In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1872-1918 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead; short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we …
Have you ever seen the TV show called “Dirty Jobs?” It’s a reality show that was on the Discovery Channel and stars a guy named Mike Rowe, who then later started a show called “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” which has a similar theme, and now he has a great podcast. In every episode of Dirty Jobs, Mike participates in doing …
Both our Old Testament and Gospel readings today talk about marriage, and then our epistle reminds us that “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Genesis 2:18-25; Mark 10:2-16; Hebrews 2:1-18). So, it would be fitting today to talk about marriage, where it comes from, and what it is an …
God’s word to the Ephesians through St. Paul: “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret” (Ephesians 5:11-12). The day of exposing is upon us. By now you’ve probably heard or read about the report concerning sexual abuses in the …
On August 2nd, 1990 Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Whatever else I remember about living at Ft. Riley, this event overshadows them all. We had moved to this small Army post in Kansas during the summer of 1989. I was not quite 12 years-old at the time. While Ft. Riley is known as the home of the famed 1st …
Our focus for today is the fact that Jesus Christ stands in our place. This is brought home to us in both the reading from Genesis and from Mark (Genesis 22:1-18, Mark 1:9-15). In Genesis, Abraham is tested by God. God tells Abraham to take his only-begotten son Isaac and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. This is the location where, …
This last Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day when we remember and celebrate our great leader for civil rights in these United States. And then Friday was the March for Life when we remember and advocate for the rights of the unborn. There’s a connection between these two topics and the reading from the Old Testament book …
Today is the last Sunday of the Church year. Next Sunday we will begin the Advent season, which is a season of anticipation of Christ’s coming. In the Old Testament, Advent looked to the coming of God in the flesh to deal with sin. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, died, rose, and then …
Happy Thanksgiving! For the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to focus on Deuteronomy 8:1-10. The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy takes place right before the people of Israel are to enter into the land of Canaan. They had previously been held captive in Egypt, without a land of their own, living as strangers in a strange land. But, the Lord redeemed …
I’m going to focus on today’s reading from Matthew 25:14-30 and the topic of vocation, but I’ll get there in a round-about way. First, though, I want to talk about the Lutheran Catechism, and I promise that it’ll lead us back to the Gospel. Now, the Bible is our sole source of theology, since it is God’s Word. Then, as …