John 1:1-18 Dear Partner in Preaching, One of the things I love about the biblical story is that it tells the truth. Which is probably why I trust that it is, in turn, true. That is, apart from the many and varied questions of historical accuracy or authorial intent and elaboration – some of which are important and others less so – the biblical story points unfailingly to something that is true. And because it tells me the truth about our life in this world, I trust that its testimony about God is similarly trustworthy, reliable, and true. And that kind of truth-telling seems particularly important these days, when there is no...

Luke 2:1-20John 1:1-18Luke 2:22-40 Dear Partner, I’m going to offer just a few sentences on each of the three preaching occasions this week – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the 1st Sunday of Christmas. All are offered in the context of what a different, strange, and difficult Christmas it will be, attended by losses small and large, and yet they are also offered in the confidence that it is still Christmas and there is still much over which to rejoice. Christmas Eve While so incredibly familiar to us, Luke’s nativity story has the capacity not just to sound different in light of our present circumstances but also...

Luke 1:26-38 Dear Partner in Preaching, I will confess that until I read Cameron Howard’s beautiful reflection on this week’s biblical story, I’d never noticed that Mary is perplexed by Gabriel’s greeting, not his presence. And… that has stayed with me all week. Most of us, I would imagine, would find the presence of the heavenly being enough to strike terror into our hearts, kind of like the guards at the resurrection in Matthew’s account or the people of Israel shaking in fear at the thunder and lightning of the Lord’s presence at Sinai. But no, Luke specifies that after Gabriel greets her with pretty magnanimous...

Knowing that this Christmas would be so very different than Christmases past, and knowing that so many pastoral leaders are not only having to make difficult decisions to keep their people and communities safe but then also explain and sometimes defend those decisions, and knowing that all of us are already pressed at this time of the year, even without a global pandemic… Know all of this, Ben Ciesik and Mary Pechauer (co-lead pastors at Bethlehem Lutheran Church of the Twin Cities) and I decided to publish some resources to help us keep Christmas amid the coronavirus in ways that are joyful, faithful, and safe. The site we...

John 1:6-8, 19-28 Dear Partner in Preaching No complaints this week about the RCL Advent readings. Yes, it’s week two of an adult John the Baptist (meant to orient us to John’s role as the forerunner of Jesus and fulfillment of messianic expectation). Yes, this will make almost no sense to our folks absent our explanations. Yes, they could have chosen a story from Luke 1 about Elizabeth’s conception of the child John and made the same point. Yes, this jumping around in timelines for theological purposes was probably helpful when folks really knew their Bible but today probably only makes it harder for folks to learn the biblical...