Liturgy for Lighting the Christ Candle

We give thanks for the light of hope—unrelenting and inexplicable. Our hope in Christ shines on. We give thanks for the light of peace—strong and unafraid. The peace of Christ lights our way. We give thanks for the light of joy—persistent and unpredictable. The joy of Christ brightens our lives. We give thanks for the…

Christmas Hymns–Revised

One of the downsides of a theological education (and/or an overactive theological imagination) is an inability to sing some favorite old hymns with naive gusto. During this Christmas season in particular, we simply know too much about the biblical story (and the reality of childbirth and babies in general) to fully believe all of the…

Thoughts on Gun Violence

The words below are taken from the sermon I preached last Sunday. There is more to say. There are better things to say. But these are the words I have right now. The Bible does not specifically address issue of gun control, but there is a lot in scripture that speaks to various aspects of…

Do Not Fear What they Fear

The post below is excerpted from a longer sermon on 2 Kings 7. I know our primary reading is about Elisha, but first I want to share these words from 1 Peter. I want you to not only hear them, but to know them and to hold them and to carry them with you back…

How Many Candles?

Sunday morning at the beginning of worship, I lit our peace lamp and then I lit four white candles: for Paris, Beirut, Aleppo, and Baghdad. I almost skipped the candle-lighting altogether because I couldn’t figure out how many candles to light. Beirut and Paris, of course. Those were horrific terrorist attacks among people who don’t…

Is He a Man of God?

The following reflection is excerpted from my sermon on 2 Kings 4:8-37.     In today’s scripture reading, Elisha is referred to as a “man of God” eight times—that’s twice as often as he is referred to by name. I will admit that I’m not quite as convinced as the Shunammite woman that Elisha is…