Isaiah 52:13-53:12 On Wednesday morning I got called away as it appeared to those closest to him that Cliff would not make it through the day. Cliff is my brother-in-law’s dad. He is 92 years old. He has been widowed for many years and in these last years has depended on the attentive care of …
A Gap in the Story: Easter Thoughts
Mark 16:1-8 There’s a gap in the story. And for now, at least, I’m not speaking of the one that comes at the end of this resurrection account but one that’s there in the story right before the narrative of our Gospel Story. One where the details are entirely left out — perhaps because those first listeners to this …
On Meals and Memories: Some Thoughts for Maundy Thursday
I Corinthians 11:23-26 “I don’t really want a Shamrock Shake. I just want the feeling I had: 7 years old and my mom bought me one after the parade.” My cousin Greg posted this on Facebook a few weeks back. His status update touched me so that first I found myself laughing and then tearing up …
When Dying Means Living…
John 12:20-33 Some of you will recall that I began an exercise class in January. The first week I hurt all the time. And I do mean all the time. Oh, it didn’t hit right away. In fact, that first day I drove my hour’s commute to work feeling rather proud of myself and a little smug, thinking …
Wearing My Sin on the Front of My Alb
John 3:14-21 It was, in fact, the first time I had ever preached on this Gospel text. I was in my first year of seminary and I was preaching that Sunday morning in my teaching parish at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Since this would be the first time I actually stepped into …
Barriers and Broken Hearts
John 2:13-22 It was a long time ago now… an Easter morning, in fact, and my mother and I were heading out to church. We were visiting my sister and she had thought about joining us, but it was a particularly heartbreaking time in her life and she decided at the last minute that she …
On Cross-Bearing
Mark 8:31-38 This is a story that was passed along to us after my dad died. This is how it came to us: Two of my sisters, my two young nephews, my mother and I had traveled east to the town north of Boston which was my dad’s hometown. My sister, Sarah, especially wanted to go …
Usually Ashes Are Easy to Come By
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Usually ashes are easy to come by. In my most recent congregational call, our efficient Altar Guild would always make sure we had plenty of ashes on hand every year as Epiphany drew to a close and Ash Wednesday fast approached. Only as a much younger pastor, I wasn’t yet aware that ashes …
Uncharted Territory
Mark 1:9-15 I have to say that the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness could not have come at a better time for me for I have found myself in ‘uncharted territory’ these days. The call came at a little after 6 am last Thursday morning. My 81 year old mother who has always …
Puzzling Over the Transfiguration
Mark 9:2-9 I confess I’ve always puzzled over how to bring this particular story alive. For it’s not as though this is something that happens every day. In fact, many of us would assert that we’ve never experienced anything quite like this moment in time where a few chosen disciples join Jesus on a mountain …