Sisters and brothers in Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
As we wrap up what is for most of us the second week of staying at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, I hope to offer a little encouragement. The combination of scary and troubling and sometime gut-wrenching, heart-breaking news, the loss of close, in person contact with friends and even family, the anxiety of whether or not we or someone we love falling ill, and the complete reworking of our calendars overwhelms us. We feel powerless. We want to scream. We want to cry. We just want this all to end. Swept up in all of this, it is easy to lose sight of the many good, right and true things that are happening in our lives and in our community, and it is difficult sometimes to notice what we are learning about ourselves, our world and our place in it as Jesus' people. 

Jesus tells his followers: "You are the light of the world ... therefore let your light so shine before others so that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). When a person is baptized into the life of Christ, we had that child of God a lit candle and send them out with a charge to shine the light of Christ in all they do. As followers of Jesus and baptized children of God, we called out of the darkness that surrounds us and into the light of God's mercy, forgiveness and love, and we are sent to shine that light in the darkness, to make this world brighter in Jesus' name. To be light in the darkness is our work, and Christ Jesus is our light.

Digital detox is now a thing. It used to be just a handful of cranks warning us that the constant use of mobile devices would break our brains, but now even power users are bearing witness to the dark powers of ubiquitous technology. In many ways, tech has changed our lives for the better, but like most innovations that promise to improve life, there are unintended consequences with which we must reckon.
Here are some of troubles people are experiencing (perhaps you are as well) as we try to come to terms with our digital reality.

1. A sense loneliness.
   
2. Feelings of isolation.
3. Fear of missing out and a sense that there’s something wrong with us, our life, our experiences.
4. Lack of focus, clarity and the inability to concentrate for long periods of time.
5. General dissatisfaction with life, work, people and the world.
   

But perhaps the greatest negative impact of technology comes when we come to the realization that in some mysterious way, the way we relate to ourself and others has changed for the worse. We are no longer civil, patient or kind. It is increasingly difficult to listen to the human being sitting next to me. We are losing a lot of what makes us human.

The Parable of the Sower. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

This week we sit at Jesus' feet as he teaches us about the kingdom of heaven using little stories to show us what it is like to live as a child of God. Parables are short, open-ended stories that invite us to discover the truth and wisdom of God's Word as we wrestle with what this means. In the parable today, Jesus guides the disciples so they can understand Jesus' Word of God's kingdom.

Yet, even with this guidance the open-ended nature of the story allows us God to speak in a variety of ways and on a variety of levels. Today, we're going to think about 

Two ways of hearing this parable of the soils. We can hear it as a story about ...
1) My personal life in relation to God's Word, or about 2) Our community life in relation to the Word

This time of year, you can find a lot of expert advice on how to make goals and the plans required to achieve those goals over the course of the new year. Whatever goals and plans you choose to make for yourself in the coming year, remember to connect those dreams and visions to your relationship with Jesus so that as you work to improve how you live your life you also open yourself allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen your relationship with God.

The St. Paul's church calendar isn't just a schedule of worship times and events -- more things to do -- it's a schedule of events and resources to strengthen your faith in Christ, opportunities to love and serve your neighbor, and finally to grow more deeply into the covenant God made with you in baptism.