As we honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. I am first drawn to the words from Saint Francis of Assisi…Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood…
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,your faithfulness to the skies.Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,your justice like the great deep.You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.They feast on the abundance of your house;you give them drink from your river of delights.For with you is the fountain of life;in your light we see light.Continue your love to those who know you,your righteousness to the upright in heart.Psalm…
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. Isaiah 9:2 The house I moved into in 2011 has great closets. I do not consider myself a hoarder, but those closets have filled up over the years. They filled up so much so that when my mom stayed with me this past October, I took her up on her offer to help me purge. The biggest surprise…
It's the eve of the New Year, 2022! The celebrations held toward the end of the year - Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Winter Solstice are giving way to a new year. New years are generally times of promise and new beginnings. Very often, people make new year's promises to themselves and others,known as "resolutions" - to start off the new year in a better way, or with great intentions to live life in a better and more productive or fruitful way.All around the…
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:8)The Luke account offers some interesting ideas when we consider the shepherds. They were confronted by an angel of the Lord and they are terrified. Why? Had they missed a few too many Sabbaths? Maybe it was their understanding of this God of theirs, a God of vengeance, a God of the apocalyptic of Daniel. We can be assured that they had no more insight…
Then [Jesus] told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But…
“The success of your Advent can be measured by your belief and awareness of God’s presence in yourself, in others, and all things.” Edward Hays, “Meeting Christ at Broadway and Bethlehem” Edward Hays, “Meeting Christ at Broadway and Bethlehem” “What are you doing for Advent, Heidi-dear?” I was visiting a former high school teacher while home from college on Christmas break. The Irish Sisters of Mercy tended to call me “Heidi-dear,” either all one word or with a hyphen. I looked at Sr.…
The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight.Every valley shall be filled,and every mountain and hill shall be made low,and the crooked shall be made straight,and the rough ways…
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of “the same” is “someone or something that has not changed: something that is exactly like it was at an earlier time.” In the scripture above we are being reassured that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday (the past), today (the present), and forever (the future). How good to know that throughout our seasons and our struggles, He is our constant. He is firm. He is steadfast.…
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans, 12:6-8, NIV)This is the season of giving. We’re used to it. We shop.…
I continue to be impressed at the lengths that people will go to save money on purchasing the gifts during the Christmas season. Black friday is a perfect example. Frankly, I haven’t ever been in the black friday rush—I don’t even know, with the month-long extended internet blitz, whether people go to the lengths they used to with the brick and mortar stores. They used to camp out in lines, sometimes for an entire night, just to secure the closest spot to the door. Others would wake incredibly early. Come morning, the mad rush began as people run to get to the big deals.
As I begin the week of this Thanksgiving holiday, I am filled with positive childhood memories of great family time, while also being stirred about what this holiday can mean to others different than me and those who do not feel included, valued, or seen with these celebrations.Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as I am filled with memories as a child, growing up driving down to my Grandma Hartman’s farm down in Southern Illinois. The day car trip was well worth the 4…
"I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back." (Philippians 3:12-14 The Message)The day started out with…
“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) “Saying Christmas is at risk due to supply chain problems leads me to believe that you don’t know the reason for Christmas.” This statement has been showing up daily on Facebook, and I have mixed thoughts about it. I find myself caught between the desire to keep Christ as the center of my Christmas AND AT THE SAME TIME…
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:12-13).I realized this last year that there were many pieces of my dad that I lost before his actual death in December 2020. My dad, whose birthday was Nov. 10, used…
The text assigned for today is from John 11:32-44, where we hear of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. We are given a glimpse of both the divinity and the humanity of Jesus in this text. The humanity appears when Jesus, as we are told, was deeply moved as he came near the tomb of his friend. The divinity is pointed up as we see the relationship between Jesus and the Father. There is a tension between this humanity and divinity that…
“Without a doubt, that’s the most important aspect of the saints for me: they teach me about being who I am. Each of the saints has been, to quote St. John XXIII, ‘holy in a different way.’ Each was placed in a different situation and time. Each had a different personality and dealt with life differently. And each related to God a little differently.” Fr. James Martin, SJ, “My Life With the Saints” I guess I could say my life with the saints…
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”(John 8:31-32)This coming Sunday, October 31, is Reformation Day. This is the day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, the event that gave rise to the Protestant Reformation.It is a dilemma for us Lutherans as to whether we want…
Pay attention to how you think about God. Are you putting God in a box? Are you thinking God is just one thing? This box will show you how God is so much more expansive and connected to so much more than we can imagine. (video Devotion)
We inhabit a world where life plus the pandemic have given us much to grieve. Simultaneously, that same pandemic has robbed us of access to many of the opportunities we, historically, have leaned into during times of sorrow. On September 29th, Trinity Lutheran held a “grief evening”. There was time in the sanctuary for individual contemplation with live music as the background, plus a 20-minute gathering with readings and prayers. “Remember and Grieve Together” was designed as a time to name the losses…
The Gospel assigned for this week is from Mark 10:17-31, and is one of those texts where each verse might be the topic of a complete sermon. I am going after a single portion of verse twenty-seven.This text group is often called “The Rich Young Man”. It is a conversation with a wealthy person about the nature of the Kingdom of God and what our service to others might look like.In verse 21 Jesus tells the man to sell all that he has…
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)In 2014 I began a pastorate at a church in San Mateo, CA. The church had two years in between their called pastors. As I began my ministry there I realized that they had not had a Bible Study for many months.I talked to several people and they agreed to meet on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. There were four people who joined and others came along the way.…
Years ago, a fellow whom I visited in a VA hospital told me this story. He, (we’ll call him “Bruce”), was at the gym observing a power lifter, (we’ll call him “James”), who was bench-pressing more than 350 pounds. For those who are wondering what bench-pressing is, it’s a form of exercise where the lifter lies on a bench, under a rack that holds a bar that has a series of weights added to it and lifts the weight with his arms enough…
(Jesus and his disciples) went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. (Mark 9:30-32) I am struck by the number of occasions in Mark’s gospel…
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to…
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—thing about such things.(Philippians 4:6-8, NIV)One morning, as I prayed for members of my family, I realized how much anxiety…
1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2How long shall I have perplexity in my mind, and grief in my heart, day after day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? 3Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; 4lest my enemy say, “I have defeated you,” and my foes rejoice that I have fallen. 5But I trust in…
“Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” (James 5:4) I recently watched the 2004 BBC mini-series “North & South”. This was set in a mill town in the north of England around 1850; it follows the clash of values between a clergyman’s daughter from the rural south of England and the owner of a cotton mill. The…
I lift my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1) I recently had the chance to visit my hometown - Duluth, Minnesota. I only lived in Duluth until I was four, when we moved to Omaha, Nebraska. After Omaha, we moved to Schaumburg, Illinois, and after that, to Natick, Massachusetts. My childhood years were marked by these moves and experiences of different places. Duluth is rich in…
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