Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
This Sunday, March 23, we will read the story about the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42). You know the story, where the disciples leave Jesus alone while they go into town to get some food, and Jesus waits for them at Jacob’s well. While Jesus is waiting there, a Samaritan woman comes to the…
Posted by dwhetter |
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
One week ago yesterday, Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared. Since then, experts from all over the world have been trying to help find the flight and all 239 people on board. They, and all of us, have been asking questions, trying to discover what…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
We sure have had some great weather lately, haven’t we? As I write this letter, the temperature is on its way up to 65°. But the weather has also been kind of weird. I was out of town earlier this week, but I was told that on Tuesday we had a thunderstorm in De Soto, but that it snowed in other…
Posted by dwhetter |
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
So when is the last time you encountered the devil? Doesn’t the devil only exists in movies and in books? Isn’t the devil is a fictional character created by Hollywood that has horns, carries a pitchfork, and for some reason likes to wear red tights.…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
We have officially started the Season of Lent and for many, we immediately think about fasting. I cannot tell you how many people have said to me, “So, what are you giving up for Lent?” So far, I know of people who are giving up chocolate, coffee (I could never do this!), Coke, all sweets, and one…
Posted by dwhetter |
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
I say this every year, but for me, and I know it is the same for many of you based on the questions I receive and comments I get, this Gospel text is an odd text to read on Ash Wednesday. Just minutes after hearing Jesus’ words to not practice our piety…
Posted by dwhetter |
For the past ten weeks we have been doing a lot of celebrating and it has been fun, hasn’t it? In December we began celebrating the birth of Christ, Immanuel, God with us! Yes, for those 2 ½ weeks beginning in late December we celebrated the great news that God came to us, as a baby, to live among us, so that we might come to know God. Then, beginning in early January, we began to celebrate…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
Well, here we already are at the end of the season of Epiphany. For the past ten weeks, we have been celebrating the birth and life of Christ, and now the celebrating is about to come to an end as we prepare to begin the Season of Lent. Yes, next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and so for the next 40 days…
Posted by dwhetter |
It is not often that we get to celebrate the 7th Sunday after Epiphany. Most years, because of the calendar and where Easter falls, we only get 5-6 weeks to celebrate Epiphany and so we do not often get to talk about these texts we hear today. In years like this we actually get to hear the entire reading of what theologians call the “Six Antithesis.” That is the “You have…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
Last week, I wrote about Christian love and, in that letter, I said, “Christian love is a love that does not involve our feelings. When Jesus speaks of loving each other in the Gospel of John (which we will read about on Maundy Thursday), he is challenging his followers to respect each other, honor…