On Liturgy and Worship 11 – The “Peace”
I’ve had a difficult time working on this piece. I had almost talked myself into skipping “The Peace” and going on to the Offertory when my spiritual director suggested that people would surely notice if I did that. I’m having trouble with this one because I don’t like “The Peace.” Not for all the reasons […]
On Liturgy and Worship 10 – Confession
We’ve come to the Confession and Absolution We’ve engaged the enemy at the most basic level, declaring God’s sovereignty, God’s victory over every disease and broken place in our lives, both collectively and individually. We’re about to enter into the very heart of the Father, the contemplation of a love so far beyond our comprehension […]
On Liturgy and Worship 8 – Giving the Holy Spirit space
We are beginning to tread in places that make me want to remove my shoes. We have proclaimed God’s goodness, recounted His saving love, we’ve (hopefully) heard a word that brings us into relationship with the Savior, and we’ve shaken the earth with our declarations of belief, our claims that this is the only reality […]
On Liturgy and Worship 7 – I Believe
“I BELIEVE!” This week focuses on the declaration of belief found in the Creed. Usually it’s the Nicene Creed, but sometimes (as when there’s a Baptism or a burial) we say instead the Apostles’ Creed. It would be too easy here to get into the history or the theology of the two historic Creeds, neither […]
On Liturgy and Worship – 6 – The Sermon
The Sermon/Homily I think y’all can tell a sermon that leads toward the foot of the Throne, that has worship as its aim, from one that doesn’t. You can just tell. It’s like the way that Cleopas and his friend felt on the road as the Risen Jesus spoke to them. When you’ve been preached […]
On Liturgy and Worship 5 – The Gospel
It’s Thursday, and I haven’t written anything yet this week. Not that I haven’t started, or at least, tried to start. But nothing seemed right. How do you talk about the Truth? How do you talk about a story that destroys all other stories? A story that every other story tries to be? A story […]
On Liturgy and Worship 4 – Crying Out
Lemme tell ya, brothers and sisters, I was at the beach too long! It’s a lot harder than I expected it to be to get back into the rhythm of writing! Not that I don’t have anything to say (when did you ever find me short of words?) but I’ve been at a safe distance […]
On Liturgy and Worship 3 – Scripture (and more praise)
We aren’t really done with praise yet! In the last part of “On Worship” I talked about the way that God responds to our request to “cleanse our hearts” or prepare us to enter into worship by leading us into praise as a beginning place. We sing the “Gloria” or some other “song of praise” […]
On Liturgy and Worship 2 – Praise
Praise We have gathered from our various places. Most of us come from home, but a few come from work or some other place, and we are gathered to seek God and to offer him worship worthy of who He is. And we have prayed that He might “cleanse our hearts” so as to make […]
On Liturgy and Worship 1 – the Beginning
I had been writing a weekly reflection on the lectionary for more than a year when I was moved to do something different. It isn’t that I lost interest in the lectionary, it’s just that at that time in my life I was terribly and wonderfully caught up in what I was finding in the […]
Receiving Your Inheritance – Flat on your face
Appointed readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for this week are: Appointed readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for this week are: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Psalm 130 or Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15; 2:23-24 Lamentations 3:21-33 or Psalm 30 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Mark 5:21-43 Often, the best place to receive your in heritance is flat […]
Receiving Your Inheritance – “I’m Tired.”
Isaiah 65:17-25 or Malachi 4:1-2a, Isaiah 12 or Psalm 98, II Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-19 Today I’m tired. I don’t want to write the truth about Receiving Your Inheritance. I want to write something that sounds like truth, but that isn’t so challenging. I’m tired today of the Gospel. My wife and I just moved […]
Week Fourteen
Hearing the Father’s Pleasure in You Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 or Genesis 15:1-6, Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 or Psalm 33:12-22, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Luke 12:32-40 When you read this Gospel passage, which phrase continues to ring in your ears as you walk away from it? “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at […]
Week Thirteen
Hearing the Truth in Love Hosea 11:1-11 or Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Psalm 107:1-9, 43 or Psalm 49:1-12, Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21 “You fool!” Can you think of something you’d hate to hear more from the mouth of your Father in Heaven? Of course, you and I would cover over His pain and compassion as […]
Week Twelve
Hearing the Lord’s Prayer Anew Hosea 1:2-10 or Genesis 18:20-32, Psalm 85 or Psalm 138, Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19), Luke 11:1-13 When I pray nowadays, I sometimes begin with something like the disciples’ request from this Gospel text. “Lord, teach me to pray.” In doing this, I surrender even my prayer, my prayer language, to Him […]
Week Eleven
Choosing “One Thing” Amos 8:1-12 or Genesis 18:1-10a, Psalm 52 or Psalm 15, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42 I remember what it was like, before He opened my ears to His voice, before I could know His presence through His gentle words to me. I remember, and I don’t like it at all. When I didn’t […]