At the North Garden of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, there is a bronze sculpture entitled, “Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares.” The sculpture depicts a man holding a hammer aloft in his right hand and a sword pointed toward the ground in his left hand. He is beating his sword into a plowshare. Instead of fighting, he will be farming. He is no longer going to war, and so he is turning his weapons of destruction into creative tools for the benefit of mankind. 

It is Noon on the Friday before the Passover Sabbath. Jerusalem is always bustling around the Passover. It has become even more tense and tumultuous since the Romans have taken over. But everybody’s nerves are even more taut this particular Friday. The Roman soldiers are on high alert. The Jewish religious leaders have a blood lust in their eyes. There is fear and confusion among most of the residents of Jerusalem. But there is also a mob mentality aching for violence among some of the others staying in Jerusalem for the Passover.

Recently, 3000 American Christians completed a survey about their Christian faith. There were 47 questions on the original survey. I put 5 of them in place of my sermon outline in the announcements. I confined these questions only to the Bible’s teaching of the Trinity. Circle A or D in front of the statement for Agree or Disagree.

“America’s Got Talent” is one of a dozen or more copy-cat “spin-offs” from the grand-daddy original “discover-unknown-talent” show “American Idol,” a franchise we copied from Great Britain’s “Pop Idol” franchise. This genre of television that includes “The Voice,” “X-Factor” and “America’s Got Talent” focus on finding that rare pearl of stardom embedded amidst the grit and gravel of everyday gifts.

Ferreting out someone’s ability to excel at something, identifying an individual’s unique “talent,” has its roots in this week’s Gospel lesson. In fact, you might call Jesus’ parable, the original “talent contest.”

A local fitness center was offering $1,000 to anyone who could show they were stronger than the owner of the gym. Here’s how it worked: The muscle-bound owner would squeeze a lemon into a glass until all the juice was gone. Then he would hand the lemon to the challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop of juice from the lemon would win the money.

Over time many people tried to best the owner—other weight lifters, construction workers, even professional wrestlers—but nobody could.

Some things you don’t see every day: 1. a dwarf blue sheep (there are only about two hundred in existence), 2. William Shakespeare’s original autograph (there are only six known copies), and 3. an original Double Eagle $20 gold coin (there is only one left, which is privately owned and is worth more than seven million dollars).

All of those things are extremely rare. They are uncommon. This morning, as we begin a new sermon series on gratitude, we are going to see two other things we don’t see every day: 1. uncommon mercy and 2. uncommon gratitude.

In Texas, June 19th is a holiday called Juneteenth. In many places the date is also referred to as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day. The day is a reminder that on June 19, 1865, the slaves in Texas learned of their emancipation. Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news the war had ended and that the slaves were now free.

Norma Welker had already said her earthly goodbyes to her husband. One day while she was gardening, she lost her wedding ring. It was the one gift from her deceased husband that she treasured more than any other. She had taken the ring off while she was arranging some cut flowers from her garden. Then, having been interrupted by a phone call, she forgot to put it back on.

Only after her weeds and clippings had been hauled away did she realize the ring’s absence. She searched the compost pile, but there was no ring to be found.

How many of you like going to rummage sales? You can usually find some great deals on baby items, toys, clothes, tools, electronics, and furniture.

You know how a rummage sale works. People are trying to get rid of their old or obsolete items that they don’t want anymore. Those items are resold at a much lower price than the original purchase price from the store. Those old items that people once valued highly no longer have much worth.