritual things in spiritual terms, Jesus told the crowds puzzling stories, a peculiar kind of teaching called parables. “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell ….” (Matthew 13:3-4) Even Jesus’ disciples did not understand the point of this parable, so he spelled it out for them. It is important for us to grasp what the “seeds” in Jesus’ parable represent: he says the seeds are “the word of the Kingdom.” (Matthew 13:19) For us Christians, these seeds point us to Jesus Christ’s whole purpose in becoming human and living among humans: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand (or, has come near).” (Matthew 4:17: compare Luke 4:16-20 and Mark 1:14-15). Jesus reveals himself to be Emmanuel, “God-with-us,” and when Jesus Christ is present, God’s Rule/ Reign / Kingdom among His creatures is present and completely real in all physical and spiritual truth. So, if we humans become fertile soil in which “the word of the Kingdom” may multiply, we are made agents of God’s reign and parts of Jesus Christ’s body. This parable invites us to ponder the cultivation of our “soil,” and our relationships to forces other than God which resist His Reign.
“The word of the Kingdom” also points us to John’s gospel, where the same Greek word, logos, is translated “word” : The Word became flesh and dwelt among us … full of grace and truth. And, as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the children of God.
(John 1:14 and 12) Again, the spiritual point is that Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to be in God’s family, body, Reign. We are blessed to nurture and grow the precious seed, “the word of the Kingdom.”
Our lesson this week from Psalm 119:105-112 prepares the way for our understanding of God’s messages to us: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. …
I incline my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the end.
This week’s Old Testament reading is the fascinating account of Rebekah’s pregnancy with the twins Esau and Jacob. Isaac and Rebekah had been married about twenty years, but she was “barren.” But Isaac prayed for her— and we presume, she also desired children. But as the twins struggled in her womb, Rebekah was utterly miserable and she questioned everything. God revealed a prophecy through her, that her sons would become rival nations in ongoing struggle. This saga of human, earthly “seed” in perpetual turmoil is very much with us, to this very day.
But thanks be to God: “the word of the Kingdom” is perfect and sufficient though things earthly and human are not. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he is doing his part to reconcile human, earthly neighbors according to the mighty spiritual seed God provides: he counsels the gentiles and Jews of Rome, and us: those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (8:5-6)
Scriptures for Sunday, July 12, 2026
Psalm 119: 105-112
Genesis 25: 19-34
Romans 8: 1-22
Matthew 13: 1-9 [10-17] 18-23
Genesis 25: 19-34
Romans 8: 1-22
Matthew 13: 1-9 [10-17] 18-23