Claimed, gathered and sent

It's been a long time and it's time to get back to blogging. Whenever I read gospel accounts regarding Jesus' identity, I hear in my head the NCIS theme, "Who Are You?" This past Sunday, John the Baptist was the one doing the wondering. The gospel text is Matthew 11:2-11. This is the message I shared with God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church in Portville, NY. Have you ever struggled with doubt? Perhaps you have been in a situation which made everything that was formerly clear and certain, murky and uncertain. You pray and nothing happens. Where is God? You’ve done all the right things, but nothing has turned out the way it’s supposed to or the way you thought it was supposed to. I imagine that is how John the Baptist felt. A chunk of time has passed between the events of last week’s gospel and this week’s. John has been arrested. He has been in prison during Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. John may have been in prison as long as a year. If Jesus is

This week's gospel text from Luke is a doozy. The following is the result of prayer and study with the scripture. This is what I'll be preaching tomorrow morning at Bethel. What in the world is Jesus talking about in today’s parable? There is nothing easy to understand about it.                                             Is this an early example of a debt settlement offer? How ideal for our culture of consumers who are overspent, overextended, and stretched beyond reason. We’ve probably all heard the ads on the radio or TV. “Call 1-800-BYE-DEBT and let us deal with your creditors.” They make it sound so easy. However, we all know there are no easy fixes and that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. Money issues are complicated. Why does Jesus tell this story? Is Jesus praising dishonesty and rewarding the “self-serving shenanigans of a [sleazy] employee?” (Sharron Blezard) The manager doesn’t do folks in, but he is determined to secure his future b

I was really excited when I saw this prayer by St. Ignatius on a Facebook post by Renovare. It beautifully fits in with the gospel lesson for tomorrow from Luke 14:25-33. Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,  my memory, my understanding and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me. Amen.

The best, most rewarding and sometimes the hardest part of being a pastor is the sacred spaces that people allow you into. Since Palm Sunday, I have spent more time walking, praying and just accompanying my parishioners at the hospital, the funeral home and in circumstances of life. It's a sacred and sometimes sad privilege to be let into people's lives like that. Saturday the church council and I  went to Camp Penuel in Eldred, PA for a church council retreat. We are blessed to have such committed leaders. It was a really good retreat and I thank God for his work among us as we studied, prayed and tackled the subject of change and what that might look like at Bethel.  We also set some BHAGs--big, hairy, audacious goals. Then yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday and it felt strange to be away from church. I was traveling to S. C. for the Evangelical Lutheran Coalition for Mission in Appalachia Assembly as  one of my synod's delegates to the assembly. It was a very l

For the first time in anyone's memory, we held a community Ash Wednesday service. This was a cooperative effort of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran churchs. The response was overwhelming. This will now be an annual event. We three pastors each preached a short homily following each of the scripture texts that were read. I preached on the Isaiah text . Here is the message I shared: At first glance, it’s easy to see why this portion of Isaiah is read on Ash Wed.      It’s about fasting, which is a discipline some folks practice during Lent      This reading is about right and wrong fasting and worship           But the heart of the message goes far deeper “God was disturbed by Israel’s lack of social justice. Their fasting had become [a public show. It was] a means to boast of their righteousness rather than live out a faith where one cares for one’s neighbor” (Dr. Keith Wagner) The people of Israel were trying to build a new community This generation

Our congregation is beginning God Sightings, which is more than a Bible study, more than a devotional. It's a means to look for ways in which God is at work in our everyday lives. The program consists of scripture reading from a one year Bible and a companion guide for journalling.  We will officially begin this study in Lent and it will continue beyond that time. Our hope is that God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church, Portville, NY, where I serve as pastor, will embrace this opportunity to engage scripture, our faith and God in a way that we have never done before. It is my conviction that if each of us does this, God will turn our lives and our church upside down. Speaking of God sightings, this Sunday's gospel on the transfiguration is a case of God sightings and hearings. Some questions came out as we talked about the text at Bible study Tuesday night. We attempted to discern what God was doing in that text, what God is saying to us personally and what God is say

It has been an amazing day of ministry. Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. This morning we had a great service, then I spent time with the confirmation class training them to be acolytes, communion assistants and lectors. But I think the highlight of my day came this afternoon when a group of us went to a nearby nursing home for a service of holy communion. Most of the residents were very engaged in the singing, prayer and communion. One of them didn't want to let go of my hand when we were singing. What really topped it all off for me though was when I communed another woman. When I said, "The body and blood of Christ given and shed for you" (I intincted the commununion host for the residents), she said "...and you!" We both said "Amen!" It was just an amazing connection that we had. The homily I shared with them was a shortened version of the sermon I preached at Bethel . The gospel text was Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. Here is my