With the words “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” the community recognized the bond that had been established between them and God as revealed in Jesus. God did not stay distant from them, remote and isolated; rather, in Jesus, God chose to live with humanity...
I fear that attempting to satisfy personal preferences may honor selfishness while further destroying the unity of the church. Further, I fear that gearing the “worship service” toward unbelievers who may be present will perpetuate the revivalistic confusion between...
To keep Lent is to discover and remember who in heaven’s name we are, as person and community. We pray against all confusers and confusions for our true identity and vocation. We know that means standing before the cross and making some choices. The grace of this...
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing…not healing, not curing…that is a friend who cares.
Change can force a transformation. Spiritual transformation always includes a usually disconcerting reorientation. It can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can force people to close down and turn slowly bitter. The difference is determined precisely by...
The empowerment of the Spirit is not earned; it is freely given. And so with the early church at Pentecost. It was not their courage or clarity that evoked the blessing of the Spirit, for they were vulnerable and confused. The Spirit is a gift, not a possession. The...
To those in the church today who regard the Spirit as an exotic phenomenon of mainly interior and purely personal significance, the story of the Spirit’s descent at Pentecost offers a rebuke. Luke goes to great pains to insist that this outpouring of the Spirit is...
Now testimony is…”who we are and who we are becoming.” Our stories no longer tell tales of spiritual acquiescence and conformity. Rather, they tell of finding meaning, finding unique selves, and finding God in a confusing and chaotic world. Contemporary thinkers have...
I think that’s one reason why you are here this morning. You are looking for answers to life’s big questions, searching for reasons why, groping for some discernible pattern in the confusion. We’ve been bombarded with information, facts, and figures. We don’t need any...