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Pentecost – The Holy Spirit in Action

The Apostles’ Creed – The Third Article

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

From Luther’s Small Catechism © 1986 Concordia Publishing House, cph.org

I’ll never forget the day I heard Nadia Bolz-Weber recite this quote on NPR one day in response to a question about ‘how she keeps her faith’. This is how. And these are the words I memorized in 1970 when I was confirmed at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston Texas.  (Pastor Zwerneman).

I am glad to be a Christian. I believe. But, come on, I can’t do anything at all by myself, out of my own ‘gumption’ or whatever. It’s the Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth.

Continue reading “Pentecost – The Holy Spirit in Action”

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I Arise!

Don’t miss the Ascension day worship this thursday, May 30th, at 7 pm at Peace Lutheran Church, 1525 Glen Creek Rd., in West Salem. We have been invited to participate in this worship together! Holy Cross hosted last year, and now we will visit Peace Lutheran for this annual worship event.  Continue reading “I Arise!”

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Breakfast on the beach

We finished studying the Gospel of John in our verse by verse Bible class yesterday at Holy Cross. (We’re going to finish the year with 1John).  And so I got to read and experience Breakfast on the Beach with Jesus one more time. It’s a simple story, in JOhn 21, of the resurrected Jesus. But for me its a story of Peter, who loves Jesus so much but screws up all the time. Sound familiar? Well, I certainly see myself in that description; maybe you see yourself too. This year, in January, I got to visit the Holy Land with my husband, Pastor Joe, and we found our trip to the sea of Galilee very moving. The spot called Tagbha in Arabic was my favorite. Because this is where John 21 happened.  Continue reading “Breakfast on the beach”

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In the Breach

The New York Times has an article this week that got me thinking.  Fight if you must, is the title.  The young man in the picture with today’s blog is named Kendrick. He died this week, as he rushed the gunman in the Highlands Ranch shooting, which, according to the news accounts, resulted in many of his classmates being able to get out of harm’s way.   Kendrick was 18, with his whole life ahead of him. The same New York Times article tells about a younger boy (12) who was in a closet as directed by his teacher, who found a baseball bat, and had it at the ready to attack the gunman if the situation presented itself.

I am a little stunned. It seems that the training we are giving kids and teachers as we prepare them for the possibility of a gunman attacking them, includes these options – Run if you can. Hide if you need to. And fight if you must.   Continue reading “In the Breach”

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Belonging and Purpose

You have ten seconds to name the most important things in a human life. The buzzer is about to go, and you are torn – family comes to mind, inspiration, creativity, joy, and learning all bubble to the surface. But the two you decide on just before the time runs out are these – A sense of Belonging, and a Purpose in life. Yep, those two. Belonging may be the beating heart behind our drive to make family – to find someone to join together with, and maybe even create a family of our own. Belonging, and the yearning for it, is behind all those fraternities and collegial groups of the past. Today, as society morphs, it might be more likely to find our sense of belonging in being a fan of Game of Thrones, or the Avengers, but the feeling that others ‘get it’ remains.  Continue reading “Belonging and Purpose”