You can’t baptize yourself. Jesus knew this—he came to the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. We know this—we come together to feel the water on our heads and hear words of forgiveness, love and grace. We come together to hear the call to work for justice and peace in […]

In the dumpster fire of life…God is with us. This is the foundation of our Christmas joy. In our Bible readings, Joseph and Ahaz find themselves in impossible situations with no good options and nothing to hope for. They both receive messages saying, Do not be afraid. Hang onto hope. Do not let go. Against […]

It’s one of life’s perennial questions: what do we do when things don’t go as planned? Do we blame someone? Try to make a deal? Try to take control? Or do we just get angry or go numb? Today John the Baptist confronts Jesus with his disappointed expectations. It’s not always easy to hear, but […]

John the Baptist: scary street preacher, or truth-telling hippie? Today we hear his call to repent and make a new beginning in the wilderness. We hear how God is doing something new and surprising in Jesus. We wait with hope for that day when the wolf will dwell with the lamb, a new tree will […]

Night owl or early bird? Today begins with a wake-up call: Christ is coming soon! In today’s readings, we are challenged to stay awake to what God is doing in our broken world and Isaiah proclaims that day when there will be no more war or suffering. Even when we struggle, we keep watch for […]

Today is celebrated as Christ the King Sunday, and we look with expectation for the coming of our king again to begin his reign. The gospel today tells of Jesus being crucified with a sign over his head reading The King of the Jews as a joke. But it turns out to be true. Jesus, […]

Life is tough. No two ways about it. And it seems to be getting tougher. Change sweeps through and leaves a mess in its wake. Every day brings a new calamity. And yet…Jesus does not give up on us. When everything seems to be falling apart, that is the exact moment he comes to make […]

We all have days where we just want to climb into a tree and hide from the world. Zacchaeus climbed a tree when Jesus came to town, partly because he was short and couldn’t see, but he had plenty of other reasons to try and hide. Jesus sees him, really sees him, and says: Come […]

Who gets to be a saint? In holy baptism God makes saints out of sinners, and in holy communion God forgives sin and knits us together with all the saints into one great communion. In worship today we give thanks for all the saints “who from their labors rest,” and celebrate the promised reality of […]

Rooted in the past and growing into the future, the church must always be reformed in order to live out the love of Christ in an ever-changing world. We celebrate the good news of God’s grace, that Jesus Christ sets us free every day to do this life-transforming work. Trusting in the freedom given to […]