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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Mortals Only See the Beginning</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>All their lives
the two young brothers had lived in the city behind great stone walls
and never saw field nor meadow. But one day they decided to pay a visit
to the country.<br>
<br>
As they went walking along the road they saw a farmer at his plowing. They watched him and were puzzled.<br>
<br>
"What on earth is he doing that for!" they wondered. "He turns up the
earth and leaves deep furrows in it. Why should someone take a smooth
piece of land covered with nice green grass and dig it up?"<br>
<br>
Later they watched the farmer sowing grains of wheat along the furrows.<br>
<br>
"That man must be crazy!" they exclaimed. "He takes good wheat and throws it into the dirt."<br>
<br>
"I don't like the country!" said one in disgust. "Only crazy people live here."<br>
<br>
So he returned to the city.<br>
<br>
His brother who remained in the country saw a change take place only
several weeks later. The plowed field began to sprout tender green
shoots, even more beautiful and fresher than before. This discovery
excited him very much. So he wrote to his brother in the city to come at
once and see for himself the wonderful change.<br>
<br>
His brother came and was delighted with what he saw. As time passed they
watched the sproutings grow into golden heads of wheat. Now they both
understood the purpose of the farmer's work.<br>
<br>
When the wheat became ripe the farmer brought his scythe and began to
cut it down. At this the impatient one of the two brothers exclaimed:
"The farmer is crazy! He's insane! How hard he worked all these months
to produce this lovely wheat, and now with his own hands he is cutting
it down! I'm disgusted with such an idiot and I'm going back to the
city!"<br>
<br>
His brother, the patient one, held his peace and remained in the
country. He watched the farmer gather the wheat into his granary. He saw
him skillfully separate the grain from the chaff. He was filled with
wonder when he found that the farmer had harvested a hundred-fold of the
seed that he had sowed. Then he understood that there was logic in
everything that the farmer had done.<br>
<br>
The moral of the story: Mortals see only the beginning of any of God's
works. Therefore they cannot understand the nature and the end of
creation.<br>
<br>
Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes, quoting from A Treasury of Jewish
Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of
the Jewish People, Edited by Nathan Ausubel Copyright, 1948, Crown
Publishers, Inc., New York<br>
<br>
__________________________ <br>
<br>
Let the Gospel Run Its Course</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>For me, one of
the classic interpretations of this Biblical passage about the seed
growing automatically (Mark 4:26) was written by Martin Luther when he
said about this text: "After I preach my sermon on Sunday, when I return
home, I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer and I just let the
gospel run its course." I like that. Luther said that after he pounded
on the pulpit and expounded the gospel, he would go home and pull out
the Sunday newspaper, and pull out his glass of warm Wittenberg beer and
start to drink it and enjoy the afternoon. Luther knew that the power
of his sermon was not based on the power of his theological acuity. He
knew that the power of his sermon was not based on his eloquence or his
abilities. He knew that the power of the sermon would have no effect
whatsoever unless the very Word of God got into a person's heart. Luther
knew that he couldn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit who did that.
Luther keenly understood the power of the Word.<br>
<br>
Edward F. Markquart, The Mustard Seed<br>
_________________________________</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Small Ways Every Day</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>I hate to bring
up The Ten Commandments when I'm preaching on the Gospel of Mark,
but...remember that they are very rarely Cecil B. de Mille, big-screen,
neon-sign events. They really aren't. They are small choices made on
small days, over and over and over again. Such as choosing to remember
that God made us for freedom and gave us as a gift, not a punishment,
rules to live by. Small things such as remembering God made us, so we
don't make God. Such as remembering that we had better not put God's
name on anything in a vain show of power. Such as remembering that if
God made the universe from a little marble and rested, then we are just
created and hard wired to let go of our tiny universes and rest too.
