Hi everyone,

As I type this, I’m up in Dawson Creek helping out a church here that is without a pastor. There are a few pastors signed up to help out up here on a rotational basis, and I think there are enough that each pastor only comes up twice a year. Our council was gracious enough to grant me this time to be here “on loan” to a congregation in need.

But as I was visiting with the folk here, one thing they kept saying over and over was “it’s so great that you could come” and “we appreciate you coming all this way” and “thank you for making the long trip” as though this was some arduous task. Well, truth be told, it was a bit more work than I thought as I’m not on holiday per se, but working through my “weekend” and “after hours” (whatever that means for a pastor).

However, I would gladly do this again. Why? Because it’s clear that these are God’s people up here. Not saying that they are God’s only people, but even when they are far removed, even when they have wildly different backgrounds and contexts from what I’m used to, even when I have never even laid eyes on any of them before this weekend, I can tell that we share a connection through God’s grace and love.

Now, I’m not saying that all of us should drop everything and travel around to help others, but I’m saying that sometimes we’re called to do things that are out of our comfort zones. Sometimes we’re led to go places that we might not have thought we’d ever want to go. Sometimes, God speaks to us, and all we can do… is listen, act, and maybe even love.

Here are the readings for next week:
1 Kings 3:5-12
Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
and a video of them being read:

These “kingdom of heaven is like” parables are something else. Like we might look at them and be like, “yeah yeah feel good yada yada” because we’ve heard them so many times, we know that they’re about the strong love and regard and welcome that God has for us.

But what we might not see is how nonsensical they are. Like, nothing about them, if you break them down, make any sense whatsoever. Like there ain’t no birds going to be nesting in no mustard shrub. Ain’t nobody need to make that much bread. And ain’t no one investing everything they have for such an small ROI.

Well, unless you are led to do so, by love.

That, says Jesus, is what the kingdom is like. Not necessarily nonsensical, but full of love. Full of action driven by grace. Full of God’s presence that leads us into community and relationship, even when it might not make sense at first.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!