“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. 

I'm a dog lover, always have been. Still, I do have my limits – limits which apparently aren’t shared by Scott Janssen. Janssen is a regular in the Alaskan Iditarod race – an annual long distance sled dog race in Alaska. Janssen is called the “Mushing Mortician” because when he’s not racing the Iditarod, he owns a funeral home.

A few days before the finish in the 2012 race, one of Janssen’s dogs, a nine-year-old husky named Marshall, collapsed. It was snowing, and the dogs were doing what they often do – dipping their faces into the snow to hydrate as they ran along. Everything was normal, until Marshall fell over.

We have done a lot of work on our home this past year. We are now at the point of purchasing doors for the closets, laundry room, bedroom, and bathroom. I never knew that were so many decisions when it came to doors!

There are left-swinging doors, right-swinging doors, and sliding barn doors. There are pine doors, oak doors, and knotty alder doors. There are arch-raised two panel doors, six-panel doors, and flat mission three-panel doors.

Harold fell in love with his next-door-neighbor when she was a teenager. As their relationship progressed, he told her that he wouldn’t marry her unless she converted to being a Lutheran. That didn’t sit very well with her very Catholic parents. It caused a division within the family.