By Jaime Nava –
I had the crazy awesome privilege to baptize my daughter recently. I love baptisms in general. When it is my own kid, I’m over the moon. We had a number of visitors from both sides of the family to witness. It was awesome. Some of the members of the family come from different denominational backgrounds. Some are Roman Catholic. Others are Non-Denominational. I think there may be a Pentecostal in there somewhere.
By Paul Koch –
The Olympic games are an amazing spectacle. To be able to watch the best in the world compete on that grand stage is awesome. The speed, accuracy, dedication and strength on display often leave us in a state of shock. But every time the Olympic Games come around we are reminded that just as much as we love watching the athletes compete so we also love the background stories of these athletes. We love to learn about individuals who’ve overcome incredible obstacles to make it to the Games. This year perhaps more than any other individuals the world learned about the Refugee Olympic Team. A group of athletes from the Sudan, Ethiopia, the Congo and Syria who came not just from poverty or single parent homes but they came from countries torn apart by war and unimaginable violence.
By Cindy Koch –
Stepping into another chapter of life, we may pause after the page turn and ask a very important question. Who am I? I remember what I did last week. I recall the conversations I had. I can think of the people, places, and even the feelings of yesterday. But today, I sit and stare at the fresh page and ask that same question once again: who am I?
By Jaime Nava –
My wife is waddling around with our second child in her womb. She is in full glow. It boggles me to consider how amazing it is to have a human being growing in inside another. Yet, it happens every day. It is common. There are those who would carelessly destroy such a gift. There are those who would profit on the same death. Yet, as little as some consider that tender life and despite how common it is, it retains all the mystery of God sustaining the human race.
By Ross Engel –
Struggling to speak, she quietly exhaled, “Pastor, I have shame and I have regrets.”
This past week, I was called to the home of an unchurched woman who is in the final stages of her life. She wanted to talk with a pastor before she breathed her last breath. I gladly went, not knowing what to expect.
By Scott Keith –
Right when I’m in the middle of a first class lecture concerning how I have been wronged, the subject of my derision exclaims “I am sorry. Please forgive me.” There is nothing more frustrating! Don’t they know that I was just getting warmed up? Don’t they realize that I have a gift for pointing out the error in others’ actions and reasoning? Don’t they realize how profoundly wrong they are if they are giving up so quickly? If they understood the depth of their error, they would allow me to finish my rant before pulling out the “please forgive me” trump card.
By Paul Koch –
I often joke around with some of my colleagues that the reason I default to the historic liturgy of the church along with an established lectionary system is that I’m lazy. I don’t want to try and figure out some sort of creative thematic series, so I just open up the book and follow the next lesson that is prescribed. I don’t have the confidence to write out my own confession or proper preface nor the time to do so, so I just use what has been used since long before I was ordained into the ministry.
By Jaime Nava –
As a pastor and sinner, there’s an unspeakable privilege in the office I’m called to. God’s Word comes through my unclean lips. Each week, we commune on the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine because the promise was spoken. The Words of Jesus echoed once again for sinners to hear, see, and taste forgiveness. To be able to place eternal life into people’s mouths is something I am certainly not worthy of. Despite that, here I am doing what the congregation called me to do. And I’m not alone. The people, those I shepherd for the Good Shepherd, go out into the world. They speak forgiveness to each other. They unlock the heavenly gifts of life by letting wrongs go.
By Paul Koch –
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Rev. 21:7
A bunch of awkward looking pastors stand around decked out in their white robes and red stoles. They’re talking to each other using those shallow and empty pleasantries of untrusting professionals. Nothing substantive is discussed, nothing really funny is being said (though there is still that polite laughter you get when coworkers mingle), and all in all, everyone is most likely thinking about what the rest of their day will be like after the reason for their coming together is completed.
By Paul Koch –
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…” Seldom does one go to the funeral of a brother or sister in Christ where these words are not spoken. And rightly so, for Psalm 23 is a powerful Word of God and it has sunk deep into the psyche of his people. The language of that Psalm, especially in the old King James translation is the go to passage from the Word of God for obituaries and those little cards at the mortuary. It may not be your favorite Psalm, but there is no denying that for most of you this is the Psalm that you’ve come in contact with more than any other.
