Is it weird that I kind of look forward to opening up my church email each morning? These little electronic messages are filled with so much possibility! Maybe someone is offering a generous gift to the church or sharing an insight from Sunday’s sermon. Maybe there is an invitation to a fabulous event or a… Read More
Have Mercy
Kyrie, eleison. Χριστέ, ἐλέησον. Señor, ten piedad. אדון רחם נא (Adon raḥem na) Herr, erbarme Dich unser. 求主怜悯 Here, ontferm U. Господи, помилуј (Gospodi, pomiluj) Seigneur, prends pitié. Domine, miserere. Xin Chúa thương xót chúng con. Panie, zmiłuj się. Bwana utuhurumie. يا ربّ ارحم (Yā Rabbu arḥam) God of love, have mercy on us, your… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Hallelujah!
Dear God, It is the last weekend for Hallelujahs Before the austerity of Lent. So I should be shouting and singing: Hallelujah! Praise you, God! And yet, to be honest, I’m not feeling it. The snow is coming—again. The work has piled up—again. People I love are hurting in body and soul. The systems of this… Read More
Wits’ Ends Day: Ode to a Pastor’s To-Do List
How orderly the empty boxes wait Aligned along the margin, the sure Sign of a new day—an empty slate For marking “X”s, or checks if you prefer. Who can imagine what lingers there For a pastor to accomplish by end of day? It is a strange job we are called to do: To read and… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Thank You for the Night
God, Let me embrace your gift of the nighttime: When I can pay attention to what is close, Because distant things are obscured. When I can say, “It is good enough” Because work is done for the day and no sermon is perfect. When I can turn off the noises of my day Because silence… Read More
Saturday Prayer: The First Sign
Holy One, I give you thanks for the water turned to wine, For the miracle that allows the party to continue, For Jesus’ first sign Which is not a disease healed, not a prejudice corrected, not an authority challenged –he will get there—You will get there— But first it is the wine First it is… Read More
Wits-Ends-Day: Walls to Build
There has been a lot of talk about walls lately. At the risk of making my humor column “too political,” I will say that I’m not a big fan of the proposed $5.7 billion barrier between the United States and Mexico. I mean, since Christ breaks down dividing walls of hostility (Colossians 2:14), this seems,… Read More
Saturday Prayer: New Year, Rough Start
Holy God, Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, Creator of Time and Eternity: It’s the first Saturday of the new year And things aren’t going according to plan. OK, that’s not exactly true. Things aren’t going according to the plan I would have made, If I had taken the time to make a… Read More
Wits’-Ends-Day: Christmas Edition
‘Tis 2 weeks before Christmas with so much to do There’s no way you can finish without four of you. The sermons are nestled all snug in your head And refuse to come out in words to be said. The choir is flustered and singing off key, With just one more practice before Christmas Eve.… Read More
Saturday Prayer: A Few Questions
God, I know that Pilate is not a person to emulate, But I find myself wishing that I, too, could interrogate you. My question is his question: What is the truth? I think I know, but others think otherwise, And there’s a lot of anger and confusion and yelling going on right now. So if… Read More
