Bitter-Sweet
If one’s hope is found only in humans and/or human institutions (including the visible church), one’s life will always be filled with the bitterness of disappointment and death. This is a simple, yet difficult fact. It is the result of fallen people…
Do You Believe This?
It seems like the weeks that I have things to write about I find it difficult to find the time to write. And the weeks that I have time to write, nothing worthwhile comes to my mind. This is one of those weeks. However, since I missed sending out…
Christ be My Leader
With all of the dangerous hero worship – and hero denigration – going on these days, I thought it might be worthwhile to use a Thursday’s Thirst to meditate upon the One Christians are called to follow and emulate. His name is Jesus. Neither a…
Failure after Failure
When I was growing up, my parents wanted me to be an engineer or an accountant. I wanted to be a teacher. They even had me meet with the superintendent of our school district for him to discourage me, however his line that I remember is, “Yes, there…
SMACK Between the Eyes
The time was 8:15 a.m. and my cell screen said the call was from our granddaughters’ school. As I answered the call, the voice on the other end said, “Pastor, we just wanted to be sure that you are all right.” “Yes,” I said, “and I will be there for…
The Good Shepherd
Wow – did this week ever get away from me! First I never got around to sending out Monday’s Memory and then I forgot all about today’s epistle until Monica reminded me. While I can say that life had some surprises that made a busy week even busier,…
Boutique Experience
I have spent the past two nights in a “Boutique Hoel” in Ann Arbor. I had to look up the word to see what I should expect. AI tells me “it is a French word for a small, fashionable shop selling high-end or specialized goods, often with an air of…
Oblivious Living
I am not sure if “oblivious” is exactly the right word, but it is close. On this, the 24th anniversary of 9/11, I am thinking about the many first responders – many of whom lost their lives – who on that day were simply doing what they were trained and…
Haters!
This coming Sunday’s Gospel Reading (for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost) has some very difficult lines in it. The one that currently has my attention is found in the first two verses of the reading. “Now great crowds accompanied (Jesus), and he turned…
The Waiting Room
We arrived at 8:15 a.m. for the 8:30 a.m. appointment, signed in, and sat down. Right around 8:30 a.m. they called Monica back. When they invited me to join her a half hour later, she was gowned in hospital attire with an needle in her arm. For the…