There are people in our lives who are extraordinarily good at gift-giving. My little brother is that way. […]
Prayer
Life is not linear. As much as we order our days, plan our future, sleep soundly at night, […]
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on […]
Prayer is a human phenomenon that is studied, mocked, analyzed, taught, and studied by believers and unbelievers alike. […]
God Who Provides, Sunday is a sacred day for us here. Our schedule provides a reprieve from the […]
Prayer is an interesting thing. It is something that most people do, to some degree or another. Every […]
The last time she saw him. She knew he was there, could feel the air in the room, […]
Dear Father, you are the God of concord and the bringer of peace, but you often allow evil […]
With Father’s Day established on a Sunday, unless I am on vacation I have the distinct honor as […]
I’m writing this week’s post to help me process through a recent traumatic experience. We all process tragedy […]
They say that I should pray without ceasing. Every minute of every day. Every second of every night. […]
The Word of God and the Creation of God are eternally intertwined. The Word exists to bring light […]
I came across this piece of art. It was painted in 1872 by a Russian artist by the […]
Last week’s gospel reading got me thinking about prayer. For those of you who do not enjoy the […]
This past week we witnessed the culmination of western civilization in the illogical, saccharine, and just plain asinine […]
I am by no means alone in my pastoral ministry – I enjoy the benefit of a Director […]
Dear God, I can’t pray to you. It wouldn’t be right. You listen to the prayers of your loyal people. Those whom you love. Those who listen to you. You want me to be good, you wanted me to act like your child, and I haven’t. You want me to honor you in thought words and deed, but my faith is not strong enough. You want me to love you above all things. I don’t. I don’t want to. And I’m not interested in making a change anytime soon. So I understand, there is no reason why you should listen to me now.
The 17th chapter of John’s Gospel has been given the unofficial title of the High Priestly Prayer. The whole chapter contains the words of an intimate prayer between the Son of God and our Heavenly Father. A prayer that happens on the night in which he was betrayed, the very night he knows that his disciples will all abandon him, they will be scattered and afraid as he begins the horrible trials of suffering and betrayal that culminate in his crucifixion on that fateful Friday afternoon.
The bookstores are full of books on prayer. When the pastor conducts a survey for possible Bible study topics, one of them is bound to be prayer. And why not? Praying seems to be the thing to do in the Bible, Christianity and all religions. Jesus prayed.
Last week, Christians around the world celebrated the birth of Jesus. Born in a humble place, to a young maiden and a carpenter, the promised Messiah became flesh to live among us. Over 2,000 years later, the world continues to rejoice every year as the Church recalls what happened that day in the town of Bethlehem. A glorious occasion, Christmas Day is surpassed only by the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.