Back to the cathedral

Last week I had a chance to make a (fairly brief) stop at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. I've said before it's one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities, and I hadn't been there since last summer.

During a busy day of visits and errands in the Cities last week, I finally had a chance to stop by with my supervisor. As an extra delight, the organist was playing while we were there, so the space was even more sublime than usual with the addition of music. Pictures and details about the cathedral organs here...together they have 4,560 pipes!

You can check out the pictures I posted before. Even better, take a look at the photo album on the cathedral website or take a virtual tour. Meanwhile, here are a few from my August trip that I haven't shared yet.

















And here's a new addition this time (at least, I hadn't seen it before): Lego cathedral. I cannot fathom having the kind of patience necessary to create such a thing. Very impressive.

Thinking theologically about Memorial Day

I was considering sharing some of my own reflections on the church's relationship with patriotic holidays, but then someone else read my mind and wrote basically what I would have written, only better. Far be it from me to reinvent the wheel.

So, with thanks to Katie for linking this article on Facebook, here you have it: "Thinking Theologically About Memorial Day," by Kevin DeYoung, a pastor in the Reformed Church in America.

I very much appreciate the balanced perspective he articulates: love of country is absolutely admirable, but it should not infringe upon Christian public worship. An excerpt:

Earthly worship should reflect the on-going worship in heaven. And while there are many Americans singing glorious songs to Jesus there, they are not singing songs about the glories of America....Are we gathered under the banner of Christ or another banner?

We should absolutely pray (in private and in public, including in worship) for our country, its leaders, and those who serve it in the military or otherwise. We should celebrate patriotic holidays with gratitude for our great nation and for those who have sacrificed dearly to make it what it is. But Memorial Day is on Monday, not Sunday.

Weekly beauty: Stunning sunset

Wednesday night on the way back from the Kenyon-Wanamingo baccalaureate service, I got to enjoy the most breathtaking sunset I've seen in quite some time.

It was so spectacular I decided I needed to get pictures, so I stopped at Holden and traipsed through the cemetery (in totally inappropriate shoes, as always) to an opening in the surrounding tree line so I could get around the trees and out into the adjacent field.





Incidentally, it was not nearly as dark and creepy as it looks here. These are the times when I wish I had a much better camera. But even if it had been that dark and creepy, it would have been worth it.

Another Trinity

A congregation named Trinity, that is. Not a triune replacement for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of course.

I mentioned that the the technology workshop I recently attended was held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wanamingo. This is not to be confused with the Trinity Lutheran Church in West Concord, which I serve as an intern. (To add to the confusion, their pastors are both named Chris.)

The Kenyon-Wanamingo baccalaureate service was held at Trinity in Wanamingo this year as well, so I was back again for another lovely event. And here's the beautiful sanctuary.





I love the center window with the resurrected Christ.







The side windows are all relatively simple like this, with interesting little windows in the centers depicting things like this one, the calling of the disciples.

Technology workshop

Last week, two area pastors who serve four area churches (including Holden and Dale) convened a little seminar on Christian teens and use of technology. They offered some basic statistics like these:

• three-quarters of teens own cell phones
• teens spend an average of more than 30 hours a week online
• almost half of kids have been bullied while online, and over a third of kids have been threatened online

They talked about technology as a set of tools that we can use constructively or destructively, and they offered a few passages from scripture and The Small Catechism to help us consider how we might use technology positively and faithfully as Christians.

Woven throughout the presentation were discussion questions for parents and kids to talk about together, like how much phones have changed over the years, how much time we each spend online and/or texting, and personal experiences with cyber-bullying.

Confirmation students to attend (with a parent) and invited others to attend as they wished, so there were a few older folks there as well. They presented a lot of relevant information and helped teens to think a bit more carefully than usual about how they use the many tools that fill their lives, and how they can do so in ways that are consistent with their faith.

It was very well-done and the participants all seemed quite engaged. It's a worthwhile endeavor for any church to consider, especially in light of the potentially tragic consequences of cyber-bullying and other abuses of technology.

The other congregations involved were Trinity in Wanamingo, and Wanamingo Lutheran, neither of which I work with directly. But stay tuned for pictures of Trinity, where the workshop was held!

