ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 5, 2024The poet and 17th-century social influencer John Milton wrote, “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies.” I wonder how many people go through life waiting for some over-the-top extravaganza of an epiphany, only to miss hundreds and hundreds of what Milton called “everyday epiphanies”? There is something to the notion of gratitude providing us a lens through which we are able to see
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 4, 2024In Genesis 12, we find Abram and Sarai (they will have their names changed to Abraham and Sarah) on the move, choosing to leave behind everything they had known and go to the place where God would lead. The purpose of this journey is announced by God in vs. 3 where we read: “…all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 3, 2024During Advent, I facilitated a conversation around the book: An Unlikely Advent by Rachel Billups. It was enjoyable and thought-provoking. One of the chapters was about the Magi (Matthew 2), and Rachel wrote the following: These magi are not religious insiders. They are not church peeps. The magi have no political power in Judea, and they certainly do not have religious ties to the people…
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 2, 2024In Luke 2:48-49, we find one of the few stories about Jesus as a young boy. The scripture says, “When Jesus’ parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 1, 2024Prayer for the Week: Holy God, as we cross this threshold, standing on the edge between one year lived and one yet waiting to be lived, we acknowledge missed opportunities and some outright disasters in our attempts to embody the ways of Jesus. We are thankful for mercy that meets the sins of omission and commission with kindness and hope. We are also thankful for
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSDecember 31, 2023If all religions want peace, then why are we having such a difficult time achieving it? I would like to suggest that religions do not want peace. Almost all of the people who inspired the major religions of the world wanted peace, but once they became religions, they also became institutions. Institutions are wired to protect themselves at any cost, and whatever the original values
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSDecember 30, 2023Today is the day that Donna and I celebrate the anniversary of our wedding ceremony. Though we will celebrate without much fanfare today (we are going on a cruise later in January as our official hoopla), it remains a day filled with memory and immeasurable joy. As I often say, it is ONLY by the grace of God that another human being has put up
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSDecember 29, 2023In just a few days, our lives will forever change. We will make dramatic resolutions that will shift the trajectory of our individual lives, and then we’ll see the world change around us. And a day or two later, most of us will find ourselves slipping back into our old habits and long-held practices. Ok, some of you are thinking that I’m being a bit
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSDecember 28, 2023Open mouth—insert foot! Recently, I had a real doozy. On December 17, our newest ministry venture, the Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciling group, met for lunch immediately after worship. If you remember, we received a grant from the Reconciliation Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Over lunch, around 20 people gathered for an initial conversation that we hope to expand to more and more people, both folks
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSDecember 27, 2023So often, I wake up on Christmas morning in a sort of fog from the Christmas Eve experience. There have been years where I didn’t remember things very clearly, but this year was very different. Though we had four services and I preached three separate sermons, I felt more present in the experience than most years. Quite often, we clergy need to worship outside of