Luke 4:1-13 I officiated at a funeral last Saturday. I was not acquainted with the one who had died, except later through the family’s stories, but they were in need of a pastor, and as I have said in this space before, when asked I always do my best to step in. I confess I was tired …
Ashes and Dust and Broken Hearts
Psalm 51 It’s an old story, this one, since the young man in question turned eighteen not long ago. And yet, I remember it like it was yesterday the Saturday morning when I broke my nephew’s heart. I am telling you the truth when I say that I had a three-year-old standing at my feet …
“And They Kept Silent…”
Luke 9:28-36 I was officiating at a funeral a while back. I was working then with a funeral home I don’t work with all that often, and somehow this was the first occasion we had shared together in the funeral of a veteran. Following the service, we traveled in caravan to the cemetery. The prayers and words …
Only…
Jeremiah 1:4-10 Luke 4:21-30 A long time ago when I was a very young pastor just starting out, an older woman pastor took me to lunch. I don’t remember where we went, what we ate, or even very much of the substance of our conversation that day. But I do remember this. Before we left …
Stepping Towards the Pain
1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a When I was in high school I played on the girls’ volleyball team. Not that I was all that good at it or even had any real passion for it. I wound up on the team because a friend asked me to try out with her. The uncomfortable irony was that …
Going Home Again…
Luke 4:14-21 I would not presume to lay my experience alongside that of Jesus. And yet, I do know what it feels like to try to ‘preach’ in one’s hometown. I can remember preaching in a congregation not far from where I grew up. Afterward a woman came up to me and asked me if I …
On Wine and Weddings
John 2:1-11 I was out to lunch with a friend the other day. It was noon on a Saturday and the restaurant was crowded. After we sat down I looked up to notice the group at the next table. There were four sitting there. The three women were knitting and the young man was looking on. …
Passing on the Faith
Isaiah 43:1-7Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 I sat in a meeting with our Confirmation Guides the other night. We were kicking around the truth that it’s harder to get young people to memorize than it used to be. (For that matter, memorization seems more difficult for all of us, reliant as we have become on electronic devices to store …
On Magi and Journeys
Matthew 2:1-12 It is difficult to read this piece of the Christmas story and not picture three youngsters wearing Sunday School Pageant finery and sporting ill fitting crowns, making their way down the center aisle while the congregation sings, “We Three Kings.” And yet, my imagination is taking me in a different direction this year as …
A Christmas Message
John 1:1-14 This past week I headed out on some communion calls… taking the gifts of God to those who can’t be part of our celebrations with us in worship in these next hours. First I knelt with Hazel in the hallway outside the dining room at the nursing home which has been her residence these …