John 14:1-14 “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…” John 14:2 A few years ago I saw an exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum. It was called “Open House: If these Walls could Talk.” It was fascinating to walk through the ‘history’ of one house in St. Paul — to hear about the …
The Gate for the Sheep
John 10:1-10 I closed myself in my office this afternoon, hoping to get some writing done. A few minutes before when I got home from running errands, I threw the windows wide open. I did so partly because this is one of the first warm days of spring for us here, and it just felt …
Home to Emmaus
Luke 24:13-35 This has long been one of my favorite pieces of Luke’s Gospel. Perhaps that is because I can just picture Cleopas and the other disciple walking with their heads down, trying to make sense of all that had been theirs to see and hear, especially in those last several days. We know …
Bright Red Cellophane and the Easter Promise
Matthew 28:1-10 I must have been about seven years old. We had gone to visit our Grandpa for Easter that year. I was standing in the kitchen. Although there were people all around me, the room went silent in my mind as I looked up. On the top shelf of the small closet which stood …
The Holy Grail
I Corinthians 11:23-26 They say they found the Holy Grail a few weeks ago. And it was hiding in plain sight. Now I don’t know a lot about the search for the Holy Grail. I know that it has motivated searchers for centuries by now — rooted in the time of the Legend of King …
“Humble and Mounted on a Donkey…”
Matthew 21:1-11 I find myself thinking about the donkey and her colt whichJesus rode into Jerusalem so long ago. Now let me say first that I never much thought about the donkeys before, but this time through they caught my attention and my imagination. As I have sat with them this week, I have come to know …
Let the Same Mind Be In You…
Philippians 2:5-11 If I’m honest, the poetry and cadence of these familiar words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians almost always washes over me in such a way that I tend to lose track of its powerful and practical meaning for how I live in and interact with the world. It is easy to get …
Looking for Crocuses
John 11:1-45 I went looking for crocuses the other morning, and I found them, thank God. They were right where they are every spring — perhaps a little later this year than some — but there they were. Although they were looking a little peaked, I have to say — I ‘m thinking this hard winter …
Seeing and Believing
John 9:1-41 It is an amazing story we encounter this week — this one of the man who was born blind who gains his sight. Indeed, as I read it I am tempted to take a number of side trips away from the main point for, in fact, there are many such opportunities. For instance, …
A Story Worth Telling: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well
John 4:5-42 Every story worth telling begins with something being out of place. Every story worth re-telling begins with a conflict. Every story told over and over again is about obstacles overcome — or not. Otherwise there is no story. Think it through with me and you will know this is so. For instance, I …