Fall. For some of us this has already started. For others, it begins after the long weekend in the month of September. For others, not until the solstice on or near the 21st of this month.
In Australia, this is solved by the common usage of the meteorological definition. Hence, spring for them (the seasons are backwards of ours) starts September 1 and includes all of October and all of November. Summer starts December 1. Here our fall has not started yet. Very soon it will; on Sept. 23.
Now, many things have shifted over the summer. I am now at 0.5 time. Many things will be continuing, and you will notice the biggest impact come Sunday services. Our garage saga is nearly over. It has been a long, long journey. A lesson we knew from before has been reinforced mightily. Never open anything up unless you are prepared for what is behind (and under in our case) it. Pam has had surgery on her parathyroid and I am about to have surgery for another skin cancer. You will see by the newsletter that other groups in our church have requested new time and we have added a rental from another church group. Much is going on and our Triune God is up to many things.
And so is Jesus. Our readings have been from Matthew 18 lately. Jesus is checking commitment levels here, because he knows what is coming. Jesus is handing out procedure manuals. He knows what is coming. And Jesus is also handling staffing and HR. These last two are verses 15-20 and verses 21-35. He knows what is coming. He is preparing. Just as tulips, irises, garlic and other bulbs are planted in the fall, Jesus is preparing the disciples for what lies ahead.
So as new things come together in combination with older things from before, my question for our reflection is this. How much tilling does your spiritual life need to prepare for the next season to come? Pr. Scott
Image: Harvest Moon from Wikimedia Commons (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harvest_moon.jpg)
