Preachrblog

Long-time Lutheran blog readers will remember the inimitable blog, "Beggars All" . It's recently come to my attention that the blog has returned! At least, Tim the Enchanter has....

John 14:1-15-21 Easter 6 May 29th 2011 “Goodbye, Jesus?” (Guest Preaching at Holy Cross, Racine) Saying goodbye can be a difficult thing. Whether its a recent graduate heading off to college. A good friend who retires and moves to somewhere that actually has a summertime. Or putting that child on the school bus for the very first time. These kinds partings are such sweet sorrow, a mixture of emotions. Even though you'll miss your loved one, there is a joy for their new venture, or phase of life. Then there are those goodbyes that are not bittersweet, but simply bitter. Getting fired from a job you love. The couple who divorces after years of marriage. Or perhaps worst, death itself. And worst among those, an untimely death. A soldier who goes off to war, and dies, leaving behind a wife and family. A teenager who dies in a car accident the week before prom. Some of the most difficult goodbyes are those we don't expect, and out of which no good seems to come. Jesus is...

John 14:1-6 Easter 5 May 22nd 2011 “Jesus Only” You intolerant Christians! You really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven? You mean to tell me that if a good Muslim or a good Jew or a good Buddhist or even a good atheist dies, that God won't have mercy on him? Come on! What a narrow-minded, exclusivist thing to believe? No wonder so many wars are fought in the name of religion – with people like you running around. This just proves that you are bigoted self-righteous bible thumpers. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Puh-leez. Sound familiar? Maybe you've heard even just a part of a rant like this. And it's no fun being on the receiving end of such an attack. Words like these are, frankly, of the devil. It's the oldest trick in his book, to question, “Did God really say...?” But yes, in fact, Jesus really says it. “No one comes to the Father but by me”. There's no way around it. There's no “yeah, but”. His words are simple and plain, and t...

John 20:19-31 Easter 2 May 1st 2011 “The Breath of Life” This First Sunday after Easter, our Gospel reading takes us to the very first week of Easter. There we see the disciples locked up for fear of the Jews – even though that had seen the risen Jesus already. Even after they had a whole week to sort it out – there was still much unsettled for them. What will the future hold? What does all this mean? Are we safe? Where IS Jesus anyway? To put it simply, they were not at peace. But then Jesus does what Jesus does. He does a miracle. He speaks a word. And he changes things. Today we can still recall the Easter celebration as church was packed and trumpets and choirs and processionals all joined to the celebration, and we greeted each other, “Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”. But now it's a week later. And life is already getting back to normal. Or is it? We may have some of the same questions as those disciples. We may even have some of their fear. Ma...