Dea
r Church Family and Friends,
For our current newsletter, I thought I would share with you a speech I delivered at a rally in Olympia on February 27th. People from throughout the state had gathered to deliver to Governor Gregoire’s office thousands of postcards calling for a coal free Washington as we transition away from our state’s only remaining coal plant in Centralia. I was the first speaker of the day, and here is what I said:
Note: This sermon was delivered as the congregation looked at a replica of Rembrandt’s painting, “The Return of the Prodigal Son.”
To listen to this sermon, click here.
New Testament Reading-Luke 15: 11-32
A few weeks ago a certain someone compelled me to go to the Portland Art Museum on a Friday evening. I like art, but I have selective tastes. Statues from the Ming dynasty usually don’t excite me. Also, the main exhibit at the Portland Art Museum was entitled “Disquieted,” and I was not sure I wanted to be disquieted. As it turned out, we had a very enjoyable evening, and I was proved wrong about my skepticisms.
As great as this parable is about the fig tree that symbolizes the potential fate of Israel, I think it needs to be modernized, so allow me to offer a more contemporary version. There once was a farmer named Jane. Everyone in town was well acquainted with Jane’s Organic Produce Stand. She grew an array of fruits and vegetables that were popular with local residents. She had blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, leeks, and last, but not least, the most delicious figs anyone had ever tasted. Fig juice was one of Jane’s specialties, and everyone for miles around swore that it had the power to cleanse one’s system and cure almost any ailment.