Claimed, gathered and sent

Thanks to "Living Lutheran" for this video. My heart was moved as I watched it.When I lived in the Holy Land, not far from Rachel's Tomb, there was no separation wall. Life was difficult, filled with oppression for the local people. But now on top of that, there is greater oppression with this ugly wall. Please pray for all God's people in the land.

One of the joys of this past Spring Semester has been the number of professors and courses that have invited us to reflect upon past and anticipated experiences in light of the cross. Below is what I wrote regarding Palestinian liberation theology and the cross, especially from Bishop Munib Younan's book, Witnessing in Jerusalem , as well as in the light of my own experiences in the Holy Land. Introduction The situation in the Holy Land seems bleak at best these days. For the residents on all sides, life is a daily roller coaster ride. Hopes for peace rise at the prospect of each negotiation and are then crushed by violence. The people want to have hope. It is a land that should be a place of hope considering the biblical events that unfolded there. Luther’s words in the Heidelberg Disputation still speak today to those who are willing to hear in that volatile place: 20. He deserves to be called a theologian… who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffe...

In reading Pr. Jeff's recent post , regarding former President Jimmy Carter's laying a wreath on the grave of Yasser Arafat, we will have to agree to disagree. He was a saint by no means nor was he the worst sinner either. Having lived in Palestine in the 1980s during the first Palestinian uprising, I could see there was more than enough blame to go around for all parties concerned, not just Israeli and Palestinian. Christian Zionists didn't help the situation either with their blanket approval of everything Israel did and their blanket condemnation of all things Palestinian. It has been wonderful the last five years to be here in the New England Synod , a companion synod to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land because of my time spent there. Bishop Munib Younan was the keynote speaker at last year's New England Synod Assembly. Here is a link to the PowerPoint he presented. A number of visits have been made to the Holy Land by folks from this sy...