May 22 sermon

Text: John 14:1-14
Preached May 22 at Dale and Holden


Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Well, we’re all still here. You may have heard the buzz about the world ending yesterday, as predicted by a certain misguided individual and his followers. As far as I can tell, it didn’t happen, but it’s a perfect opportunity for us to speak of endings, isn’t it? Our gospel writer, John, wants to remind us that the end has already come and gone. Jesus Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

This ending came in the incarnation of Jesus, fully human and fully divine. It came in the cross and the empty tomb, ushering in the kingdom of God. According to John’s understanding, eternal life has already begun, and it is ours for the living, even here and now.

For John, we enter eternal life by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. He lays it out in the very first chapter of his gospel: Jesus Christ “came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…” (1:11-12).

Children of God. That’s the key. Children have a place in the family forever, which is precisely the status we enjoy in the family of God. Jesus, the Son of God, has made sure of that. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places,” he says in our gospel reading. “If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

What is this place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us? What do we mean by preparation? Are we to imagine Jesus as an innkeeper, changing bedding and fluffing pillows, making sure we have fresh towels and a place to hang the clothes we bring? Are we to imagine Jesus whipping up a tasty meal for us, awaiting our arrival at Hotel Heaven?

No. Jesus is not just talking here about some physical place in which we’ll spend eternity. We often hear this passage in the context of funerals, and that is indeed appropriate. Jesus is speaking of earthly death and resurrected life. But he is also speaking of life in the here and now.

Jesus speaks of himself, his very human, fleshy body, as the way to life in God. We know God because we know Jesus, who is God. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life….If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Who is the God we see in Jesus? Where does Jesus go to prepare a place for us?

He goes to the cross. He goes to the grave. He goes to hell and back. And then he ascends into heaven. These are the extreme lengths to which our Savior went to prepare a place for us as children in God’s family.

The meaning of the Greek word John uses for “house” can also be translated “household.” Jesus is talking about preparing a place for us in God’s household. Jesus, as the Son, has the right to invite us into the household, to make room for us, to create a place for us to abide with him. Jesus Christ has prepared a place for you in God’s kingdom. It’s a place that begins now and lasts into eternity.

The household of God, Jesus says, has “many dwelling places.” And the word for “dwelling places” comes from the same root as one of John’s favorite words: “abide.” In the very next chapter of John’s gospel story, Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you….I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”

This place Jesus goes to prepare for us is not some specific geographical location. It’s a place in God where we can abide. And it’s a place in us where God can abide. It’s the intimate relationship that comes from living together in a household—in God’s household.

Jesus further points to this reality when he says that he prepares this place and takes us to it, so that where he is, there we may be also. The place Jesus Christ prepares for us is the place where he himself is found.

And where is Christ found? He is not in some distant, cosmic lounge, playing video games while he waits for all of us to show up at the end of the age. Christ is present here, now, among and within us.

Christ is present in the waters of baptism, through which we were made members of his body. Christ is present as the water and word come together to free us from the power of sin and raise us up to new life. Christ is present as the Holy Spirit is poured out on the newly baptized—the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in his presence. He prepares a place for us at the font.

And Christ is present in his body, the community of believers. He is present as we support and uphold one another, as we rejoice together in joy, as we console each other in sorrow. Christ is present as we work together to build up our faith, to share the good news, and to serve those around us in love.

In the rite of confirmation [at Holden] today, four young people will affirm the fact that, at their baptism, Christ created a place for them in the family of God and in this community of faith. They will affirm their intention to continue living as part of the body of Christ, and Christ is found in this affirmation. Christ prepares a place for us in fellowship with one another.

Christ is present in the bread and wine of his holy meal. As we gather at this table, Christ comes to us in a tangible form—in a form we can see, smell, touch, and taste. He invites us to gather in unity with all God’s people, to see him in the forgiveness of our sin and in the faces of our neighbors sharing this meal. Christ prepares a place for us at his table.

Christ is present in our work in the world. He tells us that if we trust (or abide) in him, we will continue his work: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these….”

This is a relationship of mutual trust and intimacy. We are empowered both by our trust in Christ, and by his trust in us, to continue his work of love and mercy, to proclaim and embody the kingdom of God as Christ has revealed it.

