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This has been a rather long … and hot … July 4th week.  I hope some of you enjoyed the fireworks over the Nation’s Oldest City on Wednesday evening.  For me this week has had a feeling of being discombobulated.  As best I can recollect, Monday morning was fine … until I realized that the office wasn’t going to be open on Wednesday, and Caren was scheduled for second cataract surgery on Thursday.  All at once I had to get a full week’s “To Do” list done in two days.  Then there were the fireworks.  We sat in front of our house to watch … with one very frightened dog crawling all over us whenever a loud boom of a rocket bursting into a colorful star … no matter how far distant. Then, Thursday morning at 7am, Caren had her surgery.  Cataract surgery is rather routine … many of you have been through it … but juggling two dogs and transportation to the Eye Doctors that early in the morning is anything but routine.

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During this summer and into the fall we will be hearing the saga of David from the Hebrew Scriptures.  David … the boy shepherd who became King of Israel.

​You may have noticed, but there are two stories about David this morning … the story of David and Goliath; and the story of David and Jonathon.  I asked Weyman to read both of them … I know it was a little long, but I figured that if we didn’t read both of them, you would be reading the one that Weyman didn’t read during the sermon, so I might as well get it out of the way.

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"The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, …”
"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, …”
 
Seed scattered on the ground.  A mustard seed.  The kingdom of God.

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Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.  When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”
 
Today, in the Church’s calendar, is the Third Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost.  In the Catholic Church this season after Pentecost is known as “Ordinary Time.”  It is as if we are back to business as usual.  Gone is the drama of Jesus turning his sights towards Jerusalem in Lent, ending with Holy Week and the Crucifixion.  Behind us is the excitement of Easter and resurrection appearances and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  We took a week to acknowledge the Christian Church’s identity with Trinity Sunday.  And now we are back to just “Ordinary Time” … stories about Jesus wandering around Galilee.  And this year we hear those stories from Mark’s gospel.  Last week’s gospel reading was Jesus confronting the Pharisee about “work” on the Sabbath.  Today, the reading is about Jesus returning home to Nazareth.

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Although it seems to me like it happened a year ago, it has been was just two weeks since Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in a grand wedding at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.  I watched part of the wedding, mainly to see the Right Reverend Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church … our Episcopal Church … preach at the service.