Weekly Moravian Message: April 15, 2018
Third Sunday of Easter Christ the Wounded One “As I was growing up, it seemed to me that Jesus’ feet never touched the ground,” a friend said to me. That’s the Jesus many of us imagine. That is not the Jesus of Easter. “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I […]
Weekly Moravian Message: April 8, 2018
Second Sunday of Easter The Breath of Life I know that this text is about Thomas and his serious doubts about whether Jesus is alive. But it is also about the way God provides help for us in our fear and doubting. This passage always stops me in my tracks when I hear Jesus say, […]
Weekly Moravian Message: April 1, 2018
Resurrection of Our Lord Be Ready Early in the morning, when it’s the kind of quiet that invites reflection, the women arrived at the tomb. They carried questions about how they would move the stone and do the work that they needed to do. They were prepared. However, when they arrived at the tomb, the […]
Weekly Moravian Message: March 25, 2018
Palm Sunday Sadness While visiting Duluth, Minnesota, last year, I had to take the city bus to get to my destination downtown. I encountered all kinds of people while waiting at the bus stop in this poor, working-class neighbor-hood. . . . One man with a learning disability told me which bus I needed to […]
Weekly Moravian Message: March 18, 2018
Fifth Sunday in Lent Surprise “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies” S O W When the good seed falls on the earth, the soil surrounds the wheat seed faith. The water softens the hard hull covering the love inside. The sun warms the good seed with real hope. God gives […]
Weekly Moravian Message: March 11, 2018
Fourth Sunday in Lent Joy Last fall while canoeing and camping in northern Minnesota, I would rise up in the middle of the night in pursuit of catching a glimpse of the northern lights. Those amazing lights that dance across the northern sky often elude my eyes while living here in Ohio. My eyes never […]
Weekly Moravian Message: March 4, 2018
Third Sunday in Lent Anger Cut off at an intersection, shut down publicly by the management team, insulted by a cheerleading mom, and snubbed by a “so called” friend are just some examples of situations in which someone can push our “anger button.” Such tongue jabs trip the lever on our emotions. We steam. We […]
Weekly Moravian Message: February 25, 2018
Second Sunday in Lent Disappointment Sometimes we experience displeasure and disappointment in response to an offensive object, person, or behavior: spoiled milk in the refrigerator, a roach in the kitchen, a bigot bragging at a local coffee shop, a swastika sprayed in the alley down from the church. Sometimes we disappoint someone, as Peter disappointed […]
Weekly Moravian Message: February 18, 2018
First Sunday in Lent Fear Bulletin-back meditations for the 2018 Lenten season will focus on the emotions in the Gospel passages, and how our feelings can change our interpretation and understanding of the gospel. Remember watching the reality television show Fear Factor? Do we need to set five tarantulas on a man’s chest to see […]
Weekly Moravian Message: February 11, 2018
Last Sunday after the Epiphany Transfiguration of Our Lord Listen to Him The Gospel of Mark is Scripture that most of us feel we can understand. The book simply witnesses to what the believers saw and heard, and then invites us to wrestle with how to live by these “nuggets of faith.” In Mark 9:7 […]
Weekly Moravian Message: February 4, 2018
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany When We Are Overwhelmed “Everyone is looking for you.” Do you ever feel that way? In this hustle-bustle, rat race of a world we live in, some days it seems as if everyone wants a piece of us. If it’s not our kids, it’s our spouse. If it’s not our […]
Weekly Moravian Message: January 28, 2018
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany Interruption A young man dressed in wrinkled clothes came into the church building one Sunday morning a few minutes before worship was scheduled to begin. He asked for some food and for some money. This urban congregation ran a weekday breakfast ministry and was also the official monthly food pantry […]
Weekly Moravian Message: January 21, 2018
Third Sunday after the Epiphany Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things Author, pastor, and teacher David Lose expresses the theme of our text for today in a beautifully concise way: Jesus called ordinary people right in the middle of their ordinary lives to do extraordinary things . . . and he still does. The first disciples […]
Weekly Moravian Message: January 14, 2018
Second Sunday after the Epiphany Come and See I am constantly saying to my husband, “Look at this!” “Look at how cute the baby is!” “Look at the puppy!” “Look what the cat did!” Most of the time it is something he has seen a thousand times before, but I find it so adorable or […]
Weekly Moravian Message: January 7, 2018
First Sunday after the Epiphany You Are Beloved . . . One of my most treasured photographs captures my mother holding me on my baptism day. She is cradling me to her chest, my head upon her shoulder. Beside us is a statue of the Blessed Mother, Mary. In addition to this perfect picture of […]
Weekly Moravian Message: December 31, 2017
