Reformation Then and Now: Dismantling Walls Today (Psalm 46)

October 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Dirk G Lange Headshot

By Dirk G. Lange.  November 9, 2014 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Just over fifty-three years ago, a huge wall was built, a mighty fortress—a wall around East Berlin, a wall to keep out and a wall to keep in. This wall isolated people and forcefully molded them into a single, straight, dreary one-dimensional way of living. The wall represented an oppressive system without cracks, without breaks, without life. Almost 500 years ago, a monk by the name of Ma … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On Scripture Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

More than Conquerors: Romans 8:26-39 and Disability

July 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment

By Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37 NRSV). I hope you’ve all read or seen The Fault in Our Stars by now. Each of the main characters has a disability: Gus has a prosthesis after his leg is amputated; Hazel remains on an oxygen tank due to faulty lungs; Isaac becomes blind during the course of the movie. I wonder how this verse from Romans would play with Hazel, Gus, Isaac, or anyone who loves them:“We kno … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On Scripture Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

Social Media and the Shepherd (Psalm 23)

March 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Henry Brinton Headshot (1)

By Henry G. BrintonAmericans are spending a lot of time on social media, but how much and what for?  This year some have given up Facebook for Lent. Others joined the “National Day of Unplugging” on March 7-8, putting away their phones, tablets, and laptops for a 24-hour digital Sabbath designed to slow people down in an increasingly hectic world.According to the National Day of Unplugging website, people unplugged in order to dance, sleep, write, play, reflect, relax, re … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On Scripture Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

It’s Not About You (Luke 14:25-33)

September 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Lutheran World Relief headshots

By John NunesA life transition—like any effort to follow Jesus—is stressful: packing and unpacking, bidding farewells, refocusing from one set of commitments to a new future. It might be summarized in the early North African church leader’s interpretation of this Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke 14:27: “Take up your stress and your tortures.” (Tertullian)This September, my family’s transition from the hazy days of summer’s more casual pace back into the back-to-school rat race is tou … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On Scripture Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment

CLOSE | X

HIDE | X