Intersections

  How is everyone feeling? I know today’s topic is Coming Home, and we are right after Thanksgiving, so how many went home for it (or welcomed travelers from out of town) - traveled more than two hours for their celebration? Four hours?  For those who did not travel or to spend time with extended family - how were you feeling? Were you relieved? Anxious? Hopeful? Ambivalent?  Time to Go Home needs thoughtful preparation, but no matter where home is hope lives. You have freedom to be who God created you to be.  There are preparations to do, whether traveling or receiving guests. Now, when preparing for either hosting or traveling, it would be helpful to have a plan to make sure everything gets done before you leave, and then another method while you’re on the road - mapping out the route to your destination. I spent many hours on highways between here and southern Wisconsin, where my extended family lives. This was in the days before personal electronics, so there was...

  What is truth? That is Pilate’s next sentence after the reading today. Pilate wasn’t the first to ask it, and we’ve been asking ever since. The essence of truth is such a vague question that it wields a complete spectrum of answers. Is the Bible true? Is Jesus true? How do we know? I know these are pretty fundamental questions of faith, but sometimes we need to start at the beginning to build that foundation on which the rest of our beliefs rely. This reading is only four verses, but there’s so much here to unpack, so let’s go.  Today is the Reign of Christ Sunday. It is the last Sunday of the year before Advent. For a bit of history, Pope Pius XI created the feast day in 1925. He did it to curb the smoking kindling that was starting to burn through Europe. This year is the same time in the United States that Calvin Coolidge is president; the middle of the so-called “Roaring Twenties” was happening, the split right between the Prohibition years, when alcohol was illegal. Mar...

  Is your bunker ready yet? It seems like we should all be investing in them now. I’m not stockpiling canned goods, but maybe Jesus is on to something.  Seriously, our reading today is challenging. But let’s go back through and get some context for what’s happening. The passage read today is directly after what happened last week . Namely, Jesus was teaching at the temple with some of the scholars of his day and made an example out of a widow who gave everything she had for the Lord, even what she had to live on.  The reading today starts with Jesus leaving the temple with his disciples. The disciples are looking around because they may not travel much - it was a lot harder in those days, with the walking and all… But here they are in Jerusalem, in the big city. The buildings may look like they reach the sky, depending on what they’re used to seeing.  I like tall buildings. I don’t mind heights; it’s the falling that I don’t care for. So - I’ve been to New York a ...

  So - here we are in November! I’m getting excited about the football season, the temperature dropping, and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We are also finishing up the liturgical year, because we start the year at Advent, which this year is kind of early - the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 28th.  Anyway - I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll get there. Today, however, we are looking at the Gospel reading from Luke, found in Chapter 12, verses 38 to 41. This is typically referred to as the parable of the Widow’s Mite.  Now, let’s go through what’s happening here. We need context, because we were not part of the original story. This is a pretty common text here for stewardship, and on its surface, the story is perfect for it. But when we dig deeper, Jesus packs a lot into his parables for it to be brought out.  We are still in the passion week, during the after arriving in Jerusalem, and this story happens right after the text last week. A...

  A LIFE THAT MATTERS      In thinking about All Saints Day on November 1st, we remember those who have come before us, so it may be time to begin a bit of reflection. What were the joys over the last 12 months, where were we unsure? Our church has been through a lot, namely a change in many parts of the leadership, even me. A year ago, I was just praying for a church to be open to my service, that I could use my strengths to the benefit of the Lord, however that looked. I have learned many things in especially the last four months.       Looking ahead, the church is in a great position. We have had a fantastic year, reaching out to more people than ever in new and wonderful ways. And that innovation needs to continue on, because as much as we don’t like the ideas that change is happening, the church of yesterday may not be the church tomorrow needs.       This month’s theme is about STEWARDSHIP. Stewards, in the ancient s...