ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 4, 2021Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Thought for the Day: I know it is not what most people think about on July 4th, but today is the anniversary of my Ordination. Twenty-eight years ago, a wonderful group of people participated in my ordination service, including the laying on of hands. It was held at my home
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 3, 2021Scripture: Psalm 51:2-3Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin! Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me. Thought for the Day: After yesterday’s Etching, I got to thinking some more about the importance of making an apology – of confessing our sins/mistakes and expressing genuine regret. With that in mind, I am struck by
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 2, 2021Scripture: Ephesian 4:32Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ. Thought for the Day: On this day in 1964, President Johnson (who was a member of our denomination), signed the Civil Rights Act. It might have been the most important step in the area of civil rights since the Emancipation Proclamation. It called this country to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJuly 1, 2021Scripture: Galatians 6:18May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. Thought for the Day: Paul closes his letter with a fairly traditional blessing. The word grace describes God’s loving kindness extended to all. This might be Paul’s last communication with the people of the Galatian churches, so despite his disagreements and frustrations, he concluded with a kind
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 30, 2021Scripture: James 1:2My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. Thought for the Day: I read these words and immediately thought about the building collapse in Florida. It is horrifying and heartbreaking, but once again, all the major networks are asking absolutely ridiculous questions when they interview residents who survived or folks who lived close by. With that
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 29, 2021Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 28, 2021Prayer for the Week: Provide me a gracious curiosity that seeks to know those who I will encounter this day. You call us to live for the sake of the other, yet if I do not know the other, how can I live for the other. Creator of All, there is so much beauty and life to be found in those around me, for your
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 27, 2021Scripture: Ephesians 2:14For Jesus is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. Thought for the Day: In “Mending Walls,” Robert Frost is searching for something, specifically “something.” He writes, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” yet as I read the poem, the “something” remains elusive.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 26, 2021Scripture: Luke 14:16-18aThen Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. Thought for the Day: The great dinner is a metaphor for the divine banquet, the fullness of God
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGJune 25, 2021Scripture: Matthew 20:30-31There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” Thought for the Day: Have you ever felt ignored? Have you ever received the