One scholar says the work we do is the work of Christ, the “I Am,” when he is no longer with us (Karoline Lewis on Sermon Brainwave). So we point to Christ, the light of the world, by letting his light shine through us. We point to Christ, the good shepherd, by feeding his sheep as he commanded Peter to do. We point to Christ, the resurrection and the life, by expecting, embracing, and proclaiming resurrection in our lives, both now and in the future. Christ prepares a place for us in his work of loving and serving the world.

And Christ is present in the resurrection to eternal life on the last day. This last day did not come yesterday, as some predicted, but one day Christ will, indeed, return in glory, calling his beloved to himself. Someday he will gather us together as one flock, to enjoy his presence forever. Christ has prepared a place for us in God’s kingdom, in all its fullness and eternity.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says, for he is the way, the truth, and the life. He is life forever in the future, and he is life in the here and now. He is the way we see God. He is the way we walk through our daily lives.

And he has gone to such great lengths to prepare a place for us, that we can rest in peace and security, knowing that there is nowhere we can go where Christ has not gone before us, even into death. We who know Christ know the Father; of that we may completely confident, for Christ has prepared a place for us in the Father’s household.

Scholar Barbara Rossing recounts a story from poet-theologian Gerhard Frost:

“One day as I walked down the airport ramp to board a plane, a family of four was in front of me. The older child appeared to be about four and her every step was a bounce. She radiated expectancy and joy. Her father looked down at her and asked, ‘Where are we going?’
‘To Grandma's!’ she shouted, punctuating her words with a higher bounce. She didn't say ‘to Bismarck’ or ‘Billings,’ but ‘to Grandma’s.’ As far as she was concerned, she was going to a person—the place didn’t matter. She was an eloquent witness to the fact that we home in those who love us, in people more than places.”

And so we find our home in God, where Christ, in great love, has gone before to show us the way, to prepare a place for us, and to abide with us, both now and forever. Amen.

Weekly beauty: Mississippi River

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently attended a retreat in Eau Claire with my supervisor, and we had a lovely time winding our way through the countryside of southeast Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin. The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. Check out some of the highlights of our trek along the Mississippi River and enjoy the beauty!


On the way there, we grabbed some lunch at Smokey Row Cafe in Red Wing and ate it at Levee Park.







And on the way back, we stopped at a couple different overlooks to soak in the river view.













It was breathtaking and rejuvenating.

Latest retreat

I've really had good opportunities to escape the daily routine lately. First a trip to visit friends and, shortly thereafter, a joint retreat of the Minnesota and Wisconsin chapters of the Society of the Holy Trinity.

It should be noted that these two overnight trips occurred within four days, during which time we also had two funerals. (I missed one and participated in the other.) I've been in on nine funerals in the last 11 weeks, so it was wonderful to have a couple chances to be refreshed after a busy period of Lenten responsibilities and much sorrow.

This retreat was in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and it was one case where the setting and scenery were almost as life-giving as the prayer and fellowship of the retreat, which is always a great source of sustenance. I got to revel in the most gloriously perfect weather we've had so far this spring in the beautiful setting of the St. Bede Monastery retreat center.








We were blessed with two days of perfectly cloudless, bright blue sky.




Sadly, St. Bede Monastery is closing next week and the nine remaining sisters will move. They have transferred their membership to St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. This unfortunate reality made our time there all the more poignant, and it was a privilege to pray evening prayer with the sisters in their chapel so soon before they have to leave it.








The rest of the facility was also accommodating and comfortable.








And, as I said, the scenery was breathtaking. Tomorrow I'll post more pictures from the drive back to Minnesota, when we wound our way along the Mississippi River for a while.

Another trip up north

I finally made it back up to Underwood, Minnesota, last weekend to visit my dear friends Phil and Rachel. It's a long trip, but I made good time, and Friday was a lovely day for a drive. Saturday was rainy but I survived anyway (thanks to Classical MPR, the first radio station to interrupt my constant diet of CDs in six or seven years).

But I digress. I took a different route this time and noticed some churches with great Scandinavian names like Sverdrup and Tingvold (pictured here).





I also enjoyed the "Otter Tail County Scenic Byway" signs that have otters on them. Super-cute.





We had a great time just relaxing, which was a nice change from the frantic pace I've been keeping lately.





