John 2:1-11 A few months back I stopped to call on a member of our congregation. It was intended to be just a short visit as I was dropping in on my way home for supper (and before an evening meeting), He was getting ready to leave early the next morning for surgery at a …
Baptism as Initiation: The Start of Something New
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 It occurs to me now that the story of the Baptism of Jesus is one that appears every year at this time in each one of our lectionary cycles. Oh, we have the same experience at other times as well. Christmas, of course. And Easter. And Pentecost, too. And this. Oh the …
The Force Awakens: The Light Shines in the Darkness
John 1:1-18 I will never forget the feeling of sitting at the old Hub Theater in Rochelle watching the first Star Wars Movie. I was sixteen. I was not then, and am certainly not now, especially a fan of science fiction, but the epic battle portrayed in the story caught my imagination and stirred something …
Something More: Defying Gravity and Other Thoughts for Christmas Eve
Luke 2:1-20 One almost can’t help but find oneself thinking about the cultural images of Christmas which surround us in these last days of Advent. Now there are certainly those who would hold fast to their certainty that Santa and his Reindeer and all the rest cloud the true meaning of the season. And while …
Like Mary Did
Luke 1:39-55 St. Mary’s Catholic Parish is right across the street from the congregation I serve. It is a busy street that divides us and so it is not often that I have reason to cross it to be in conversation with our neighbors. And yet, this fall I couldn’t help myself. For you see, …
Baptism with Fire: Now Who Shall We Be?
Luke 3:7-18 I trudged through the mall on Friday night. is not a place I frequent often, but at least once a year I make my way to the Hallmark Store to purchase my nephew’s Godchild ornament. I started this tradition his first Christmas and even though this is the 19th time I have done …
Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old
Review of Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old, Compiled by Marian Le Blanc, Illustrated by David G. Klein, The Plough Publishing House, copyright 2002 “Their looks responded with that indefinable expression which always follows when a speaker has uttered the thought which has been slumbering in the hearts of his listeners.” (p. 79) …
God with Us – Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas
It was Christmas Day nearly thirty years ago. I was on my seminary internship in a small town in rural Nebraska. The season had been hectic and those last few days especially challenging for this pastor-in-training, but there was a plane bound for Chicago in my very near future and so there was a lift …
The Nearness of the Kingdom: Jesus Goes, Too
Luke 21:25-36 I spent several hours in the E.R. the other night — this time not because I had been called. No, instead, I was on the other side. I’ll spare you the details, but I was suffering a severe gall bladder attack. After they diagnosed it and addressed my pain, they sent me home …
A King Like No Other
John 18:33-37 I has been ringing through my mind these last days — the cry of the people in 1 Samuel. You remember it. They are in the land which was promised to them. They have been watched over and led by a series of Judges — some of whom did better than others. And …