Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
It’s poetic and maybe a bit ironic that this year’s Palm Sunday and the third “No Kings” day fell on the same weekend. Makes me wonder if scheduling the latest “No Kings” day on the eve of Palm Sunday was intentional, that someone(s) on the planning committee would have understood the imagery and messaging of... Continue Reading →
“Why didn’t you…” “If only I…” How many times do we start with these words when something goes wrong, when we face difficult days, or when tragedy strikes? We have expectations of others and ourselves for certain outcomes. Sometimes, maybe oftentimes, those expectations are not met. That is the experience of Mary and Martha in... Continue Reading →
John 9:1-41 There are four stories of healing physical blindness in the New Testament, two in Mark, one in Matthew, and this one in John. Not surprisingly, the story in John varies quite a bit from the others. In the first Mark story (8:22-26), an un-named man is brought to Jesus for healing by “some... Continue Reading →
John 4:(1-4) 5-42 At this year’s Extravaganza, a youth ministry conference hosted by the ELCA Youth Ministry Network, I participated in a day and half workshop titled “The Lay Preacher’s Primer: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon, led by Karoline Lewis, professor of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary. This passage, the story of the Samarian... Continue Reading →
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell... Continue Reading →
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13 for sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year I wrote a piece reflecting on my first semester of seminary and at one point I mentioned about the unexpected “church crisis”. In part the result of the sudden concentration of church history, biblical studies, and theology, a disconnect started emerging for me. The disconnect centers on the tension between the church... Continue Reading →
So, here we are at the end of Lent. We have arrived at the Triduum, the Three Sacred Days, observed by some communities with a worship service which spans well, three days. Worship starts Maundy Thursday with foot washing and Holy Communion, continues on Good Friday with Christ’s Passion and crucifixion, and ends Saturday (in... Continue Reading →
I have been mulling this one over for some time, like more than a year. My seminary readings for 3 of my 4 classes have landed on hospitality at some point this semester. Hospitality comes in all sorts of forms and styles, and happens in a variety of places. In the past few years we... Continue Reading →
As I suspected, this week is feeling a bit like Week 4 of summer swim season. I bet you are wondering how I’m equating this week of Lent with swim season. For those who do summer swim, you probably get it…those of you who have been part of our County swim league team definitely get... Continue Reading →
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