In the past few weeks I’ve found myself wondering how Mary must have felt in the days following Jesus birth.  In artwork, she is typically depicted with a demure smile, radiating happiness and joy.  What must it have been like to give birth to your first child, away from family, in less than hospitable conditions?  [...]

If as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have time to make the long, slow journey across the desert, as did the Magi?  Or sit and watch the stars as [...]

“Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?’  Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’” (Matthew 18:21-22; NRSV) Forgive … such a small word, yet so hard to comprehend and [...]

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.  Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.  Consider my affliction and my trouble … (Psalm 25:16-18,: NRSV) It is a subject that is not all that easy to talk about, yet it is the subject [...]

“Answer me when I call, O God of my right!  You gave me room when I was in distress.  Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.  When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent.  Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 4:1, 4-5) [...]

Recently I watched the movie Marley and Me – the story of an incorrigible yellow Labrador retriever, who defied all attempts to become a civilized member of his family.  As the story progresses, we see that what has been said about pets is true – they love you unconditionally!  You may have had a lousy [...]

The people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders.  They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt; it was not leavened because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any [...]

Everyone at Trinity Lutheran: ALOHA from Afghanistan! I finally got the address for the church along with all the cards the Sunday school kids made for my unit. Everybody really liked them and have an entire wall designated to all the cards people have sent here, not just for our unit but the ones before [...]

Who among us cannot identify with Paul when he laments, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do (Romans 7:19)?  In the summertime, it is easy to just “go with the flow” when we picnic or vacation.  It is at those times when we [...]

On March 25, 2011, CBS affiliates began running a story regarding the emergence of yet another “superbug”, known as CRKP.  CRKP bacteria have been identified in 356 cases in LA County, California.  As with several superbugs it began hitting nursing homes and hospitals, appearing in those patients on respirators and ventilators and in some patients [...]

If you find great enjoyment in food (I’ve met few who don’t fit this description), take some time to read the eleventh chapter of the book of Leviticus.  The writer goes into great detail regarding the purity and impurity of a variety of foods.  More than just quaint legalism, some of these Hebrew “laws” probably [...]

As we approach Easter and hear the old story told again, we see the resolve of our savior. As he walked the path that led to the cross, nearly everyone Jesus loved tried to stop him. They had heard him speak of his death, understood the dangers of going to Jerusalem (where the religious authorities [...]