The first 39 chapters of Isaiah come from the last few years of the Kingdom of Judah before the Babylonian Exile. The people’s beloved king, Uzziah, had just died, and they worried that their nation’s stability and security may have died with him. It was a tumultuous time of social and political transition for the Judeans, to which we can most certainly relate.
Read MoreFar from being a quaint holdover from dusty old church customaries, it turns out that this feast day captures the very heart of our faith and our hope.
Read MoreThe Torah, the Way is not simply a cold, impersonal, feature of the world. It is the Law of the Lord, and that Lord is a humble and personal God who will come to instruct and guide, heal and save, God has come to give us life. In this way, the Psalm ends in praise of the God who is “my strength and my redeemer.” If we are to have the energy, the power to join in the pattern of life that the Law provides, we will do so not through our own efforts but by joining in the endless, dynamic energy of God. This is what eternal life is about, not so much an endless succession of days, but a grounding in the very reality that is Life itself.
Read MoreIn his book, When God was a Bird, Mark Wallace explains that birds in scripture have something vital to teach us about our incarnate God. And yes, Ragan did loan me this book. Wallace explains that while the birth of Christ in human form may be the ultimate manifestation of the incarnation, or embodiment, of our God, we can see and understand this aspect of God in other places in the natural world, and birds are a fabulous example.
Read MoreElizabeth welcomed Mary with open arms and was all too ready to comfort her and let her know that everything would be okay. But then Mary spoke, and the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt, and Elizabeth's whole world was rocked - again. I imagine it was unsettling at first. But this brave young woman who is carrying the Christ child was able to comfort Elizabeth, too.
Read MoreLike the residents of Jerusalem in the first century, it’s tempting to scatter and isolate in the face of uncertainty and anxiety, and to just take care of our own. But the ancient wisdom still applies, which is to stay in community. And to do it well, according to the holy standards set for us by the law and the prophets.
Read MoreThanksgiving night was clear and cold in the Ozarks, and we sat around a campfire looking to the heavens in absolute awe. I think everyone who sees a night sky like that becomes a theologian. That kind of zooming out when looking at the stars is a way of understanding the season of Advent. This is a big picture season. We are waiting with hope for the arrival of a big picture future, in which God will have restored all things in a new creation.
Read MorePilate and Jesus are engaged in the age old disagreement about the value of kingship. Just as God tried to explain to the Israelites that a king is not the kind of leader who can bring salvation, Jesus is telling Pilate, I’ll have no part of the kingship you’re describing. For thousands of years, God has been trying to tell us that we cannot put our own savior in power, but even now, in 2024, we in the U.S. are still arguing over what kind of supreme political authority will save us. When will we learn?
Read MoreThe mini-apocalypse in Mark can bring some comfort and hope to all of us in these divided times. Today’s news events may be current, but not new, at least not from Jesus' perspective. And like those 1st century disciples, he’s calling us to love one another through it all.
Read MoreOn this day, we could all use a bit of the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
Read MoreWe find ourselves in good company with Mary and Martha, trying to understand the bigger picture. Like them, we long to hear that there is a mystery that holds us all together. And on this day, we are assured that it’s true. Christ’s resurrection shines through us all.
Read MoreWhen a person dies, they are seemingly gone from our lives forever, and there is no humor in that sad circumstance. But of course, the empty tomb changes that. The very crux of our faith is that the empty tomb changes everything. And our task as people of faith is to overcome our struggle with spiritual object permanence. To that end, the Holy Spirit has guided the Church to the celebration of the feast of All Saints.
Read MoreThere is too much in creation to fit within a human frame of reference. Job’s questions, our biggest questions, are simply too small.
Read MoreWhat our scriptures, our tradition, and our Savior Christ have to teach us today is that the concept of marriage evolves throughout history, and our job is not to be faithful to a system that we’ve put into place, but to be faithful to God, and that means being faithful to the people we are in relationships with. For some, that faithfulness looks like legal union, and for some, it doesn’t. For some, the best way to remain faithful to God is to end a legal union. And when that happens, it is worthy of our grief, and it is the responsibility of the community of faith to show God’s love to those involved.
Read MoreAs the Halloween spiders start going up, maybe you will think of Jonathan Edwards, and his unforgettable words that we are like spiders hanging by a thread over the flames, held by the hand of God who could let go at any moment. Or maybe you’ll think of Jesus who sometimes used a similar hellfire and brimstone approach, warning about fire and trash heaps. As preachers they shared powerful images to wake us up to the reality of sin in our lives. But that was never the end of their sermons, or the end of our story. They also woke us up to the grace of God who never actually lets go.
Read MoreThe author of the Gospel of Mark did not offer us this story so we could look back at the foolishness of those first followers of Jesus. He knew that in his church and all the churches to come, we would continue trying to turn the gifts of God’s reign into projects of power. Mark knew with Jesus that welcoming children as radical gifts in our lives, and greeting them with wonder, is one of the best ways of keeping the church’s priorities in line with God's new social order.
Read MoreThe final verse of the Psalm 19 asks God to “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” To the psalmist, our words and our hearts are inextricably linked, which suggests to me that when we are able to meet God there, it is in holy silence that we will find our holy words. Or as the author of the book of Proverbs puts it, Wisdom will pour out her thoughts and make her words know to us.
Read MoreHave our hearts become hardened in ways we’re barely aware of? We’ve got two strong teachers in the room ready to show us a better way and a more open heart.
Read MoreWe shouldn’t be part of a church as an identity marker; a dour routine by which we demonstrate that we are among the good people. True faith is about the cultivation of the heart—a drawing forth of love.
Read MoreKing Solomon, the highly skilled college freshman DIY-ers, and our own master plan are all pointing us to an important truth, which is that there is a difference between a house and a home, between a location and a place. Jennifer Allen Craft says that “places are the ground of shared human experience, as well as the product of shared human experience.... place is not just a piece of ground - it is the undeniable fact of our existence in relationship with the whole of creation.” In other words, a place, and in our context, a holy place, is not just an environment in which holy things happen, but an enlivened co-creator in that holiness.
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