Pentecost 4a - conclusion

This is the sower and the seed and the good soil Sunday, speaking of which, I’ve got 128 cubic feet of composting horse manure looking for a home. Pastor Kyle said I should sell it as Pastor Phil’s Holy S##t, but I’d be glad to give it away and will even deliver it to your door.  In the Isaiah text the people of God composted through the hardship of captivity will return home rejoicing to blossom like a well tended garden. The psalmist sings as transgressions that overwhelm are forgiven and the people of God are graced like fields rich with harvest.  For Paul the “there is no condemnation” clause leads one to set the mind on the Spirit where life is made possible by the death of Christ. And in the Gospel seeds are sown without regard to the state of the soil although we trust that the by-product of producing crops is hard paths softened and shallow soil deepened and thorns weeded out. Speaking of by-products…