Two Sundays in a row, we have had Gospel lessons having to do with soil. Two parables back-to-back of Jesus having to do with the ground and farming. Last week, we heard the well-known parable of the seeds and the various soil. And next week we will hear about the weeds growing alongside wheat and what is to be should be done about it. I love this because I am a gardener. I have a little vegetable garden that I tend to with my wife, which brings us great joy.

Although, these two parables, as I explained in my 9 am service sermon, are not actually about soil. Although there might be some good agricultural advice in the stories, they are in fact about faith. Parables of Jesus usually explain a truth about the Kingdom of God. They are metaphors, using imagery that the people listening at the time would understand.

And so last week, I talked about my gardening, about how I planted, grew, and harvested potatoes. And the best part about it was when the leaves and stems fell off, when I got to dig into in the ground and find fresh potatoes like buried treasure. It felt miraculous, and a perfect metaphor for God turning old into new. Making something fresh out of the things that are thought to be wasted and buried in dirt. There truly is something religious about growing potatoes, as funny as that sounds.

And after the service, two young ones ran up to me excited. They wanted to show me their hands which were muddy from playing in the dirt patch in the grove. See, as I was sharing my sermon, they were living it out. It looked like they were playing but in fact, they were listening and enacting digging in the dirt, looking for critters and rocks as I told them about getting my hands dirty. Maybe they do that every Sunday, but last week, it felt special because it connected so well to the Gospel passage.

This too was something beautiful to me. I never know if how the message is being received regardless of age. And so it was beautiful to see such a tactile expression of my sermon, of hearing and acting on the Word of God.

I think there is a lot of hope in that. Hope not just that my sermons are heard. Although that is nice too. But hope in the message of Christ. That the Good News of the Gospel is heard and felt through young children and beyond. That the message of Christ, the life death and resurrection of not just God, of not just our lives, but of the world can be observed in ordinary things, like children playing in the dirt patch.

As I listen to the news, reflect on current events and politics, I want to lean into that hope. The hope found in the Gospel, the hope that we can see clearly in community. The hope that ushers Divine love into our lives and those around us. And for this hope, I am grateful.

-Celal