It's late summer, late August. A lot of the color is gone out of the garden. According to the calendar, there is still a month of the summer left.

But as I saw this group of coneflowers on Tuesday morning, I immediately thought how they epitomized late summer. A spider had spun a web from one group to another and if I came around the group to this other side and used a narrow depth of field with a long lens I could have a dark background for the scene that would highlight the color of the flowers and the sparkle of the dew. I think it worked. But I sure want some more summer!

Yesterday morning, my photo group went south to Sewanee. It wasn't foggy when we left the Metro area, but as we approached Monteagle, the fog began to increase, and by the time we arrived at out destination west of Sewanee, it was quite foggy. We couldn't even see the promised view from the overlook. So we looked for alternatives.

There were numerous spiderwebs that were covered with the heavy dew. Most did not have spiders, but this one did. And there was just enough light to catch the web and illuminate the water drops. I think it turned out to be a fun photo. I took some more there and later in the morning. I'll be sharing those photos later this week.

Judy loves rocks. She used to pick them up wherever we were on a trip. She even brought some home from northern Indiana, large rocks that she and my stepfather liberated from a nearby field. But her favorites are from Lake Superior.

They are generally smaller as well, if she decides to take one or two as a souvenir, not that she ever has. Along the beaches, north of Duluth, one can find beautiful stones and such a variety of different colors and shapes. Most are rounded by the erosive action of the waves of Lake Superior. Just looking at this photo, she will want to go back. Not to pick up any, just to look :)

I was struck by the lyrics of one of the hymns we sang Sunday morning, and it touched me as I sang the last line of each verse.

It's an old hymn, written by Thomas Moore nearly 200 years ago. The portion that caught me as I sang it was the following: "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." Now how I heard it is not some pie-in-the-sky future remedy, but an affirmation that no situation is hopeless. When we experience countless examples of suffering and suspect that pain is the only reality, that notion is countered by the witness that sorrow does not speak the final word. I hear that testimony repeatedly from folks who have endured more pain than I can even imagine that healing will come. We are not without hope. No sorrow will endure.

Judy and I attend Belmont United Methodist Church, just south of the Vanderbilt campus. And we are part of the Friendship Class led by Stephen Bryant, which is a lectionary Bible study class. There are several of us who substitute teach when Stephen is absent. Once in a while, I get to teach. Today is one of those days.

Last time I taught, the Gospel lesson was one of my favorites. I love preaching about the sower who casts seed on good and bad soil. But today, the Matthew text is a little more problematic--Matthew 15:21-28--where Jesus encounters the Canaanite woman.

I have more questions than answers. The traditional interpretations are that through her persistence with Jesus, the woman secures the healing she sought for her daughter and/or Jesus changes his mind about enlarging his mission beyond Israel to include the whole of humanity. Anyone who knows me suspects that I want to see if there are other possibilities. So I have questions.

Jesus and the disciples have withdrew from the crowds and went to Tyre and Sidon (modern Lebanon). One commentator thought it was like a retreat where no one would know him. Really? The passage does not say that. In fact, it does not tell us why they went there. I wonder why they would leave Israel. What are they doing there and for what purpose? It is clearly not home.

The woman recognizes him and shouts for healing for her daughter. He says nothing, and possibly before he can answer (again the text gives no hint about the time frame), the disciples tell him to send her away because she is bothering THEM. And he says to the disciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." How did he say that? Was it sarcasm, was it mocking? Again, no clue to the tone or intent of the response of Jesus.

Again, she addresses Jesus simply and directly, "Lord, help me." And he utters this strange saying about it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs, and she replies, "Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." What is this? Is this a parable? It's certainly picturesque and vague. And Jesus announces that she has great faith and her daughter was instantly healed.

So I wonder if this excursion beyond the home territory isn't to teach the disciples that the mission is not as narrow as they think, that it includes all of humanity. I wonder if it was not a retreat but an advance to demonstrate our common humanity and that we all are God's children. And not one of us ought to be excluded from God's table, there is nourishment for us all, and that none of us are dogs. I just wonder if there isn't more to this passage that we miss as we ponder traditional teachings. I've got questions.

This photo is from a foggy morning at Grand Lake, Colorado.

We had lots of prayer concerns this week with school starting, and the suicide death of Robin Williams, and the reality of depression, and the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq, and tragedy on the race track, and continuing deadly outbreak of Ebola in western Africa, and the horrific events in Ferguson, Missouri. Add to it countless issues in our country and around the world, and you become quickly aware how many events are beyond your influence or decision and how important it is to pray for those persons who can make a difference. That's why I am stunned (when I shouldn't be) at the change in the atmosphere in Ferguson apparently because of the calm, honest leadership of one man, Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol. The night before he takes charge of the situation is filled with tear gas and fear and anger. The next night he wears no flak jacket or helmet and walks in the community and is embraced by countless residents. He said, "Be honest, and let people know you care and that you want to keep everyone safe." I wondered yesterday, where did they find this man? Did he volunteer for the task? Did someone know he had gifts that could defuse this volatile situation? He likely would dismiss the notion that he is a hero, but he was exactly the man needed for the moment. At this point, we don't know how this is all going to turn out. Deep, divisive issues of racism and injustice, mistrust and crime have been exposed again. I'm old enough that I have seen this scenario over and over again. Surely, we can begin again to seek healing for our communities and nation. Violence is not an option for the restoration of hope for all of us, everyone of us.

There are 12 smartphones, at least, in this photo of Brad Paisley at the Grand Ole Opry. Four or five of them are being used to take "selfies". I admit that I am intrigued by this relatively new phenomenon. Although I have taken thousands and thousands of pictures during my adulthood, I have relatively few photos of myself. No photos of concerts that I attended or girls that I took on dates or scenic places that I visited. I was behind the camera, not in front of it. I doubt that my experience is unusual. And I know it is a challenge to believe that we didn't have digital cameras or smartphones back in "the day". To take a self-portrait was more involved, more hit-and-miss with a film camera than it is today to hold a phone at arm's length and record this moment and my place in it for posterity. It would have been quite a gymnastic feat to use a film camera at arm's length and take a photo. And imagine, I wouldn't see how the photo turned out for maybe a week or so. And now one can take a "selfie" and immediately share it via social media and all my friends can be jealous that I am standing two feet away from Brad Paisley. Ain't technology amazing?

I like puzzles and riddles. Always have since I was a small kid. I find it a challenge to find the answer.

But it seems that there are so many puzzling things happening today that I do not have any clue as to the answer, whether it's Ebola or violence or racism or intolerance or inequality or depression. I do notice that there are people who are quick to proclaim an answer which generally proves that they don't understand the problem.

This is a photo of an unusual wall decor that I found at an antique mall. But you knew that, right?