A lot of people are mad at us this week. Not at you, in particular, not even at the pastor. They’re mad at Christians in general.
Why? Well, this is the week of the church year in which we Christians don’t play nice with the rest of the world. We are exclusive. We make claims about God that many other people on the planet cannot stomach and will not tolerate. …For more, click on the title above.
Tag: Rev von Hindenburg
Holy, Holy, Holy
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory.”
This is the call of the angels. And with the angels’ song and Isaiah’s reaction to what he sees, we learn something about who God is, about who He is as the most holy above all things. …For more, click on the title above.
Whit Tuesday: Remembering the gift of the Law
We, as Lutherans, believe that we receive through Baptism; forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and the promise of eternal salvation. We also know that none of these come about from our own doing—they are gifts. We receive the Holy Spirit through the water and the Word so that we might have faith to believe in the promises of God. These Samaritans had been baptized, but our text says they had not received the Holy Spirit….For more, click on the title above.
God builds His church
Today the Christian Church remembers two pieces of this foundation: St. Philip and St. James. Through his prophets and apostles, God laid the foundation. God built the house, every wall, room, and floor on the Cornerstone of Christ Jesus, not with brick and mortar, but with his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. …For more, click on the title above.
Kyrie Eleison
what is this week in the Easter season? Cantate Sunday. Cantate is Latin for sing; so that makes this Singing Sunday. This name is based on the incipit of the Introit (which we learned about in Bible class a few weeks ago) for this Sunday which comes from Psalm 98, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song.”…For more, click on the title above.
Water, blood and Spirit
It’s often in the smallest detail that the most remarkable revelations are to be found. Ezekiel beheld a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel had served as a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem. He had seen the destruction of that Temple, God’s dwelling place, and he was now living in exile in a land far away. And he must have been wondering: “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” …For more, click on the title above.
For you
Haven’t we been here before? It sounds so familiar.
Every year, for those of us who follow the One Year Lectionary, on the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, we hear the account of a miraculous catch of fish. Remember? …For more, click on the title above.
The stranger on the road to Emmaus
The Gospel Reading takes us back to that first Easter Sunday. The early morning events are now over. Most of Jesus’ disciples are back in Jerusalem in a house with the doors locked in fear of the Jews.
The afternoon sun is approaching the horizon as two disciples are walking on the dirt road out of Jerusalem. …For more, click on the title above.
‘I am with you and I will deliver you’
Tonight, because the remainder of our Gospel reading appointed for this evening covers Spy Wednesday—the day/night Judas plotted with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus, the Passover supper celebrated by Jesus with his disciples, and the arrest, crucifixion and burial of Jesus, all of which will be covered in various ways and forms during the remainder of our nightly services here at Catalina Lutheran Church, I have been moved by the Holy Spirit to speak about our Old Testament text appointed for this day from the prophet Jeremiah…For more, click on the title above.
Fear and loathing in the Garden of Gethsemane
Today’s/tonight’s reading comes from St. Luke, St. Mark, and St. John, in that order. From Luke we hear of the arrest of Jesus in the darkness of the night. From Mark we learn about the fleeing of the disciples and a young man who runs away naked after almost having been detained in the Garden. And from St. John we become aware of the words spoken by Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest, which would play out in Gospel clarity….For more, click on the title above.