To Be One of the Hidden Righteous Ones
December 14, 2025
He’s there, bowing over the manger in every nativity set on every mantel, marveling at the sleeping baby alongside Mary and the shepherds. But, unless his head happens to be crowned with a halo, you’ll actually probably not be able to tell him apart from the shepherds. He’s a bearded man among bearded men, any […]
Read MoreRepentance is not Cheap Grace
December 7, 2025
Every year, in church, just as the Christmas tree goes up and the garland is hung, as children begin bribing Amber for one of the better parts in the pageant, as candles are lit and carols are sung, with a spirit of warmth and joy in the air – we get a series of scripture […]
Read MoreGod is an Imperfect Verb
November 30, 2025
God’s name isn’t God. In the bible, in the Book of Exodus, God introduces himself to Moses as I AM WHO I AM. You have to wonder what God’s parents were thinking giving him a name like that. He’d never be able to get his dress shirts or his luggage monogrammed. And who knows what […]
Read MoreCelebrating Small Gifts and Great Gifts
November 23, 2025
You may have seen the story in the news a few weeks ago: The US Treasury Department will no longer be minting pennies. Over the past decade, it had come to cost almost four cents to produce a single one-cent coin – which is obviously a ridiculous expense given that pennies are all but worthless […]
Read MoreStepping Forward Into the Suffering
November 16, 2025
You may not know the word for it – the word is theodicy – but you certainly know what it is: Because, in many ways, your whole life is an example of one. A theodicy is an attempt to make sense of one of the most vexing, perplexing questions of all: How do we affirm […]
Read MoreGive Until It Feels Good
November 9, 2025
This morning’s scripture lesson from the Gospel of Luke reads like a tale of two rich men. The first is identified only as a ruler – of what, we do not know. But he is as upstanding as they come: He knows the commandments and keeps the commandments and has known and has kept the […]
Read More“When the Wind Blows”
November 2, 2025
I think, in many ways, I am who I am because I had the mentor I had. His name is David Ruhe. (Some of you might remember meeting him several years ago.) One of the things he taught me was that a minister should be a “center of theological integrity.” Not THE center – people […]
Read More“There by the Grace of God Go I”
October 26, 2025
In the spirit of the humble tax-collector, I have a confession to make: A few weeks ago, a fire alarm went off at the church. The alarm went off as I was walking to the liquor store to get sweet vermouth, which I needed to make a Manhattan – which I needed because a number […]
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