Pastors Word

What do we have to learn from celebrating Communion in the digisphere? What is lost? What is faithful? These questions and many others are unique to our time. In history, Christians suffering through times of pandemic have not been afforded the opportunity to...

Tests for reflection: Gen 12:1-4a Ps 121 Rm 4:1-5, 13-17 Jn 3:1-17 Trap 1: Be aware of Manichaeism in Romans and John. Manichaeism presumes there is a source of evil in the world, that evil resides in matter. St. Augustine says that this presumption is incompatible...

Texts for reflection: Ex 24:12-18; Mt 17:1-9 Good biblical study benefits from a contextual reading of a passage. What this looks like in our story about Jesus’ transfiguration is at the very least to read before and after the text in question. Just before today’s...

If [a leader] were a true and devout Christian he would be glad that you entrust nothing to him, and would praise and approve you for keeping so close a watch on him. Since he acts in accord with God’s will, he is willing and content to have his actions brought to...

At Good Shepherd we are practicing group Bible study in the format of Dwelling in the Word. This format emphasizes listening as we encounter God in Scripture. The format has four parts: listen to Scripture listen to God listen to neighbor listen to community When we...

Text for reflection: Mt 4:18-22 But first, the end: “But the angel said to the women, “...Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” -Mt 28:5-7 In the end, the...

Interreligious dialogue is a little like learning to speak a foreign language. We will always be “native speakers” of our mother tongue, but learning another language can help us appreciate our native language more clearly. Furthermore, each language has ways of...

We all play our parts in the story of Christ’s birth in this world: Joseph, Mary, The Wise Men, and even Herod. What part are you playing? Christ is born among us regardless of whether or not we cooperate. But in this cosmic drama, we are most certainly called to play...

Christmas Eve, 2019 Isaiah says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.” Christmas, indeed, is a time when “light shines in the darkness,” that is, at least if you live in the...

Texts for Reflection: Is 11:1-10 Mt 3:1-12 Guiding Question: Why go to the desert to prepare a way? Scriptural Exploration: Isaiah’s poetic description of the time of God fits soundly within the Hebrew prophetic tradition. The time of God is not judgment for...

Updated: Dec 9, 2019 Texts for reflection: Is 2:1-5 Ps 122 Rom 13:11-14 Mt 24:36-44 Opening question: Why does violence persist? Scriptural exploration: Isaiah is called to prophecy in the power transition upon the death of King Uzziah of Judah (742 BCE) to the...