Trinity B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago John’s gospel reminds us, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (John 1:18). What our eyes cannot perceive is nevertheless detected in, with, under, and above lived experience. The apostle Paul finds God in the intimacy our groaning. Paul writes, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes with groans too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). The trinitarian life of God’s Self abides in the human being at prayer—the Trinity inside of us, in our body’s sighs, our wo ..read more

Easter 7B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Only one American artist was allowed to exhibit her work with the 19th century French Impressionists. Her name was Mary Cassatt. Born this month of May in 1844, Cassatt grew up near Pittsburgh, but lived most of her adult life in France, where she befriended artists such as Edgar Degas. Cassatt is best known for a series of unselfconscious paintings on the theme of mother and child. She is famous for me personally, because a print of one of her paintings hangs in my childhood home. The original now belongs to the collection displayed at the Art Institute ..read more

Easter 5B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Along the coast of Baja, California, row upon row of vines run across the valleys, turning the brown dusty soil into vast carpets of green.  Once the growing season is over, the verdant branches are pruned.  The land returns to brown. The vines are cut back almost to nothing.  Huge plants are reduced to mere stumps which look as though they will never produce anything again. But every year, as some vines have done for a hundred years, the growth returns –first the branches, then the leaves, followed by the fruit.  Incredible, full bun ..read more

Easter 4B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago My great grandpa, Tom Flynn, was from a family of schoolteachers.  His sister became the first woman to be principal of the school in her small Minnesota town. Tom, by contrast, fell on hard times in the middle of the roaring twenties.  My great grandma, Cecilia Rose, said the two Flynn boys caught her eye because they could really dance, but she had picked the wrong Flynn.  ‘He was good man,” she said, “except for the drink.” Alcoholism devastated their family. In 1928, Tom left Cecelia and their 11 children in search of work.  My gr ..read more

Easter 3B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “Jesus showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” (Luke 24:40-41). You and I are two weeks from Easter Sunday, but in today’s gospel, it’s only been a few hours for these startled disciples. Early that morning the women discovered the empty tomb. They became the first to share the good news: Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed, alleluia). They are the apostles to the apostles, but Peter and the small band of Jesus-followers dismissed their story as ..read more

Easter Sunday B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago ‘…They fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone for they were afraid’ (Mark 16:8). The end of Mark’s gospel is startling, perhaps most, for its honesty. There are no resurrection appearances. Jesus doesn’t show up on the road to Emmaus. He doesn’t appear beside the sea. He doesn’t visit them in the upper room. He doesn’t stay with them for forty days before ascending to heaven. This would not appear to be an effective way to begin the Jesus movement. Yet, all these years later, here we are. Alleluia, Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed, allel ..read more

Lent 5B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago A member of my family reached a major milestone this week.  Mehari became a U.S. citizen. It was a special occasion made even more special because the ceremony was conducted by longtime friend and life-long Lutheran, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, Chief Judge of the United States District Court. Mehari’s story is not like our story. Nine years ago, Mehari (then age 12) and his older brother, fled their family home at night and on foot. They hid from soldiers, risked arrest, and the possibility of being shot as they made their way to the border and crossed i ..read more

Lent 3B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago St. Paul wrote to Christians living in Ephesus to “…be angry but do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).  He made a list of rules for new life in Christ. He advised them to “…[put] away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil” (Ephesians 4:25-27). Let’s review: 1) Speak the truth. 2) Don’t sin, and 3) be angry. Did you know there was this bible command to be angry? Be angry. That’s an order.  What on ea ..read more

Transfiguration B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Today’s readings are full of wonders.  Fiery chariots.  Dazzling clothes.  Magic mantles.  Blinding clouds.  Elijah ascends to heaven in a spectacular whirlwind.  Jesus reveals his divinity on a light-soaked mountain.  There is nothing subtle about these stories.  Today, at the culmination of the Epiphany season, we stand with undimmed eyes and open ears to witness God’s glory in its fullness. Now we see and hear heaven and earth are woven of the same fabric. Now we see and hear for ourselves what it means ..read more

Epiphany 5B-24 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). More than 2,500 years ago, the prophet Isaiah described almighty God enthroned in the heavens looking down upon the people of earth as just so many tiny grasshoppers. God is Absolutely Other, transcendent, wrapped in mystery and distinct from us. And yet, Isaiah proclaimed, this “God is the beyond in our midst” (Bonhoeffer). God “brings out the starry host one by one an ..read more