Senior Pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Highland
In our Gospel for today we hear that it is the Spirit who leads Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism where he is tempted by the devil for forty days. It could have been easy for him to question why the Spirit led him there and begin to doubt that the Spirit had his […]
When we consider our reading from Luke for today, Jesus is challenging us to go outside our comfort zones for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to love, do good, bless, and pray, not just selectively, but generously, with all those we know and even those we don’t know, so that our world […]
“Today in our Gospel reading we hear of some fisherman who want nothing but to catch some fish, and yet they have caught nothing. But after Jesus has them let their nets down one more time, they have the catch of their dreams and it becomes a life changing, perspective altering, experience for these fisherman, […]
Today we hear a story about Jesus reading Isaiah in the synagogue and telling those present that the scripture was fulfilled in their hearing that day. What we begin to realize in Jesus is that by his presence with us we know good news in the midst of our poverty, we are free even if […]
Just as Jesus was reminded at his own baptism at the voice of his Father who told him, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” it is good for us to also remember our baptism each day as a reminder of how much God loves us. This then allows us […]
Today we hear Mary’s song, and it comes from the depths of her soul, where as we all know, Jesus is growing inside of her. As we near Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I pray that we can allow the gift of Christ to sink in to the depths of our souls so that we […]
Messengers like John the Baptist played key roles in the history of our faith. What would it mean for us to not only heed the words of the messenger and prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives, but to become messengers ourselves? And while we might not be able to clothe ourselves […]
Today we hear a parable in our apocalyptic Gospel lesson about a fig tree which is meant to wake us up, to startle us to attention and spur us to action. While only God knows when the Son of Man will be coming in a cloud at the fullness of time, what would it mean […]
Today we have a Gospel lesson from Mark 12 that holds two different approaches to faith in contrast: the approach of the scribes whose motivation is to build themselves up; and the approach of a widow whose motivation is to act in thankful response to the blessings that she knows from God. We are called […]
Many times having our stuff near us gives us a sense of security – we have what we need. So when Jesus challenges the man whom he loved that had kept the commandments to sell what he had and give the money to the poor, he grieved because he had many possessions. Today Jesus reminds […]