Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/11/18 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text is Mark 9:2-9 . The other night, Ray and I were watching the old tv show, “The Twilight Zone” on Netflix. The story was about a man from the 1800s, Wild West, who was suddenly transported to 20th century, downtown Manhattan. At night, he was surrounded by cars with horns blaring, buses, bright neon lights flashing and so on. It was more than he could stand and he nearly went out of his mind. What if the scene were reversed? What if someone from our time found him or herself as a witness of Jesus’ transfiguration? We can explain so much in our world—from volcanoes to northern lights to germs and disease transmission. What do we do when we are confronted with something so amazing, otherworldly and unexplainable? Three of the disciples went with Jesus to a high mountain. This tips us off that something big is going to happen. Throughout scripture important revelations happen on mountains...

This is the message I preached yesterday at Grace Lutheran Church , my internship site. The text is Matthew 2:13-23. Didn’t yesterday’s dusting of snow make everything look so clean and white outside? It seemed picture perfect. We can hear, “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” in our heads. The time we’ve been waiting for has arrived. It’s finally Christmas! It’s so wonderful to be with family and friends. And if children are part of the mix, don’t you just love the joy and wonder they bring to this time of year? It’s so special. It seems like all is well with the world…at least for some of us.             Others dread this season—the memories stirred up of loved ones now gone, of broken relationships, of missed opportunities, the sheer loneliness of outliving your friends and family.   This can be a time of depression and sadness as well.             That which is a ti...

My son and his fiancée were determined to have a secular wedding ceremony in Las Vegas. The phrase that kept going through my mind was, "Bidden or not bidden, God is present." God is with us whether we realize it or not. And of course we kept praying for them. They are a wonderful couple who are very good for each other. We are thrilled to have Marisa in our family. The setting was beautiful: an outdoor patio area with plants around. It was evening and there was a nice breeze. The groom's father and best man told us that when they met with the minister (yes, minister, not justice of the peace) they found out he's a Lutheran minister. Hmm, isn't that interesting? The ceremony used the traditional vows. The minister spoke seriously to Christian and Marisa, charging them that they were in this for the long haul...as long as they lived. He did not use the word God , but certainly gave them godly counsel in the ceremony. God was there...bidden or not bidden. God was th...

This morning in lectio divina, we read and prayed with this Sunday's first reading, Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16. Above is what the text looks like when run through Wordle Word clouds are generated from text pasted into Wordle. The larger the words, the more times they appear in a given text. A number of things came to mind while going over the text: God is God almighty, covenant promises, name change and its significance. God names us, calls us God's own, and enters into relationship with us. God is God and does the impossible. After all our sharing, we fell into silence--a prolonged silence. The presence of God was almost tangible. As much as we may know God is with us, it is still wonderful when we sense that nearness. In that quiet time I could only worship and pray that God would move in our lives and in the lives of each of us on this campus--that there would be a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on each and every one. Gracious God, hear our prayer.

One of the greatest blessings I have experienced this past year has been a relating to a spiritual director . We met together this afternoon for the last time before the move to Gettysburg for seminary. It has been just one year that we've been meeting monthly. We have connected on such a deep level that it seems as though we've been together on this journey much longer. I feel our time together has been great preparation for seminary and future ministry. Before we began, Pastor Linda went to her office and brought out a package for me. In it was a beautiful pink prayer shawl made by one of the women in their prayer shawl ministry. What makes it so special is that prayer is knitted right into it as the knitter prays for the person who will receive the shawl as she knits. There was a card with it explaining the meaning of the shawl and with some prayers. This was a recurring scripture theme . What an unexpected blessing--a reminder of God's presence and love as well as t...

experienced a turning point recuperating from my knee replacement surgery. I have significantly less pain, am walking with one crutch (practicing with a cane), and am now cleared to drive--doing so for the first time today (on a road at least). Last week I experimented in the parking lot under the watchful eye of my physical therapist. Tomorrow I b egin outpatient physical therapy. When in pain, it is difficult to focus on anything but the pain. And we sometimes feel alone despite friends. Sunday's gospel was a pointed reminder tha t whether or not we're aware of it, God is with us, taking care of us, and we need not fear. By his grace our eyes are opened to his presence--sometimes in the most unexpected places. Thanks be to God.