Rachel is on bedrest at 33 weeks pregnant, and Klaus the dachshund thinks the baby belly makes a good pillow.





We watched the action on the lake with the opening of fishing season (not much going on, with pretty icky weather).





And, on Saturday, a couple other friends joined us, one with this handsome 10-month-old in tow. The dog thought the baby was fascinating, and the baby thought everything in the house was fascinating (and tasty!). Never a dull moment!





It was a wonderful trip and much-needed getaway for me. And, hopefully in a few weeks, I'll return to meet the baby girl currently serving as Klaus's pillow!

Spring interns' meeting

Last week we held our spring cluster meeting of interns and supervisors from around southeast Minnesota, facilitated by a member of the Contextual Learning staff at Luther Seminary. It's a time to discuss joys and challenges of internship (or supervision), and to explore topics that will enhance and enrich our ministry. This year we've focused some of our time on stewardship.

Unfortunately, my supervisor and I had to leave the meeting early (an emerging trend as of late) to meet with a family for funeral planning. But we were there for worship and some early discussion, and it was great to reconnect with fellow interns, if only briefly.

Last fall, we gathered at St. John Lutheran in Owatonna, and apparently I forgot to take pictures. Sad times. But this time around I was on the ball, so check out the beautiful sanctuary of Trinity Lutheran, also in Owatonna. They're just beginning construction on a major building project, so they have exciting (and chaotic!) times ahead.

Weekly beauty: Gerard Manley Hopkins

For this week, a beautiful poem, "God's Grandeur" by G.M. Hopkins. Enjoy!

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Latest randomness

It's been quite some time since a dose of randomness, so here we go...

• I've been a little skittish about chanting liturgy. It still isn't one of my strengths, but I did it of my own free will a few weeks ago at Trinity, even when I had an easy out, so I guess that's some kind of progress.

• Check out this classy set-up from a restroom at Sears at the Mall of America. I made a quick stop when my visitors from home were here, and boy am I glad I got to see this.

• I posted this on Facebook a couple weeks ago: "Yet another joy of small-town life: Today my postmaster called me to say, 'Just after you were here, a package came for you. Thought you might want to know in case you want it today.' Quite a contrast from my St. Paul mail carrier who used to literally throw packages down the stairs to my door." My postmaster is so great!

• Based on a piece of wisdom I found on the interwebs, I recently shifted my jewelry storage. Now I use some of my teacups so I get to enjoy their prettiness while being able to see my earrings better. And it freed up space in my jewelry box, which was getting over-crowded. Beauty and functionality together...it makes me happy every time I walk by.

• Mileage totals are gradually rising: 2,098 miles in April, 1,121 of them for church-related activity. After eight months of internship, I've put 13,261 miles on my car. Always on the go...and that doesn't even account for all the miles logged as a passenger!

Busy weekend

This weekend was full of activity...Southeastern Minnesota Synod assembly and a wedding, along with a few other things. My supervisor and I covered about 350 miles over Friday and Saturday.

Because of the wedding, I was only able to attend part of the assembly, which was held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. I was glad I got to be there for opening worship, which started with bagpipes.





Bishop Harold Usgaard preached. It's always a pleasure to see 500+ people from various congregations gathered in one place to make a joyful noise to the Lord.





Friday afternoon and most of Saturday were occupied by a wedding and rehearsal at The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake, a Minneapolis suburb. It was a beautiful setting, and I was told that a bald eagle circled overhead throughout much of the ceremony.





It was a valuable learning experience, since weddings at locations like this are very different for pastors than weddings at the churches they serve. The rehearsal was held at a different location, for example, so we didn't see the space ahead of time (common scenario, from what I hear). It requires a good balance between anticipating obstacles and going with the flow.

The only glitch was a sound crew that showed up late and delayed the ceremony a bit, but everything was beautiful anyway.





And we got to enjoy the lovely weather! Nice days have been in short supply this spring, so it was great to get outside.

May 8 sermon

Text: Luke 24:13-35
Preached May 8 at Gol and Hegre


Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The political and religious authorities of Jesus’ day thought they had taken care of him on that Friday we called Good. They knew he was dead, and that should have been the end of the Jesus story, shouldn’t it? But, as we know, it wasn’t the end of the story, and that’s precisely what we celebrate during this Easter season.

