Sacraments

To Esther

By Scott Keith –

10 April 2016

Dearest Esther,

I love you. You were born 7 April 2016, and you were baptized into Christ today. When I first saw you, my heart leaped for joy. I had many of the same feelings looking at you as I did when I first saw your dad, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Autumn after they were born. But, seeing you was, in some ways, different. When I saw you, I not only rejoiced for myself and your Grandmother, but I got to celebrate with your Dad and Mom as well. You are their child, and by that, I am your Grandfather.

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Meeting Christ

By Paul Koch –

St. Stephen was a man of unshakable resolve and courage. And early in his ministry he stood and proclaimed the Word of God to a group of, well, let’s call them hostile listeners. In fact, we are told that the crowd grew so angry with what he preached that they ground their teeth and then tried stopping their ears. When they couldn’t stand it anymore they rushed at him, seized him, drug him out of the city, and began to stone him. As they cast their stones they took off their outer garments to better do their damage. They laid those garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

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The Breath of God

By Paul Koch –

We find the disciples gathered together on that first Sunday since the authorities had crucified their Lord. They have the doors locked tight, fearful of every odd sound outside and strange creak of the floorboards. They didn’t know if the angry mob that rallied their support behind the chief priest and scribes was still on the war path. They didn’t know if perhaps they too would face the horrors of crucifixion for simply being associated with Jesus of Nazareth. Some nervously pace back and forth, some sit quietly in the corner, unsure of what to do next, no one really says much.

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A New Thing

By Paul Koch –

On Mount Sinai, God established a covenant with his people. It was a covenant etched quite literally into two stone tablets. This covenant established the relationship between God and his chosen people. On the outset, it seemed so simple. After all, God had done all the heavy lifting. He had heard their cries in the land of Egypt, brought them out with a mighty outstretched arm, enabled them to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and protected them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. They didn’t have to earn that right; they didn’t have work towards this blessing. Instead, they are given a law, one set in stone, that would guide how they live.

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Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is Great; the Divine Service is Better

By Joel A. Hess –

This past Sunday, our congregation hosted a viewing of The Passion of the Christ. I hadn’t seen it for a while and was once again in awe at how Mel Gibson accomplished both a work of art and a fairly orthodox and evangelical sermon; I was happy to see many members, especially younger ones, engrossed in the film as Gibson clearly preached Jesus as the substitute for our sins. Yes, I’m well aware there are other ways to talk of how Christ saved us.

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Encountering Lutheranism

By Scott Keith –

Two weeks ago I wrote about meeting with my cousin for the first time in twenty years while at the Christ Hold Fast conference. Again, it was an incredible time for me. What I did not say in that blog is that my cousin has a husband and two daughters whom I have never met. I can not tell you how much this distresses me. I want to meet them. I want to know them. I want to see how much her daughters look like she did when she was young.

Out of the blue, a couple of weeks ago, I got a Facebook instant message from my cousin. What I write in this blog is a response to that message.

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Christian Seder?

By Jaime Nava –

Jesus entered Jerusalem during the period of the Passover. This was a time for the Jews to recall God’s saving work recorded in Exodus. The Passover meal is recorded in Exodus 12. When Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples, He was taking the old meal, a shadow, and in its place gave a new meal: Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The meal of the first Maundy (Holy) Thursday is one we partake of every week.

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Just Enough Fatalism

By Jaime Nava –

As Americans, fatalism is a four-letter word. Which of us would like to think that our life map is planned, and our stars set? No, instead we look to those well worn boot straps, take a deep breath, and pull. We’re the John Wayne, Rambo, Lightning McQueen that carves out our reality against all odds. Those same bootstraps can be found hewn to many churches across the US. There’s the bootstrap of age-segregated services, food banks, or all types of kitschy games people play during the church service. We’re ready to try all kinds of things to make sure we grow God’s church. There’s always a new strategy, a new form of leadership, or some new law to draw people to God’s place of grace.

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Trembling at the Altar of God

By Graham Glover –

Last Sunday, I had the privilege to serve as the celebrant during the Divine Service at our parish in Hawaii. I am always grateful to my civilian peers when they afford me the opportunity to assist them during worship. Words cannot express how efficacious their gesture is for my faith and affirming it is for my vocation. One day I will shed the Army uniform, but Lord willing, I will always wear the collar.

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Pulpitless Preachers and Other Useless Crap

By Paul Koch –

I’ve often wondered about my own kneejerk reaction to all things bureaucratic in nature. It seems to have always been a part of my character, but it hasn’t always been beneficial. It has got me in trouble more than once throughout my life and since being ordained as a pastor, it seems to have gotten worse. Because of this tendency, I am usually outside looking in wondering why no one will take my contributions seriously. Or, on the other hand, I’m on the inside constantly being the asshole in the room (this happens more often than I would like to admit). Sometimes I simply chock it up to being a Gen-Xer and living up to my generational stereotype or maybe it’s just an unfortunate personality flaw.

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The Joy of Enduring “The Suck”

By Graham Glover –

I recently returned from a 2-week field exercise with my Soldiers. Apart from being away from my family, sleeping in a 1-man pup tent, not showering, and eating more MREs than my digestive tract prefers – it was a phenomenal time of training with my new Battalion.

There are many things an Army chaplain can do to earn the trust and respect of his Soldiers, to include, above all, being a faithful man of God. But living with them in their training environment – enduring the “suck” that everyone experiences while in the field, is one of the best ways for a Soldier to realize that where they go, their chaplain goes – when they suffer, their chaplain does so as well.

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Dressing Down for Church

By Graham Glover –

It’s been just over three weeks since my family and I arrived to our new duty station in Hawaii. We’re settling in nicely to our new house and are thrilled with our children’s new school. I’m getting to know the Soldiers of my new Unit and look forward to heading to the field with them in the very near future. Although we’re far from home, life in Hawaii is great. (No matter how tough your day might be, it’s hard to complain when you live on an island!)

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