First Sunday after Christmas Bucket Lists Decades ago my Great-aunt Ruth was in grave health but kept hanging on, even though it seemed she was physically at the end of her life in this world. Soon it became clear she was waiting for her grandson, David, to return safely from his tour of duty in […]
Weekly Moravian Message: December 24, 2017
Fourth Sunday of Advent Relentless Joy Joy. O Joy, all joys excelling. Joy of every longing heart. Joy to the world! The candle of joy should burst into flame spontaneously, so powerful is the joy of this day—and the anticipation of tonight’s high and holy commemoration of Jesus’ birth. But there can be no joy […]
Weekly Moravian Message: December 17, 2017
Third Sunday of Advent Abiding Peace The candle of unconditional love continues to burn. While its candle is diminished and appears smaller, perhaps weaker, its flame remains pure and profound. The candle of unceasing hope challenges us to commit ourselves to hope for ourselves, our neighbors, our enemies, and the Creation. We light next the […]
Weekly Moravian Message: December 10, 2017
Second Sunday of Advent Unceasing Hope With the candle of unconditional love shining brightly, the candle of hope stands next in line. Our hope ebbs and flows. It is as seasonal and temperamental as Advent stars, beeswax candles, and putz displays. In this season, we hope for a lot of things. We hope for victory […]
Weekly Moravian Message: December 3, 2017
First Sunday of Advent Unconditional Love I believe that stories dwell in their adjectives. I would like to add adjectives to the four horsemen of Advent: love, hope, joy, peace. In and of themselves, those four concepts are crucial to our experience of God and our witness to the world. Concepts can be like cars […]
Weekly Moravian Message: November 26, 2017
Reign of Christ Sunday — November 26, 2017 Surprise! Surprises can be absolutely affirming or downright disappointing. They range from the delightful to the unnerving to the dreadful. A well-intentioned surprise may add value to the quality of life or in-crease the heart rate so much it takes minutes off our life. Sometimes the first […]
Weekly Moravian Message: November 19, 2017
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost — November 19, 2017 Investing Our Gifts The parable of the ten talents is often looked at through a lens that emphasizes the value of economic prosperity. However, the financial outcome is not the motivation behind this gospel story. In this passage, more important than the value of money is the […]
Weekly Moravian Message: November 12, 2017
Festival of Jesus Christ the Chief Elder — November 12, 2017 Festival of the Chief Elder Leonard Dober was elected Chief Elder of the Moravian Church in 1741 at a time when the church was rapidly expanding. He realized that his job had become more than he could handle, so he did what a great […]
Weekly Moravian Message: November 5, 2017
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost — November 5, 2017 Humility “All who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:1–12). Humility isn’t cool these days. And we might wonder if it was a trait folks respected in Jesus’ day. Not so long ago speaking of someone’s humble attitude could be considered a compliment. But then there were also […]
Weekly Moravian Message: October 29, 2017
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost — October 29, 2017 . . . As Yourself “You shall love the Lord your God. . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). This is how Jesus summarized his religious tradition, “the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). In recent decades, Christian reflection on that […]
Weekly Moravian Message: October 22, 2017
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost — October 22, 2017 Responding in Faith or Fear Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). In the United States, Tax Day is a colloquial term for the day individual income tax returns are due. Many have complied consistently […]
Weekly Moravian Message: October 15, 2017
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 15, 2017 A Hidden Truth Jesus loves to inflate aspects of a story to embolden the truths hidden within his parables. He invites us to remove the log from our eye and to consider how easy it is to thread a camel through the eye of a needle! Today […]
Weekly Moravian Message: October 8, 2017
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 8, 2017 Seeing Who We Are I love science fiction, not because of how it takes us into an imaginary world, but because it shows us our world and explains humanity. At its best, it helps us understand how we have the poten-tial to be both righteous rebellion and tyrannical […]
Weekly Moravian Message: October 1, 2017
World Communion Sunday — October 1, 2017 Hard Work Growing up on a dairy farm was work. Hard work. You worked when the temperatures and the humidity were high and sweat ran into your eyeballs. You worked when the temperatures were low and the wind froze your snot. But you did it, because there was […]
Weekly Moravian Message: September 24, 2017
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost — September 24, 2017 The Grand Bargain, or Grace? It’s easy for us to read this story and hear a message of equality, justice, and fairness. We deal with these issues in the work world every day. Those who do more deserve a greater reward, right? Jesus brings that calculation into […]