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A Promised Future

When we ended our Gospel reading last week, Jesus and the disciples were sitting in the Temple watching people giving their money to the treasury in the Temple. There were people watching, and specifically, Jesus called out the generosity displayed by the poor widow who had given all she had, two copper coins. And as we begin our reading today, Jesus and the disciples are leaving the Temple and…

The Best is Yet to Come

It has been a busy couple of weeks around Salem. This past Sunday, we voted to sell our sanctuary and Luther Hall to Narthex and then lease it back. And then this coming Sunday is Commitment Sunday here at Salem. I know for some of you this is all very exciting; yet, for others, this is all very disturbing. So maybe we need to once again take a deep breath and try to listen to what God might…

Enough is Enough

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces…” (Mark 12:8). It sounds to me like Jesus is condemning the Jewish system, doesn’t it? But, if we are going to really understand the profound analysis Jesus is offering here, we must move beyond some of our prejudices. As Christians, we must recognize the prejudices that many…

Social justice: spiritual practice

Mark 12:38-44 Common English Bible (CEB)

As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off…

Comfort on All Saints Day

I have several dear friends who have lost loved ones in the last few weeks: two are grieving their mothers, and one is a widow at age 47. I scrambled to do what I could to console them, but words are hard to come by with such loss.

I tend to go from my own experience when trying to ease grief, and my greatest comfort when I lost my dad was the memories people shared of how he touched their…

It's Not Fake News!

I want to begin by saying that what I am about to say is not what I originally planned for today. Oh, I will talk about the Fake News of this world, as promised, but I have altered my words from what I planned because of the horrific actions of this past week. First of all, our week began with the news that certain political figures and journalists who had different ideologies from our president…

Real Freedom

We have much to celebrate this Sunday, October 28. First, 10 of our teens will affirm their baptism and accept responsibility for the vows that their parents made. Secondly, we will also celebrate the Reformation of the 16th Century Church. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. The theses were 95 statements against certain…

Is it ironic?

Mark 10:35-45

A request from James and John

James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you…

What do you believe?

Our ninth graders at Salem have spent the last month or so writing their statements of faith. They will share them with us during services on Oct. 21, in preparation for their confirmation the following Sunday. One of these amazing kids happens to be mine, and she has invited me on her journey to discover what she believes, and how to put it into words.

Have you ever attempted to share…

A Kingdom for Everyone

As I noted last Sunday, we are in the midst of reading through a portion of Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus is trying to teach the disciples about how God desires we live and care for the world. This series started with Jesus predicting his death and resurrection, but the disciples didn’t understand and instead of pursuing what that meant, they began arguing among themselves about who would be…

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