“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.“ – John 20:21 My Dear Friends in Christ, In May of 1934, Billy Graham’s dad and some local businessmen met as they often did on the Graham’s dairy farm, praying for the spiritual revival of their city and country. One suggested to add a bold new prayer that day, that God would raise up someone from right there in town who would take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. No one save God was thinking of 15-year-old Billy who at that very moment was pitching hay at the mules, daydreaming of being a professional baseball player. God ans ..read more

“Why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.“ – Acts 1:11 My Dear Friends in Christ, Why are you standing there looking at the sky? Try it sometime. Stand outside in a crowded space and look up at the sky for a while. I guarantee you, that, if you do it hard enough and long enough, someone else in that place will follow your lead, even if there is nothing but blue sky to see. Why are you standing there looking up at the sky? In our first reading today the angels ch ..read more

“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.“ – John 10:14-15 My Dear Friends in Christ, I LOVE THAT VIDEO! Have you ever struggled for a long time with the details of something complex only to have a simple illustration break it open for you? That’s the way I felt when I first saw this video. I’ve long thought about what it means for Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The shepherd was completely responsible for the sheep: feeding them, leading them, breeding them, keeping them close, protect ..read more

“Jesus emptied himself…” – Philippians 2:7 My Dear Friends in Christ, It’s an overwhelming Gospel reading. It is filled with strong historical characters involved in dramatic actions. It’s an uncomfortable Gospel dealing with violence and brutality, persecution, and hatred. Even sanitized, it is gruesome and graphic, both about the physical violence and about human nature. It’s about important people misusing power and authority to silence an inconvenient voice and example, to manipulate the crowd, to forward their agenda and get what they want. It is also a familiar story and, in rushing thr ..read more

“Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” – John 11:27 My Dear Friends in Christ, Every time I hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead, I think of Martha stomping out to meet Jesus. She’s hurt, she’s angry, she’s grieving, she feels the separation that comes in death, the death that took her brother from her. Jesus was their very good friend and would visit them, share their hospitality, teach them and speak to them of God’s love. As soon as Lazarus got sick, they had sent word to Jesus, fully expecting I a ..read more

“Get up, take the child and his mother.“ – Matthew 2:13 My Dear Friends in Christ, As you may know, our Holy Father Pope Francis has called a special Holy Year dedicated to Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus.  This Holy Year coincides with the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Saint Joseph as the Patron Saint of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis indicated why this special Holy Year was so especially appropriate during the pandemic. With his feast coming up on Friday, March 16, 2021, and with the special Mass and Eucharistic Holy Hour that we are holding that ..read more

” ‘I do believe, Lord.’ And the man worshipped Jesus.“ – John 9:38 My Dear Friends in Christ, PROLOGUE:    It’s a play in three acts:    1. Encounter;    2. Setback;    3. Peace (ESP) Act 1. ENCOUNTER Setting:                Picture it: Jerusalem 33 AD, on the outskirts, on a road leading into the city. A beggar born blind sits at the side of the road; blind from birth, all he can do is beg. Jesus is on the move with His disciples who are troubled by the seemingly random and unfair suffering of the man’s situation ..read more

“Could he possibly be the Messiah?“ – John 4:29 My Dear Friends in Christ, We talked on Ash Wednesday about WHY we pray. It is part of the tradition of Lent that Jesus Himself gave to us of prayer and fasting and almsgiving. More than simply telling us to pray, we learned that this season is about renewing our relationship with God, who seeks to be with us, to draw us close, to remind us of who God is and how God works: that EVEN NOW, no matter where we are or what we’ve done, no matter how distant we’ve become or how angry we feel, EVEN NOW, God seeks us out. God seeks us out to build and gr ..read more

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