Now this is so. I have never been one who knew too much of how to speak of the Holy Trinity. I expect my mind does not work naturally in such categories, with such systematic ways of thinking. More than this, and perhaps for this reason, I imagine, I have never found a good way …
Tag: Genesis
A Story of Abundance: Three Measures of Flour and Much, Much More!
Genesis 18:1-10a I had some time off scheduled last week and with other plans being cancelled, wound up spending my vacation close to home. I decided to use some of that time to prepare a ‘starter’ for a bread recipe I had been wanting to try. It took five days and more than five pounds …
A Parable for a Pandemic: Joseph and His Brothers
Genesis 45:3-11, 15 I sat in a gathering the other night, all of us in a large circle, listening to one tell her story. The group which has been going deep in our understanding of our racial history as a nation for the last couple of years is taking it a step deeper even, going …
Stuck in the Middle of Lent: Joseph’s Brothers and the Forgiven, Unforgiving Slave
Genesis 50:15-21 Matthew 18:21-35 I walked into the robing room at First Lutheran Church the other day. I had not had much reason to spend time in there over the last six months. We have been taping services earlier in the week and what in person worship we have shared in has been outside. On …
A Little Lower Than God… God’s Own Breath In Us
Psalm 8 “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being…” Genesis 2:7 And so it is Holy Trinity Sunday — the one Sunday of the church year which is wholly devoted to exploring and celebrating …
Wrestling All Night… And More
Genesis 32:22-31 This ancient story still speaks, doesn’t it? I expect that is because we have all found ourselves exactly where Jacob finds himself today: wresting all night long. Only in my experience, the wrestling doesn’t usually end with the break of dawn. Or at least not the first break of dawn. And yet, by …
Counting Stars, Standing Firm in the Lord, Gathered Under the Wings of Jesus
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 A few days back, I sat down with a woman who is an avowed atheist. She shared where she was on the spectrum of faith without apology. I found that I respected and liked her immediately for her forthrightness. Indeed, I am confident this was not the first …
Joseph and His Brothers: The Challenge and Gift of Forgiveness
Genesis 45:3-11, 15 I have always, always loved the story of Joseph and his brothers. I am not sure when this first came to be so, but I do remember this. I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I was walking with a friend home from school. Now, I grew up in a …
To Rest: Created in the Image of God
Genesis 1:1-2:4a “And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the word he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:2-3 …