Speaker: Rev. CJ Valenti

In this week’s first reading, God invites all who are hungry or thirsty to receive food and drink without cost. Jesus feeds the hungry multitude and reveals the abundance of God. At the table we are all welcomed and fed and we call to mind all who are hungry or poor in our world today.…

 It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us,…

This Sunday is all about what makes a good harvest – rain, soil, sun, seeds and a little Holy Spirit. We remember God’s hand is working through and in all. We remember we are fed through this incredible journey of seeds to the plant to the harvest to the mill to the baker and then…

Thirsty camels and an arranged marriage, a love song, an honest reflection from Paul and some musings from Jesus are our readings for this Sunday. But in the midst of it all we hear – “Come to me, all you that are weary.” Gathered around word, water, and meal, we find rest for our souls.…

Hagar and Ishmael face rejection from Abraham and Sarah and yet God meets them in the wilderness and promises them safety and blessings. Jesus declares that his words may bring stark division. Even so, we need not be afraid for God knows the life of every sparrow and even accounts for each hair on our heads. Though…

Abraham and Sarah welcome strangers and are promised a beautiful, surprisingly, outlandish and laughable gift. Jesus sends out the disciples as laborers into the harvest. In baptism we too are anointed for ministry, sharing God’s compassion with our world knowing it might not always be easy. From the Lord’s table we go forth to proclaim…

Though Jesus was a devout Jew who practiced his faith, he was criticized for eating with folks on the margins like tax collectors. Jesus reminds us that mercy is to be at the heart of our religious practices. God continues to be made known in unexpected places and unexpected people. As we gather on Sundays,…

More than a doctrine, the Holy Trinity expresses the heart of our faith: we have experienced the God of creation made known in Jesus Christ and with us always through the Holy Spirit. We celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity in word and sacrament and we are sent into the world to bear witness…

In this week’s readings the risen Christ ascends into heaven and his followers are assured that the Spirit will empower them to be witnesses throughout the earth. The disciples were told to not gaze up into heaven to look for Jesus. . . we now find his presence among us as we proclaim the word…

Jesus does not abandon the disciples or us. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to abide with his disciples of every generation. The Holy Spirit is known to us as many names – Spirit of Truth, Advocate, Helper, Companion, Counselor. We receive this Spirit as a gift in baptism and pray that in our gathering around…