“You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies;you anoint my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5 In the ancient world, anointing a person with oil had several meanings. It was used to symbolize that a person was chosen by God. Anointing a person with oil was a sign of God’s approval. People were […]
Learning yesterday, there was yet another school shooting did not come as a surprise. The only real question was, where the shooting took place and which school. Monday’s shooting at Covenant School in Nashville was another, in a long list of tragedies. Those who commit these crimes have a variety of reasons including mental illness, […]
The imagery of Ezekiel’s dry bones has captured the imagination of generations. Ezekiel was a prophet living in Babylon, after Jerusalem’s defeat and its citizens exiled there, in 587 BCE. His vision of dry bones brought to life, has captivated readers through the millenniums. Ever since it’s first readers opened a scroll and read hope, […]
“At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ . . . (Jesus) said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my […]
Ted Loder’s prayers always speak to me. They reveal vulnerability, honesty along with sleepless troubling nights. His prayer, “Help Me to Believe in Beginnings” includes all of that. Yet, there is a strength of faith, confidence in the love and, forgiveness God offers each of us, and a deep yearning to be a messenger of […]
I wrote this prayer a number of years ago, when I was going through a period of loss. At the time, I found myself frustrated with small stuff, instead of dealing with the reality of loss in my life. The prayer centered me, and reminded me to question why I was upset with a person, […]
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and, making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” John […]
In the busyness of this season we can easily be distracted and lose our focus on the important. Margaret Bundy Moss’s Poem “Walk Softly” reminds me to pause for wonder as I travel through Advent days.
A Pastor's Heart 