Touchpoints (Page 12)
Touchpoint is a reflection on where God’s story touches our life story. It is a short homily based on a biblical story of people in the Old and New Testaments and their relationship with God. Our spiritual ancestors’ experience of God’s grace connects with our lives in the present and our relationship with the Divine.
A World of Forgiveness
“God isn’t just content to take sin away, as we might understand it. Sin isn’t just removed. That which is broken is healed. That which is wayward is sought out and found. This is much more than a bookkeeping, scorekeeping adjustment. The Spirit is at work healing, restoring, uniting.”
New Year’s Resolutions
“I went online to look at the steps to salvation, or how to be born again. And I must say, I didn’t hear many first words that had God saying to me, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.” I read a lot about me being a sinner. That seemed to be the starting point for everything. My sinfulness. I read a lot about the ‘sinner’s prayer,’ but I couldn’t find the ‘beloved child of God’ prayer.”
Breathtakingly Normal
“It’s like when you say “I love you” to somebody. That isn’t the only moment that you love them. No, you say it because you want them to see that every moment that takes place between the two of you is filled with your love for them. Or at least, that is your hope.”
God With Us
“And so the AT-ONE-MENT is begun in the manger. “It is finished” on the cross. God sacrifices Godself to be one with us. This is fully symbolized in holy communion: “…my body, my blood, broken and shed for you.” God sacrifices Godself as a “wholly other” to break down and become a “God with us.” The sacrifice of God is begun in the manger.”
WAY Better
“I can’t imagine the words that came back to John were easy to hear. John had always felt he knew who God was and how God acted. And that the world had better change. In the end, it was John who ended up being changed. And the answer he received only raised more questions.”
Stumped
“In a strange way, my two favorite seasons of the church year are Advent and Lent. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I think I like them because, for me, they are the most honest. They ask me to take a hard look at my life and my world. They don’t let me skim over or pass by the pain in my life or the lives of others. They call me to an honest accounting of myself and my society. And they call me to get back to the source, the root of life. And bear life-giving fruit.”
Father, Forgive US, For WE Know Not What WE Do
“What if we, as a Church, as Christians, focused not on saving ourselves and others, what if we focused on our being forgiven and forgiving others? Do you think the world might see us differently?”
The Miracle of Impermanence
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. The greatness of God. When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’” Luke 21:5-19 The people around Jesus are caught up in the beauty of their…
Who Wants to Be a Saint?
“And one Sunday, it finally dawned on me: “I’m an addict. Only I’m addicted to socially acceptable things. Things like money, the status quo, and prestige.” I’m addicted to avoiding being seen as weak. As a LOSER. And then I realized that the only difference between those addicts and me was while they were ‘recovering addicts’ … I was an ‘uncovering addict.’”
The Faithfulness of God
“Jesus constantly tries to free us from ourselves, from our desire to be the subject and verb of the faith sentences of our lives. And that’s a different kind of freedom, because usually we think of freedom as being freed from others – from outside events, things and people – but what about freedom from ourselves? Can we as Americans even imagine such a thing?”
Justified By God, Our Default Setting
Grace and Peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Luke 18:9-14 With all due respect to Jean-Paul Sartre, this parable could be called “No Exit.” I feel like I am trapped inside of it, and every attempt I make to dissect and diagnose it leaves me in worse shape than when I started. Don’t be like the Pharisee… I mean, the easy thing is to say,…
Limping Along
“You know, if I ever started another church, maybe I would name it the “World Wrestling Federation Lutheran Church.” And my benediction every Sunday would be, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!””