Come to the Waters: An Invitation to Baptism
As Lutherans we rejoice when people of any age, from infancy to old age, are brought to the waters of baptism. We affirm that it is God's grace, not our will, acting in this sacrament. That in these waters God makes visible what has remained hidden from us and the world around us: that we are created, redeemed and sustained by a loving God who answers our violence and sin with forgiveness, grace and love. As we walk with adults who are preparing to receive the sacrament of baptism, we find our own faith strengthened and renewed.
Reflections on River Sunday, September 28, 2014
Learning this prompted my sister and I to drop bottles with messages into the creek. Our little imaginations raced, imagining our bottles flowing for miles, as the creek joined with others like it, growing bigger and faster, and finally dumping out into the Missouri, and from there into the Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean, and to the ends of the earth!
Reflections on Forest Sunday
I ask myself if there is a gospel message in all of this. Perhaps material for a parable? I imagine Jesus saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a pond ringed by a small number of trees and a large number of native prairie wildflowers . . . ."
Season of Creation: Land Sunday 9/14/2014
We can make all kinds of things for you and me, like our houses, furniture, streets, parks. But the land was not made by us. It does not reflect our purposes.