Somehow, in spite of their best attempts, Jesus’ enemies couldn’t silence him. The large stone and the Roman guard couldn’t keep him in the tomb. The locked doors of the disciples’ gathering room couldn’t keep him out. Jesus just keeps showing up! God’s activity doesn’t end with Jesus’ death. God’s activity doesn’t even end with Jesus’ resurrection.

God’s activity continued on the road to Emmaus on the evening of Jesus’ resurrection, when two disciples encountered the risen Christ. They gathered together, they heard God’s word, they shared a meal, and they set out to proclaim their transformative news.

God’s activity continues today as well. Here in this place, we gather together, we hear God’s word, we share a meal, and we are sent out to proclaim the good news. Here in worship, we encounter the risen Christ.

As we gather together, we leave behind the outside world to step into a space designated for the sacred. We step into this space to listen for what God might say to us. But we are not fully separated from the rest of the world, are we?

The disciples were walking to Emmaus on the very day that the empty tomb was discovered. Naturally, they were “talking with each other about all these things that had happened.” They were immersed in the situation around them. They were astonished and bewildered at this mysterious turn of events, and they didn’t know what to make of it all, so they were thinking through it together.

In the same way, we don’t shut out the news of what’s happening in the world when we enter this place. We know that today is a day to celebrate mothers, and that’s a big deal. We know that Osama bin Laden was killed this week by U.S. forces, and that’s a big deal too. In the midst of such news, we come together with our brothers and sisters, who can help us think and question and pray and try to make sense of it all.

We do not shed the joys or burdens or fears we carry with us. We come to lay them at the foot of the cross, to hear how God will address them, to see how God is present in the midst of them, and to learn how God might work through us for the good of others who have joys and cares and burdens of their own.

As the disciples on their way to Emmaus “were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them.” So Jesus comes near to us as we come together. As we gather for worship, we encounter the risen Christ.

What does Jesus do when he joins the disciples on the road? He speaks to them. “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” Jesus preaches God’s promises, fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled, assuring the disciples of God’s love and faithfulness until their hearts burn within them.

In his holy word, God speaks to us most directly. We can see God at work throughout our lives—in the beauty of nature, in the wonder of a newborn baby, in our relationships with others (maybe in our relationships with our mothers)—and God is most certainly at work in these places.

But in these places, God does not address us personally. God doesn’t speak directly to us and God isn’t explicitly for us in these places—just ask those who have experienced the wrath of nature along with its beauty. Hearing God address us directly through his word, and hearing that God is truly on our side, allows us to better recognize God at work elsewhere in the world.

And so, just as Jesus opens God’s word to these disciples, he opens God’s word to us. Jesus is God’s incarnate Word—the Word made flesh who dwelled among us—and it is only through Jesus the Christ that we can rightly understand what God would say to us in his word as it is written or proclaimed.

Jesus’ presence in God’s word is so compelling that, even without realizing yet that this stranger is Jesus, the disciples on the road ask him to stay with them. “As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’”

As we hear God’s word read from scripture and proclaimed in preaching, it makes Christ present for us and creates our faith anew. In hearing God’s word, we encounter the risen Christ.

After the disciples got to the village, they came together to share a meal with Jesus, still a stranger to them. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him….” Finally, the disciples recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The action of the meal is what opens their eyes.

It’s quite a simple, everyday activity in which Jesus makes himself known, isn’t it? After he emerges from the tomb, raised victoriously from the dead, he doesn’t go around Jerusalem triumphantly showing himself to the religious and political leaders who sought to silence him.

In fact, the disciples feared that perhaps Jesus wasn’t the Messiah after all: “But we had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel,” they say, no longer sure that their hope was well-founded, because Jesus appears defeated. But, the disciples learned, Jesus is found in the ordinary, among those who have eyes to see him.

We, too, gather to share a meal. And in this meal, Christ comes to us in a form we can recognize. Christ confronts us in the physical form of the bread and wine—a form we can see, smell, touch, and taste. Christ gives us his very body and blood, strengthening us for whatever lies ahead and uniting us with all God’s people, including these two disciples who first recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

Like these disciples, we remember by doing. We become part of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection by enacting it in this meal of which he commanded us to partake. The apostle Paul tells us, “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” [1 Corinthians 11] and we respond: “Christ is died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” This is God’s great promise, and by celebrating this meal, we are enacting this promise and all the others God has given us.

