Vision of Angels, Disciples at the Tomb
I am reading to you from the Gospel of Matthew. By the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, listen for God’s Good News – But the angel said to the women, [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, who together had gone] to see the tomb, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are…
An Earthquake, An Empty Tomb
I’m reading to you from the Gospel of Matthew. Listen for the Word of the Lord to you this day. After the [first] sabbath [following Jesus’s crucifixion], as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for…
Alive, Unbound, and Loosed
For as many times as we’ve heard the Easter story, the whole event still feels, well, kind of farfetched. Perhaps in your head you hold as fact that the lifeless body of Jesus rose from the grave, but during those dark nights of the soul, your heart nonetheless wonders: Can you trust resurrection? That’s why…
More Than Enough
Awash in bad news about the world around us, we are proclaiming good news – God’s Good News – as our Lenten journey to the Cross moves forward. Here’s what our Sunday Scripture lessons have declared already: God’s good news is so good that it catches us by surprise! And God’s good news is great…
Great Forgiveness, Great Love
This morning’s Lenten Good News from the Gospel of Luke fundamentally connects the loving of God and the loving of neighbor: You simply can’t have one without the other. The Word that God has spoken begins with a member of the self-righteous religious elite inviting Jesus over for supper. Customarily, such a host would greet…
And There’s Still More
In the early Church, Lent was the season when fresh converts to faith prepared for baptism on Easter Sunday. Their lesson plans throughout those 40 days arose from the cornerstone of Christianity – Jesus Christ: his life and ministry, his death and resurrection; his widespread hospitality and his care for the vulnerable; his nourishment for…
Coming Soon
“Coming soon!” The phrase, though timeworn, feels timeless in generating excitement. “See, I am coming soon,” begins this morning’s Scripture lesson. “Let everyone who is thirsty come,” echoes from its ending. Come, Lord Jesus! “Surely I am coming soon. Amen!” That’s a haunting truth to consider – maybe not so much because you doubt that…
Until Then
Among Minnesota’s supposed 10,000 lakes is the one named Itasca. Its glacially formed, finger-like geography pokes the forested wilderness in rough form of a lowercase “H.” Sandwiched between the city of Bemidji and reservation of the White Earth Nation, the otherwise-ordinary Lake Itasca holds a grand distinction: headwater of the mighty Mississippi River. At its…
All Things New
When you’re flying at 30,000 feet, you look out the jetliner window and catch the general contours of the earth below. The details are lost to altitude, but you still get the lay of the land – a general sense of where you are. Even if the navigational aids are small, you nonetheless sense that…
Bitter Then Sweet
Perhaps it’s a human symptom of troubled times: Hearts and minds more and more wrapped in thoughts and feelings of nostalgia – sentimental and often-romanticized yearning for the past. When you’re nostalgic, the fond pleasure of precious memory mixes with twinges of sadness for times, places, or people that cannot be recovered. When the term…
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