Matthew 7: 13-23

            So God turned to St Francis up in heaven and said:

            Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle, and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought, and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

Matthew 7: 1-12

            This morning we are rightly inspired by the achievement of these graduates. We honor them especially, but all of us are still students in life. As someone has said, "When you're enrolled in the School of Experience you never graduate."  Notice that doesn't say you never grow up - but wise people never graduate - they keep going to the school of life and learning new lessons every day.

James 2: 14-18; 26 

            I've always like the story about the oil fire in the little Texas town - perhaps some of you have heard this one. One of the oil rigs was on fire, and it was spreading. It was a complicated situation, and the oil company called in all their regional experts to figure out the best way to put this fire out. They studied their charts, and contemplated. A reporter was interviewing one of them on camera about what the next step should be, when suddenly there was a loud honking of a horn. A bunch of people scurried out of the way, because there was the fire truck of the little local volunteer fire department, zooming down the road past them. The truck broke through the barricades, zoomed down to the burning rig, and before anybody could hardly say anything - put out the fire. And after a stunned silence, everybody cheered the heroes.

Matthew 6: 25-34

            Humorist Erma Bombeck once wrote about the child she and her husband called the Hysteria Connection. Usually this child would wait until family trips. Then, when the family was driving many miles down the road, and Dad was smiling from ear to ear as he looked forward to a week without pressure, the Hysteria Connection would lean over to him and say, "Did you mean to leave the garden hose running, Daddy?" When Dad was just beginning to recover from that one, the Hysteria

Luke 2: 41-52

            Many people are surprised to realize that in the Bible there is only one story about Jesus when he was a child or youth. It happened when he was twelve years old. And, in some ways, I think it was his confirmation story. In the Jewish faith in which Jesus was raised, they dido't call it confirmation. But I believe it was kind of like what we are celebrating today. So I looked at this story to see what was similar to you and me.

Matthew 6: 18-24

            I could make a long list of people I don't understand; but lately I've realized that I don't understand billionaires. (I apologize in advance to any billionaires that might be present in the congregation this morning.) But I can't imagine what you do after, say, the first fifty million. Once you get to fifty million dollars, why would you even count any more? I also suspect that billionaires don't understand me. They probably don't walk out of a coffee shop like I might and think, "Man, I could have gotten cheaper coffee down the street." Or, "Good grief. Gas at $2.39 a gallon."  Billionaires probably don't understand that.