There is No Short Cut

Seventeen years ago, Amadou Diallo was killed in a hail of forty-one bullets from police guns in the Soundview section of the South Bronx, holding a wallet, not a gun, in his hand. Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about it, “41 shots…American Skin.”  When I wrote an editorial about it, it got me in a lot of trouble. I said that if Amadou had been my son (one of my sons was Amadou’s age), he would still be alive. I called on public and religious leaders to admit that we have a racial problem in our community and that we needed to find the resolve to face it together.

Nature of Epiphany

I would like to reflect with you on the nature of Epiphany and the ministry we share at Saint Luke, especially as we find the mission field not somewhere else, but right outside our doors.

See It With New Eyes

Nativity scenes are all around us. Over the years in my parish ministry we had children’s processions at the beginning of each Advent liturgy. On the first Advent Sunday they would bring in the stable, the straw, and light the first candle. In successive liturgies would come the animals, the shepherds, the wise men, the mom and dad. And then the baby.

Mary, Did You Know?

Once every three years, our lectionary gives us Mary’s song. A joyous proclamation of her faith in what would become a defining moment for her as she stands in the doorway of Elizabeth’s house. And every three years, there seems to be debate and conversation on social media regarding the song, “Mary, did you know?” This year was no different. And as we move into this 4th week of advent and hear Mary’s song, I can across a reflection on this exact topic from Timothy Marcus Smith, ELCA Bishop of the North Carolina Synod that I wanted to share as a part of this week’s Pastors Blog:

Wait for the Light

In Advent we wait for the light…

A sign above the door tells you to “wait for the light” when you get off the bus in Manhattan. But when you get off the bus on the Lower East Side the sign is also in Spanish and says, “espere la luz.” In English, “wait” is not as rich, lush and romantic as the Spanish “esperar,” which means to wait, hope, expect and anticipate all at once. The light for which we wait is Jesus Christ. And we not only wait for the light, but hope for it, anticipate it, work toward it, and long for it.

It’s Time to Get Cleaning

As a child, I always enjoyed a holiday – any holiday. It meant that we would decorate the house with appropriate garb and it always looked festive whether it was spring blooms or fall leaves. The one thing I did not like, however, was the cleaning that went into the preparation of the arrival of holiday guests.

Exuberant About St. Luke’s

Advent 1 marks a new beginning of the church year, a theological transition between what has happened in the past – and what God has instore for the future!
In our Second Reading from 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13…..
Paul is exuberant with gratitude for the Thessolonica congregation that Timothy has reported on – and now Paul writes to them…..