I don’t often preach on Job, but I did last week; the text was extended sections of chapters 36 & 37, the last chapters before God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind. I appreciated the opportunity to wrestle with a challenging text, a challenging book, and be reminded that good news can come even…… Continue reading Good News in the Book of Job
Category: Ethics
One Trillion Dollars
“Elon Musk officially became the world’s first trillionaire, reaching a net worth upwards of $1.1 trillion to $1.4 trillion. This historic wealth milestone was driven by the massive initial public offering (IPO) of his aerospace company, SpaceX, on the Nasdaq, combined with his substantial existing equity in Tesla.” How much is one trillion dollars ?…… Continue reading One Trillion Dollars
Weavers of Hope
The Pope’s Two Building Projects “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone…… Continue reading Weavers of Hope
Durable Hope
I am here at the ELCA Large Congregation Pastors gathering, listening to a great presentation by the Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis. In her second presentation this morning, discussing the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John, she shared some snippets of a speech by Sharon McMahon, titled “Durable Hope.” Apparently, Sharon…… Continue reading Durable Hope
Considering the Animals on Earth Day
Any day is a good day to lift up and celebrate God’s deep relationship with and providential care for the animal kingdom, which is valuable and precious to God in and of itself, not just through God’s relationship with humanity. At the same time, Earth Day is a particularly good day to do this, and…… Continue reading Considering the Animals on Earth Day
Kristallnacht: Silence makes way for Violence
Yesterday, Nov. 10th, was the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht [and if you don’t know much about it, I encourage you to read more here: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht%5D Kristallnacht is “the night of broken glass,” and it marked a shift into a very public phase of the state-sanctioned, deadly Anti-Semitism of the Nazi party. Kristallnacht included: The vandalism…… Continue reading Kristallnacht: Silence makes way for Violence
Changing Your Mind
This weekend, I was in Detroit for the half marathon, and I spent a few hours at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which was really great. [I would recommend the whole city, actually; the Riverwalk is really beautiful, and the downtown is interesting and vibrant]. Anyway, while I was at the art museum, I ran…… Continue reading Changing Your Mind
Thank you, Jane Goodall
Today, on the feast day of Saint Francis, when churches around the country and around the world celebrate God’s love for the entire cosmos, and especially the animal kingdom, it seems like a good day to commemorate Jane Goodall, who died at the age of 91 on Wednesday. I encourage you to read more about…… Continue reading Thank you, Jane Goodall
A Christian’s song in a messy, beautiful world
Photo by Valentin Antonucci on Pexels.com Earlier in the week, I was preparing a blog post about the juxtaposition of two hymns that we sang in chapel this week. Both of them were focused on the world, but each of them had a very different message. Here is the first one, from All Creation Sings:…… Continue reading A Christian’s song in a messy, beautiful world
To Open your Mind, Open your Heart First
On the recommendation of a friend and colleague, I just finished a very interesting book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathan Haidt. It is dense and well researched–and quite compelling. I started taking notes for this blog post and I quickly gave up–no one wants to read…… Continue reading To Open your Mind, Open your Heart First
Happy Lutheran 