Why did Jesus heal the deaf man? What went through his mind when people brought this broken soul to him? Mark indicates he was inconvenienced; not prepared for this intrusion, but he sighed deeply, took him away from the crowds and healed him, with the admonition at least to keep it quiet. What did that […]
Behave as if you believe. Part of me wants this very much, because it is the way to the fullness of God. But another part resists. “Behave as if you believe” are very dangerous words. They remind me Tennessee Williams’ wonderful play, “Camino Real” where Gutman, a portly man in a white suit, panics when […]
It is Pentecost and Mothers’ Day, a good time to remind ourselves we are in the middle of the biggest revolution of all time. It sometimes pits one half of the world’s population against the other. Thank God it is a bloodless. Of course, I am speaking of women’s liberation. It is only in the […]
It is the Fourth of July, the day our nation sets aside to remember the birth of our freedom in 1776. The celebration has always been associated with the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. We often forget this document is primarily a long list of reasons why we were separating ourselves from the British […]
St. John never wrote a birth story. Instead he celebrates God becoming human by singing the first Christmas carol. His song claims that this birth overcomes the darkness of this world and enables us to become children of God. Repeatedly, he says it makes available grace upon grace. In many ways grace is Christianity’s gift […]
It’s hard to believe Jesus’ disciples can praise him as God’s Messiah, shouting, “Holy, Holy, Holy. Hosanna to the Son of David” on Palm Sunday and then abandon him on Thursday night. It seems impossible that the crowd can cry, “Bless is he who comes in the name of the Lord” on Palm Sunday and […]
For several years my parish trained first year field workers for the seminary. They usually sent us their most difficult students. One of those was Heikki Ausiku, a pastor from Namibia. You might remember South Africa controlled this Lutheran nation, forcing apartheid on its population. Heikki was sent to the seminary to learn English, so […]
Jesus’ name for God was so important the Bible keeps the original Aramaic word: “Abba”, “Abba”, an intimate form of “father.” Suddenly every father becomes a model for God- either a good model or a bad one. Faith Ann learned that the hard way fifty years ago at Church camp. Because she was our best […]
This is “Come Dream With Us” Sunday at Trinity. The congregation is meeting to share their dreams about the future. All three lessons include visions of what is to come. It’s a good time to remember how important dreaming is. Real creativity comes when we let ourselves go and use our imaginations to picture what […]
If Matthew, Mark, and Luke thought Peter’s confession was central to the Gospel proclamation, John believed Thomas’ confession was even more important. He originally ended his Gospel with the colossal, “My Lord and my God.” This was the most far reaching confession in the Bible, perhaps the first time anyone proclaimed Jesus divine. Yet we […]
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