John 14:23-29 This Sunday’s Gospel is one I often read at funerals, especially the part where Jesus says to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be …
Month: April 2013
Loving One Another
John 13:31-35 I was standing in a hospital room many years ago now. It was during one of a dozen such stays after my dad’s first heart surgery. A group of friends from his church had come to see him. As I remember it, they stood awkwardly around his hospital bed, fumbling for words to …
Our Shepherd’s Voice
John 10:22-30 I stepped into the funeral home on Tuesday afternoon. I had met with the family on Monday. The woman’s daughter described herself and her family as “spiritual but not religious,” although their roots were Lutheran, which is why the call came to me. I spent extra time that day walking through the funeral service …
Following Jesus Once More
John 21:1-19 I can’t really imagine what it must have been for Peter and the other disciples as they gathered on the lake shore that night. There is certainly nothing in my own experience that parallels what they have been through: to watch Jesus crucified, and to have participated in it by their own denial …
On Hopscotch and Crocuses and Doubting Thomas Once More
John 20:19-31 I didn’t get up in time to go to my weight training class this morning. It’s the day after Easter, after all, and my 4:45 alarm just came too early. So instead I decided to take the walk I’ve been fitting in these last couple of weeks. It takes just more than half …