ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 15, 2023What would it mean for the universe, including your own little universe, if you were to find the capacity to forgive more often? Of course, when I speak of forgiveness, I am not suggesting we excuse unhealthy or damaging behavior; I’m not encouraging someone to stay in an abusive relationship; I’m not pretending forgiveness is easy. What I am proposing is a greater belief in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 14, 2023Through this Lenten Season, we have been looking at different titles and designations assigned to Jesus. One that we will not have time to discuss on Sunday morning but is found right at the beginning of the New Testament is this: “A record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). The title, Son of David, has very little
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 13, 2023Prayer for the Week: Grace requires no repentance, yet when grace is realized as the gift it is, repentance is our act of gratitude. Merciful and Generous God, grace remains fully grace whether or not the world acknowledges it, yet when its depth and power are first encountered, there is something within the human soul that seeks to align itself with grace. May each day,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 12, 2023Leon Benson was released from prison earlier this week after spending 25 years behind bars, including nine years in solitary confinement, for a crime he did not commit. I’ve now read a handful of stories about him and watched two video interviews, and I feel the same emotion as I do each time I hear of such a happening. I feel some responsibility, and as
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 11, 2023What defines “good”? This is both a challenging and subjective question. How someone defines a good pillow, a good TV show, or good music is based on multiple factors, but in most cases, good is subjective. What makes a good person? Or a good community? Or a good nation? There is not a single characteristic by which everyone will be able to determine whether or
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 10, 2023A little late to the party or whatever other idiom might fit, but Wednesday was International Women’s Day, yet I had it in my mind that it was today. I wrote the following Etching for today, even though it should have been Wednesday. Please excuse my tardiness, but pretend you’re reading this on March 8. In a recent study I was facilitating, the class found
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 9, 2023For some reason, different dance ensembles have been showing up on my social media lately. Most of them are groups in nontraditional settings, though not in flash mob style. I know what good choreographers and good dancers can do, but what I see is only the product of a lot of hard work. I think about the Christian life and the world only encountering the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 8, 2023In John’s Gospel, we find what are often referred to as the “I AM” Statements offered by Jesus. To the ears of those who would have known the Exodus Story, there would have been recognition that Jesus was echoing the divine declaration from the burning bush, “I AM WHO I AM.” With that in mind, one of the I AM Statements in John’s Gospel is
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 7, 2023Yesterday, Donna and I were driving to Lincoln, NE, to see my mother. Along the way, a certain billboard caught my attention. It read: Can a billboard end antisemitism?No.But you’re not a billboard. My sermon from Sunday echoed in my head, specifically the line, “One selfless act.” In a world where hate remains very real for many, including the Jewish community, and antisemitic tropes are
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 6, 2023In my sermon yesterday, I said something like: “One selfless act, freely chosen, changed everything. So breath-taking in its selflessness that it invites others to do the same.” The world needs a little more selflessness, self-giving love, and self-sacrifice. Humanity has been at its worst when it fell into the trap of selfishness, where everyone is self-serving and self-consumed. Today, how might you add one