Patience and Presence

From The Pastor’s Desk

This past month in worship, the lectionary has presented us with a succession of parables. We have heard the parable of the sower, scattering seed on various types of ground. We have heard the parable of wheat and weeds, of mustard seed and yeast, and several others. They have all asked us to examine the world around us, and to see ourselves and our role in God’s creation in new ways.

There is one other common point between these parables, and it is that of patience. Seeds—whether they are scattered, or planted alongside thorns, or of a genus that has the smallest seed—all require time to send their roots down, and grow towards the sun. Similarly, when yeast is added to flour, it requires time to rise and leaven. Each of these parables uses natural metaphors to describe the patient, focused growth of God’s kingdom.

In so many ways, Summer is not a time of patience. People make the most of warm days and relaxed schedules to do as much as possible. Trips to the beach, opportunities to visit with friends and family, even navigating the influx of visitors to the area, all contribute to a sense of feeling rushed. Where did July go? How is it already August?

These parables remind us that even when we are at our busiest, that God is at work in our lives causing us to grow and develop. How is God at work in your life in this season? How do you see—yourself, this congregation, this community—growing and changing? How are you allowing God’s word to cause you to become what you were always created to be?

—Pastor Jon