Little things, like remembering not just to honor your parents when they
are old and gray, but also to train your own children to honor you. And
don't let them get away with small, crummy, petty things. And don't lie
in small things. Then the great truths within you have a shot. And
don't strike up teasing, betraying relationships. Almost every
adulterous relationship that people bring to pastors like me is when
their miserable family is imploding. Every one of them begins with
small, careless choices. And don't murder, which may mean more than we
want it to mean. And don't steal. I know that means more than any of us
want stealing to mean. But if we don't steal in small ways, we won't get
all messed up in big ways. And then this last one, which this year I
think is the biggest one. Don't covet. Don't waste your life wanting
another life. An old friend calls it a case of the "I wants." Whatever
"I wants" you have right now-bigger, better, more, different-find little
ways of not renting that room in your head. Little ways, like I will
not think about this for five minutes kinds of ways. Things perhaps no
bigger than a mustard seed.<br>
<br>
I follow the God who showed up two thousand years ago in small ways on
days of small things. A healing touch here. A compassionate word there.
Small things like not giving up on flawed friends. Like praying every
day. Small things like enjoying life. Jesus really enjoyed life. Small
things like speaking truth to power. Like giving his small,
mustard-seed-sized life so that the great labor of the new universe of
resurrected, reborn life could be created.<br>
<br>
Martha Sterne, A Day of Small Things<br>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>What It Takes to Grow</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>James A.
Garfield, prior to serving as President of the United States, was
president of Hiram College in Ohio. One day a father asked Garfield if
there were a short-cut whereby his son could get through college in less
than the usual four years. He wanted his Son to get on with making
money. The college president gave this reply, "Of course there is a way;
it all depends on what you want your boy to do. When God wants to grow
an oak tree, he takes 100 years. </span><span>When he wants to make a squash, he only takes two months."</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Emphasis, CSS Publishing</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>___________________________</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>We Are Called to Plant</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>When it comes to
being God's fellow workers, the first thing to realize is that we are
not in control of the growth. We are called to plant. God gives the
growth. God gets the credit. We cannot boast about the success that
comes when the seeds are planted. We must be very cautious about taking
too much credit for apparent success in the spiritual area. A visitor to
the Vatican was quite impressed with the beauty and power of the place.
He asked Pope John XXIII this question: "How many people do you have
working here?" With a twinkle in his eye, the pope replied, "About half
of them." We must never get puffed up with ourselves in the spiritual
realm. Only God produces growth. Real spiritual growth comes from God.
We just plant seeds and try to nurture them as my farmer friends have
taught me over the years.</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Ron Lavin, The Advocate, CSS Publishing</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>______________________________</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Humor: Size Is Less Important Than Spirit</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>A small fellow,
not much over 5 feet tall, applied for a job as a lumberjack in Alaska.
The foreman, thinking to discourage him, gave him a large ax, set him
before a tree hundreds of feet tall, and yards in diameter, and told him
to chop it down. Within minutes the tree had been felled. The amazed
foreman asked him where he'd learned to chop trees so powerfully. The
little fellow replied, "When I worked in the Sahara forest." "You mean,
the Sahara desert." "That was after I got there," said the small
lumberjack. <br>
<br>
The point of the story is that size is less important than spirit, or
intelligence, or courage -- a point made when King David was selected at
a young age: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his
stature ... for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." <br>
<br>
A faith that grows has heart, a heart that belongs to God. Faith grows from the inside out. <br>
<br>
Merritt W. Ednie, God's Program In Process<br>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Trifles Make Perfection</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span> </span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>Michelangelo, one
of the world's great artists, was also a great sculptor. One day a
visitor was looking at a statue that Michelangelo was making. The
visitor said, "I can't see that you have made any progress since I was
here last time." <br>
<br>
Michelangelo answered, "Oh, yes, I have made much progress. Look
carefully and you will see that I have retouched this part, and that I
have polished that part. See, I have worked on this part of the statue,
and have softened the lines here." <br>
<br>
"Yes," said the visitor, "but those are all trifles." <br>
<br>
"That may be," replied Michelangelo, "but...</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span>The rest of this
illustration, as well as many additional illustrations and sermons for
Father's Day and Proper 6, can be accessed at <a href="http://www.Sermons.com" target="_blank">www.Sermons.com</a>.<br>
<br>
</span></div>
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