Gospel of Luke

March 19, 2024 | Leave a Comment

Church vs church and other contests of our own making

[from a message preached at the worship of our local Ministerial Association on March 15, 2024]

My daughter–our first born–was just a few months old when I discovered that parenthood is a competitive sport, or at least it was being treated that way by a whole lot of us.I began to see how we moms quietly pitted ourselves and our kids against each other. Whose baby walked first? Which growth percentile is our child is? 98th percentile—that’s an A+, right? Whose toddler had the biggest vocabulary? Who could read first? On and on and on, and it only exploded with social media.

I got tired of it by the time my kids were in high school. I sat my kids down. I said, “Here’s the thing: I love you, and I’m grateful for your accomplishments, really, but I am dropping out of this Facebook contest with my fellow moms to see whose kid made varsity, whose kid made the honor roll, whose kid did blah blah blah blah blah. I’ll post the big stuff. When you get into college, I’ll be all over it, but, short of that, I’m out.”

Elly gave me an understanding nod, Karl just looked confused, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I’m not claiming innocence, only exhaustion. I was a part of it too. [Read more…]

December 2, 2020 | Leave a Comment

Simple hope

Have you ever prayed to God about something for a long time? I mean, I really long time, so long that you started wondering if God was listening? So long that you thought to yourself, “Okay, maybe God’s got something better planned,” but you keep praying anyway? So long that your friends have started giving you that line about how sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers? (That’s from Garth Brooks, by the way, not the Bible.)

Have you ever keep praying anyway, because what you’re praying for is good: healing or health, or a new job, a mended relationship, or peace with your children? Have you ever kept praying, even though God was silent? Where’s the hope?

The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke tells the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, who have been praying for a child for a long, long time. “Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord, but they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years” (Luke 1:7-8).

[Read more…]

July 16, 2020 | 2 Comments

Practicing caution in an age of fear

When my son was very young, he developed a fascination with electrical outlets.

Yes, yes, we used the outlet covers, and, yes, yes, inevitably, he’d find the one recently used outlet where we’d forgotten to replace the cover.

It all stopped, though, the night he decided to see what would happen if he put tweezers in the bathroom outlet where I’d just been drying my hair. After a loud crack and a scream, we found him on the other side of the room in a heap, unharmed, but wiser. He never went near another outlet again with small metal objects.

By trial and error, cracks and screams, it could be said that we learn what to fear and what not to fear.

The Savior Jesus teaches again and again to fear nothing. In Luke 12 alone, he teaches on fear three times. “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more” (12:4), and again, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life” (12:22), and again, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v. 32).

But, my son needed to fear electrical outlets, didn’t he? Fear is good, isn’t it, if it keeps us safe?

No.

To fear something or someone is to give it power over us–at times, more power than God. Raw fear cripples us. It makes enemies of friends, and it rips neighbors apart. Raw fear makes us stupid. [Read more…]

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