Great things are promised, And they are imminent. Incredible events are proclaimed, Events that no human ear has heard; unrevealed mysteries are opened up. The earth and humankind Are already quaking under their advance. And a prophetic voice cries into a frightened world: The kingdom of heaven has come near. The Lord God himself is coming, the Creator and Judge. He comes with love for…
I am writing this one day after the largest gun massacre since Sandy Hook and just a few weeks since the attacks in Paris. Our country continues to be at war and continually battles the evil of terrorism. Trust and hope can be hard to come by in such times as these. It can be easy to be skeptical. Words like Isaiah’s, “the Lord is my strength and my shield,” can sound a bit hollow. The tragedies and a…
Long ago and far away there lived a people who knew lots of troubles. They lived in a good and prosperous land. Many other far stronger nations wanted to own this land because of its strategic location for trade and security. Alas, these troubled people were constantly attacked, pillaged, conquered, and carted off into exile by one stronger nation after another. The people knew fear, anger,…
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4, NRSV) We live in a dangerous and frightening world. Rejoicing and celebration are seldom words that come to mind when we read the daily headlines, examples of which include: “Israel deploys soldiers after deadly Palestinian attacks” “Obama warns Afghanistan fragile, will leave 5,500 U.S. troops” “Turks, Kurds trade blame for bombings”…
During the final meal that Jesus shared with his closest 12 friends, he got up from the table, removed his coat, tied a towel around his waist, picked up a basin of water and began to wash their feet. It was not unusual for guests to have their feet washed. That was a common practice because the rugged terrain, dusty roads, and travel mainly on foot led to hot, tired, dirty feet. Having them…
