Staff Trax

Can you imagine working all day in the hot sun and someone else barely worked but got the same amount in pay? This is exactly what happens in the Gospel for this Sunday.

Matthew 20:1-16 tells the familiar parable of the landowner who pays his workers the same wage no matter when they start work.

I can just hear them whining, “But that’s not fair!” The landowner decides to…

It has been about three months since my heart surgery, so I thought I would give you an update in my Staff Trax this week. Things did not go as planned, but I am slowly feeling more back to normal.

I thought I would be in the hospital three or four days, but I ended up being there for 10 days. Later in the day they put in the mechanical valve and replaced the aortic valve, they discovered…

This Sunday’s Gospel reading is a familiar one. The disciples, after a rough night at sea, see Jesus walking on the water. This made them very fearful, thinking it was a ghost, as they had never seen anyone walk on water before.

Jesus tells them not to be afraid. He summons Peter to walk on the water toward him, but Peter becomes frightened from the strong wind and begins to sink as he…

What is your first instinct when you see a weed in your garden or on your lawn? It probably is to pull it. After all, weeds are usually not very attractive, and you might be afraid that it would spread to other parts of your garden, lawn, or your neighbor’s lawn.

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowds to let the weeds stay with the wheat.

“Let both of them grow together…

This week is America’s 250^th birthday. The United States Semiquincentennial, also called the sestercentennial (two and a half centuries), or the Quarter Millennium, will be the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. There are celebrations throughout the country in big cities and small towns. Finding a place to celebrate won’t be a problem. Deciding where…

When you see “All are welcome” in our weekly announcements, have you ever thought about what that means? Jesus welcomed all, no matter their social status, income, or clothing. All believers are the same in the eyes of God.

In this week’s Gospel reading (Matthew 9:9-13,18-26), Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners. As you may know, tax collectors in that day were known to be very…

I am sure that most of you don’t know I was born with a heart defect. I have been fine for most of my life. As a child, my mom would take me into the city of Chicago for checkups about every three years. It was kind of fun; I got to miss a day of school, we usually went shopping and had lunch, and I got to lay on a table for a short time hooked up to machines with a bunch of smiley face stickers…

This Sunday is sometimes called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Gospel is John 10:1-10, which uses the imagery of sheep and shepherd. The Psalm is Psalm 23, which starts with the familiar text, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

In the Gospel Jesus says he is the gate. He is the way to the Father. Anyone who enters through the gate will be saved. And once the sheep are in the…

Yesterday was April Fools’ Day, a day known for playing pranks and jokes on others and often yelling “April Fools!” at the end.

Who can forget the April 1 a few years ago, when it was not only Easter Sunday, but there was a light snowfall early in the day. It seemed like a joke from Mother Nature. It doesn’t snow very often on Easter, known as a springtime holiday.

It seems…

The psalm this Sunday is most likely a familiar one — Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd …”. This is sometimes known as “the funeral psalm” because it is read at so many funerals. It is recited at graveside funerals not just in real life, but in movies and on television. Many people who are not at all knowledgeable about the Bible can recite this psalm by heart.

It is a psalm…