Think of a time in your life that you were transformed. Think of a time when you had one way of doing things and one day found yourself following a different path. People I know who’ve struggled with alcohol or drug addictions have some of the most powerful stories to tell. One day their lives revolve around booze or narcotics and their lives are spinning out of control; the next day they’ve stopped, and their lives begin to turn around. Those are dramatic stories that some of us can … [Read more...]
Seeing Rainbows
Did you see the rainbows this past week? Winter and spring in this part of the world are especially good for viewing rainbows. The picture of a full rainbow on your bulletin, taken from our front yard, doesn’t begin to do it justice! Did you see rainbows this week? Or, did you just see rain. But if you didn’t see the rainbows it might have been because you were inside, glued to the TV. It was another week marked by death and violence. Seems like a common thing these days, doesn’t it? It’s not … [Read more...]
Behind Closed Doors
Yesterday was a big day for me. Minjing and I attended our first same-gender wedding. Paul and Bruce had been waiting for this day for a long time. Paul had been waiting even longer than he knew. He didn’t make it publicly known that he was gay until the past couple of years. Imagine living an entire life trying to be someone other than who God created you to be. Imagine being devout Christians, as Paul and Bruce have been all their lives, and experiencing the shame of judgment from other … [Read more...]
I’m Going Fishing
In the news we learned that Matthew Warren took his own life this past week. Matthew was son of megachurch pastor Rick Warren. Matthew Warren had struggled most of his life with mental illness and at age 27 he finally succumbed to it. One of the big questions we face in life is what to do with our grief. We can run from it. We can hide from it, but sooner or later it will find us. What do we do when we’ve lost what’s most important to us? The stories of this Easter season ask that … [Read more...]
Raised to New Life
Getting Down to Business
On Friday of this past week, and again yesterday, Velma Mullen and I attended Synod Assembly in Everett. This is the annual business meeting for ELCA Lutheran churches in Northwest Washington. Synod Assemblies used to be marked by controversy. For a span of about ten years we braced ourselves each year for angry, emotional fights, often over homosexuality. This year, however—as in recent years—the business meeting of our Synod had a different tone: peaceful, joyful, hopeful, Spirit-filled, … [Read more...]
Going Through the Motions
This past week we had a load of compost delivered to our house. Two workers from the Millionair Club in downtown Seattle helped me haul it from the street to our back yard, and as we worked I listened to their stories. Dan had been working hard over the past week, trying to make up for over $400 he’d lost when his wallet went missing. But that wasn’t the end of the story. One day his boss at the Millionair Club called him in and showed him a package that had arrived in the mail. It was—you … [Read more...]
Just the Facts
There are always three truths in every situation: yours, mine, and what actually happened. The same is true of the life of Jesus. Each gospel writer tells the story a little bit differently. The way that Luke tells the story means that even contemporary Christians who have never seen the resurrected Christ have a story to tell. Their own story of repentance and forgiveness. … [Read more...]
Locked Door…and More!
Let’s hear It Again!
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? A song that you find yourself humming or singing over and over again? A song that no matter how hard you try and forget it just doesnʼt go away? That song is what Easter should be for the church. Every year we come back to this same story of Jesus being crucified, buried, and raised again. But it isnʼt just today that we hear this story, we are going to be hearing about Christʼs resurrection for the next 7 weeks as we move through a season of the … [Read more...]