As we share in the meal, we encounter the risen Christ.

Finally, after they had gathered together, heard God’s word, and shared a meal, the disciples changed course: “That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.…Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” These two set out transformed. They headed back to Jerusalem to share the good news of their encounter with Jesus.

Now you have encountered Jesus. You have been called by the Holy Spirit to gather in this place. You have heard Christ speak to you in God’s word. You have received him—time and again, if not today—in the bread and wine. You have clearly experienced his promises for you.

You are part of a community of saints here who can help you discuss “all these things that have taken place.” They can help you think and pray about what it means to encounter Christ. They can help you discern where God is at work in and through you. So now you go forth to look for Christ wherever else he might be.

And now you know that Christ is not found where we expect to find him. He is not found in triumph and glory, in the showmanship of this world’s boasting. No, this Christ, who has won the ultimate victory over sin, death, and the devil, chooses humility over showmanship.

This Christ is found in the ordinary—as in the breaking of bread. He is found in the painful—in sorrow like that of the disciples who thought their Messiah was dead. In the darkest valleys you will travel, there Christ is found, walking alongside you and suffering with you.

Christ is found in the person of your suffering neighbor—the loved one who needs your care and support more than ever, or the unknown person who crosses your path unexpectedly and inconveniently, but who, nevertheless, needs your care.

So you go forth to look for Christ in these places, now that you’ve been reminded how to recognize him. And not only do you go to look for Christ, but you also go to show forth Christ for others who need to encounter him.

You go and proclaim the good news that Christ has a word for all such people—a word of forgiveness and new life. You go to your suffering neighbors and share the good news that Christ is found in their pain too, suffering with them and upholding them in the darkness.

As we are sent out to share our transformative news, we encounter the risen Christ.

One of my favorite Easter hymns says, “Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb; lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.” And that is exactly what Jesus does as we gather together with our cares and burdens. That is exactly what Jesus does as we experience the word and the meal. And that is exactly what Jesus does as we return to the everyday travels of our lives.

Even after Jesus’ death, he is not silenced. No, Jesus keeps showing up, transforming us, igniting new faith in us, empowering us to love and serve God and neighbor. This is what worship is about. It is our encounter with the risen Christ, who has won the final victory, who reminds us that God is for us, and who shows us that nothing in all creation can separate us from his love. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Weekly beauty: Kirsten Malcolm Berry

I'm not sure when Kirsten Malcolm Berry's work first caught my eye, but there is a print (I think it's a print, anyway) of this piece hanging in the Seminary Relations Office at Luther Seminary:


I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. John 6:35




I love the way she incorporates the Greek New Testament verses that inspire the art. The Greek language is beautiful in itself, so it adds to the work.

You can purchase original watercolors, signed offset prints, inkjet prints, and cards on her website, and within each of these categories you can also see her gallery of work.

I believe I've read that she's a local Twin Cities resident. (Incidentally, so is He Qi, whose work I featured here and here.) Here's some more art from Kirsten Malcolm Berry, for your enjoyment.


Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God... Luke 2:13




What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. John 1:3b,4




And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light. Revelation 22:5

Thai massage

Every once in a while I like to treat myself to a massage. I hadn't done this for three or four years until I went last fall to Gam's Thai Massage in Northfield. I just went back last week, as a post-Easter splurge to unwind after the crazy weeks of Lent.





On both visits, I've had a 90-minute basic Thai massage, which involves stretching and twisting, hot rice packs and cool washcloths, as well as more familiar massage techniques.

Anything that lets me begin by soaking my feet is off to a good start as far as I'm concerned! (Those are the super-comfy drawstring pants Gam provides for the session, along with a soft t-shirt.)





Hot tea to enjoy while I soak my feet, and a glass of water for after the session. Beautiful hospitality in a serene environment makes it easy to relax.





Gam is very talented and committed to her work. Even with my birthday long past, she gave me a gift card for a free massage, because she normally sends a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for birthdays. So I have another 90-minute Thai massage to look forward to sometime soon!