Luke 6:20-31 It had been a busy morning. I had been out of the office far too much in the last few weeks and so it is that I found myself with the phone pressed to my ear making belated birthday calls. For an hour and a half. I was about an hour and fifteen …
Month: October 2016
Written On Our Hearts
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Last week-end I traveled with my mother, a couple of my sisters, our aunt, a cousin and some distant cousins to the family cemetery in west-central Wisconsin. It’s a small cemetery with a gravel road off County H leading up a hill to it. When you go to leave you are driving down …
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector: What’s Underneath
Luke 18:9-14 We’ve had some road construction done on our street over these last couple of weeks. As of this writing, they had taken the pavement down to the original bricks and put down the first layer of pavement. The had replaced much of the curbing at the intersections — including the cuts in the …
From Jacob to Israel: What’s in a Name?
Genesis 32:22-31 Names often have meaning, of course. I think for instance, of my hometown. At one point in its history it was called “Hangman’s Town” — referring to a more than unfortunate incident which took place downtown early in its existence. Later, community leaders renamed it to “Rochelle” — almost on a whim. Legend …
The Tenth Leper and How God is Already at Work in the World
Luke 17:11-19 I find myself thinking of the ‘faith of the outsider’ this week as we pause in the familiar story of Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers now. For while are surely called to focus on the powerful gift of Jesus’ healing as demonstrated in this story, what stands out is the grateful response …