By Paul Koch –
You may not always see them; you may not be aware of how difficult it is for them to even sit in a church pew on a Sunday morning, but I guarantee you they are there. Every time I stand before the congregation to proclaim the Word as I look out and see the faces staring back at me, I find them sitting there looking for an excuse to leave. I see those who have in some profound way been wounded by the church. To be honest, it took me a long time to see them. To acknowledge them meant that I had to confess certain things about the church I loved, which I didn’t want to confess. To really see them meant things would get messy and uncomfortable.
By Bob Hiller –
OK, I will do my best not to bore you with the details of this week’s sports setup. This past week, after losing to Oregon in the NCAA Tournament, Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, was caught on camera having a long conversation with opposing player Dillon Brooks. After defeating Duke, Brooks got caught up in the moment and didn’t act very respectfully. During the handshake, Coach K told Brooks he was too good of a player to act that way. When asked about it, Brooks told reporters, “Coach K is a legend. He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing off at the end. And you know, he’s right. I gotta respect Duke.” Classy. Well spoken. Good on that young man.
Later, however, when asked about it, Coach K denied saying that at all.
By Ross Engel –
I fell in love with weight training the first time I walked into the gym. I was a scrawny 14-year-old kid who barely weighed in at 115 pounds. I was so weak that I could barely lift the 45-pound Olympic bar. I had played soccer and basketball for years, so I was pretty quick on my feet. I had just started doing gymnastics, and I wanted to get stronger and faster. My introduction to weight training was a great awakening to a new world, one that I have now spent the better part of 22 years enjoying. That scrawny, wide-eyed kid who stepped through the doors of the gym those years ago is not recognizable when people see me now, but he’s still there in my mind. He (along with a fair share of life’s tormentors) is the unseen motivation behind every set, rep, and training journal entry.
By Scott Keith –
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Screw that! I’d rather live in my sanctimony and self-righteousness. To “forgive as Christ forgave,” I’d have to stop holding on to all my resentments. My wife would no longer daily piss me off. Instead, I’d have to be tenderhearted to her. Blah!! Instead of letting my kids and even my coworkers know that they annoy the crap out of me every day, I’d have to “be kind” to them. Who wants that?
By Cindy Koch –
Dear Dad,
I can’t even begin to describe how upset I am. I have terribly let you down. Buried in secrets, I thought I was just having a little fun. But now exposed in the light, I am sick with myself. I know that it was wrong. Even while I was flirting with him, something in the pit of my stomach held my heart back, just a little. I knew that you were not OK with this. I knew that you expected more from the boy who would try and hold my heart.
By Joel A Hess –
We will soon be singing o felix culpa as we march into the sanctuary to celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and for the dead: you and me. “O happy guilt,” Augustine exclaimed long ago as he reflected on the mystery of God’s ridiculous reversal of good for evil.
By Jonathan Holmes –
*Jonathan is a pastor of the LC-MS returning from disability and a friend of The Jagged Word.
Anxiety is really starting to piss me off. My anxiety always makes me mad, but I’ve begun to train myself with the question, “What does it matter?” Since the answer is usually, “It doesn’t matter at all, so jog on…” But it’s other people’s anxiety that has begun to piss me off too. Now, I don’t yell at those dealing with it, like “GET OVER IT ALREADY!” No, that is neither Christ like, and usually the anxious person’s anxiety is usually increased, and it does nobody any good. It’s counter-productive.
By Paul Koch –
Do you believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?
Yes.
Let it be done for you as you believe.
In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
These words fill my ears after I have just blurted out a shallow and rambling confession of my sins. I feel like such an idiot when I do this.
By Bob Hiller – Well, dear readers, I come to you this lovely Friday confessing my shame. I […]
By Jaime Nava – We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. This is Luther’s […]
