“When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of G-d; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’” (Luke 8:4-10)

“Jesus was short on sermons, long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions; short on abstraction and propositions, long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.” (Brian D. McLaren)

We learn nothing from the scriptures if we do not learn this one thing: Christ made the constant business of his life to show the love of G-d in ways people did not perceive. The Good News of the Kingdom of G-d is filled with glad tidings as Jesus reached out to and ministered to the last, the lost, the least and the little of his day. Lepers, sinners, tax collectors, and women were particular people to which he most openly offered his ministry. In fact, certain women were among the disciples or at least among those who attended to Jesus and the needs of the disciples out of their resources.  As author and pastor Brian McLaren writes, Jesus was “…long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.”

We have a lot of examples of how the church should build its ministry in the community. And these ministries will be some of the most profound ways we show the love of G-d.

Pastor Dave