A couple of weeks ago, the Pacific Northwest experienced an unprecedented and also relentless heatwave that lasted for more than a week. In British Columbia, a new heat record of 121 degrees Fahrenheit – or 50 degrees Celsius – was set. Portland, Oregon, broke the heat record three days in a row, topping out […]
California almost 24 years ago, I was going through a pastoral residency program back in Northern Germany, and I lived in a small rural community called Dötlingen. Now Dötlingen was and still is a picture book kind of village, with an oak tree in the village center that is more than 1,000 years old, half-timbered […]
The word ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’, and if we go by that definition, today’s gospel story is anything but good news. Here we are in the midst of summer, when everything is supposed to be more easygoing than usual, and our lectionary throws such a heavy story at us! So today we heard the […]
Jesus has to make this experience as he returns to his hometown of Nazareth after a year or so of life on the road – a new life as a rabbi and healer, a new life as the Son of God proclaiming the kingdom of heaven come near in word and deed. A new […]
Most of us have been given the gift of 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. These are the channels through which we experience the world, and connect with the world. And those senses are something to be truly thankful for. Now which of our 5 senses, do you think, is the most […]
Today is the first Sunday after what the State of California calls a ‘full reopening’ after 15 months of restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And though this ‘full reopening’ has a little asterisk attached to it – there are still settings like healthcare facilities, any facility involving children, and mass transit, which will […]
Jesus is coming home. And his family is not happy. In today’s gospel story, it becomes very clear that Jesus and his family – mother, brothers, and sisters – don’t agree on his new way of life as the Son of God. He’s an embarrassment to them, tainting the family’s good name and reputation […]
Today is the Sunday of the Holy Trinity, the day we honor God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And I would like to introduce you to a woman who saw this trinity reflected in all of creation: Hildegard of Bingen, who lived in the 12th century AD in what today is Germany and today […]
The Germans have the following proverb: ‘Alles Gute kommt von oben’, which translates to, ‘all that is good comes from above’. And this proverb comes straight from the Bible, from the letter of James, the first chapter, to be exact; and this passage refers to the good gifts God, who supposedly is enthroned […]
You may have noticed that today’s gospel lesson talks about love – a lot. The word ‘love’ in some form or another is mentioned 9 times in 9 verses, to be exact. Today is also Mother’s Day, a day we hear and talk a lot about love. So let me begin with a story […]
Today I would like to invite you to join me on a road through the wilderness. A road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza, to be exact. It is around the year 35 AD. On this road through the wilderness, we meet Philip. He’s been trudging along this road for a couple of days, […]
Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! This past February, a curious story from Down Under made the news: a sheep was found in a forest in Australia that hadn’t been shorn in years. Wild sheep don’t grow such enormous fleeces of wool – and, like many other animals, wild sheep shed their […]
Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! I recently had a very stimulating exchange with a young man who had visited St. Matthew’s on occasion – before the Corona lockdown – and who became a faithful follower of our online worship services. His initial question was, when did the idea of […]
Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! Looking back at last Easter, I can’t believe how naïve I was. I thought this pandemic would last maybe a couple of months, and that we’d be able to worship again in our sanctuary come May or June, and just go back to ‘normal’. […]
GOSPEL READING Matthew 21:1-11 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If […]
On this day, March 21st, in the year 1685 –Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach. He was the 8th and youngest child of Johann Ambrosius and Elisabeth Bach. Two days later, he was baptized, and consequently raised as a Lutheran. Johann Sebastian wasn’t the first musician in his family. This tradition went back […]
Our planet earth looks blue and beautiful from outer space. It’s the world we know. It’s our living space. And, by the way, it’s the only one we have. Mars is too dry, as we are seeing again – too lifeless. The world we know is populated by billions of people of different colors, sizes, […]
My husband Fred and I have been watching more TV than usual over the course of the last year – it happens when you don’t get out much. And so I’ve discovered – and got hooked on – a particular PBS show: ‘Finding Your Roots’ with historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. (show pic ‘Gates’). […]
Have you ever been in denial about something? I am the first one to admit that there were times in my life when I was in denial. Until I got a physical recently, I was in denial about how many pandemic pounds I had put on, for example. Now what, […]
As I was getting my annual physical a couple of weeks ago, the intake nurse asked me, among other things, ‘Have you felt down or depressed over the course of the last year?’ I must have given her an incredulous look, because she gave me a little, understanding smile. I said, ‘Who hasn’t?’ The […]
