After starting on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent comes to Sundays with the story of Jesus facing temptations or testing in the wilderness. These accounts from three of the four gospels, plus the opening chapters of the Book of Job and a few other mentions of the satan (or …
The word used for the Church season between Epiphany and Easter is Lent, which derives from an old word for spring, a season of increasing light. Originally Lent was a time of intensive preparation for the sacrament of baptism at the Easter Vigil service. In more northern climes, fasting was …
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union … The Preamble to the US Constitution, 1789 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal … The Declaration of Independence, 1776 But speaking the truth in love, …
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union … ~The Preamble to the US Constitution, 1789 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal … ~ The Declaration of Independence, 1776 But speaking the truth in love, we …
On that sunny Tuesday morning twenty years ago, I was driving my minivan (which served as our household school bus) down I-35 from our home in Blaine toward MN36, planning (as always) to go east to the exit that would take us to the elementary school. It was an old …
Pentecost rolls around May 31st on the liturgical calendar, the end of May in 2020, 50 days after Easter. This week, catching up on On Being podcasts, I heard Krista Tippett’s interview with Ocean Vuong that aired on April 30th. However, the interview itself happened March 8th. As she noted …
Back when we entered this season, the congregation of which I’m a part embarked on a series of Mid-Week Reflections on Luther’s Marks of the Church. One week after Ash Wednesday, March 4th, I spoke about the Mark of Suffering, little guessing what the unfolding month would bring. By the …
It’s been a few weeks since the sentencing after the verdict in the trial of Mohammed Noor in Minneapolis … for shooting an unarmed citizen while on duty as a Minneapolis police officer. That shooting happened in July 2017, not long after a jury in Ramsey County found former Saint …
About a month ago, we marked the first anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In a little less than two months, it will be the anniversary of the shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston, Texas. Next month, it will be …
Now that all the shouting is over, can we take a pause and take a collective breath? Can we reflect on what just happened and talk about it? I think Dr. Christine Blassey Ford told more of the truth than Judge Brent Kavanaugh. I also hope none of us is …