ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 13, 2022I went to preach at my home church in Lincoln, Nebraska, a number of years ago. It was a great experience, but what I felt to be a strongly worded sermon was greeted with comments like, “Oh Bruce, it is so nice to have you here. I always thought you’d become a minister. Your mom must be so proud.” Maybe I’m overestimating what I said
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 12, 2022How often have you lost something you really didn’t lose? After searching for your glasses, you found them on your face. After checking your pockets for your car keys, you realized they were in your hand all along. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t believe so. In scripture, Jesus tells a handful of parables about individuals or things lost, and the celebration upon finding
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 11, 2022Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human Trafficking is often defined as: The exploitation of another person for labor, domestic servitude or commercial sexual activity by force, fraud or coercion. Though Sex Trafficking has received the most attention in recent years, the exploitation of workers in food processing, restaurants and farming is some of the most significant. With that said, any modern day slavery in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 10, 2022Prayer for the Week:Guide us toward a future that may not in this moment be imaginable to us. Lead us, Gracious God, in the direction of your Kin(g)dom being made real in this world. Invite us to be participants as it is brought to life in the here and now. Encourage us as we strive to embody all your Kin(g)dom represents, including kindness, generosity, mercy,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 9, 2022IT IS EPIPHANY SUNDAY!! And of course, that means it is the Camel Parade (assuming it is not raining). By having a camel today, we are assuming (imposing upon) the Magi an animal that may or may not have been present. It is interesting how often images from the life of Jesus bring a camel into the scene. I just looked at some Children’s Sunday
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 8, 2022Do you ever come across of piece of history that you did not previously know (or had forgotten), and it leaves you shaking your head? Recently I learned about the Romanus Pontifex. In the 15th century, the Pope issued a declaration (a Papal Bull) giving the Royal Family of Portugal dominion over an important part of the African Continent. This religious decree gave Portugal the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 7, 2022Do you recognize the word magoi? It is the Greek word appearing in Matthew 2:1, the Greek word we have translated as Magi, Wisemen or even King. Now King is a bad translation of the word as it is mostly shaped by a song we sing at this time of the year: We Three Kings. And our word Magi is the English transliteration of the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 6, 2022Life often brings a convergence of two events on a single day, often two events with very different meanings and emotions. Today is Epiphany. The church usually celebrates Epiphany on the Sunday closest to January 6, so we will be celebrating with the camel this coming Sunday. Epiphany is when the church celebrates the arrival of the Magi (wisemen), a story found in Matthew’s Gospel.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 5, 2022How do we create an attitude of expectation? In the weeks leading to Christmas, there was little effort required. Everything created expectation. Let me date myself – when I was a kid, expectation started to build with the arrival of the Sears Christmas Catalogue. Over the next week or so, I marked pages and circled items. There was a period of time when I spent
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJanuary 4, 2022Like gruff shepherds and curious magi, God beckons us to a place – a place where the unimaginable is suddenly made visible; a place where love shatters every limitation imposed upon it; a place where unacceptable folks by most standards find welcome and learn of their inherent value. God beckons us to worship each Sunday with an expectation of us embodying God’s kin(g)dom gathering. The