Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Orthodox and Roman faith communities. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is an important figure for the faith. Blessed Martin Luther had a special reverence for Mary, acknowledging her as the example of the saints because she willingly bore Christ into the world. Luther saw this as … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Monday, December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Anxiety is a crushing feeling. Philosopher and Eastern mystic Wein Wei made the astute observation that anxiety is “preoccupation with the future.” “Preoccupation” is an interesting word. When broken down you realize the peril the spiritual person, the Christian, is in when dealing with preoccupation. The prefix “pre” obviously means before. “Occupation” can mean duty … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Sunday, December 7
The Saint known as Nicholas was born in 270 in the city of Patara, a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in Asia Minor. Later in his life, he was ordained and appointed Bishop of Myra, which is part of modern-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, and children. He … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Saturday, December 6: Commemoration of St. Nicholas
Every so often, there are pictures or lists that make the rounds on social media that pine for “the good ol’ days.” Perhaps you know what I’m talking about: “When I was young we used to run around in the forest and ride our bikes, not play video games.” Or, “When the streetlights came on … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Friday, December 5
Faith. Aside from “God” or “Jesus,” “faith” is one of the most common words heard at church. But what does it mean? What is faith? What does it mean to have faith? As with most things, it seems, I think I have more questions than answers. When I was in junior high, I heard that, … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Thursday, December 4
Read Acts 2:17 I don’t wear glasses or contacts. I’ve never had to wear any kind of corrective lenses in my life. Most people would say that makes me lucky. I think that makes me unusual. Most people I know wear glasses, so I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed that I … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Wednesday, December 3
The Salvadoran Civil War was a conflict between the military-led government of El Salvador and guerilla revolutionary groups that lasted for over 12 years, from 1979 until 1992. Among the over 75,000 lives lost in this extremely violent war were six Jesuit priests from the Universidad Centroamericana, along with their housekeeper and her 15 year-old … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Tuesday, December 2: The Martyrs of El Salvador
Read Matthew 26:40-41 I fall asleep very easily. Very easily. You know the saying, “He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.”? That was written about me. Seriously. Not joking. I can be watching a movie, and just fall asleep right in the theater. Even if it’s an action movie with explosions and everything. … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Monday, December 1
As we move into this season of Advent; a season marked by expectation, waiting, watching, and hoping; it seems appropriate that we would mark its beginning with a feast day. Andrew the apostle was the brother of Simon Peter. He was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, and he and … Continue reading Advent Devotional: Sunday, November 30: Feast of St. Andrew
* a sermon preached at Luther Memorial Church of Chicago on November 16, 2014 * Text: A Story from Isaiah (based on Isaiah 36:1-3, 13-20; 37:1-7; and 2:1-4) The King of Assyria came to Judah and sent a messenger to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The messenger called out to the people of Jerusalem, in their own language, … Continue reading Torn in Two
the narrow way 