Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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“Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” — Genesis 3:1-3 This scene between the couple and the serpent might be one of the most famous scenes in all of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is well known even by many who don’t see the Bible as sacred writings. Often when I reflect on this story, I remember o...
Joseph, Mary and Jesus are making the long walk back from Egypt, intending to make their home in Bethlehem, but their plans change. In the fifth dream recorded in the first two chapters of Matthew an angel warns Joseph that Archelaus, the son of Herod, now reigns in his father’s place, and he’s just as dangerous. Take the child to Galilee, the angel tells Joseph. So faithful Joseph avoids Bethlehem and continues north to Nazareth. And that’s where Jesus grows up, fulfilling the prophecy Matthew quotes, “He will be called a Nazorean” (Matthew...
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” — Luke 15:1-2 It seems to me that in our rush to get into the stories that attract our interest in Luke 15:1-10, the Gospel reading for Sunday, Sept. 15, we often skip past these introductory statements that set the scene and miss at least two interesting questions. First, why were the tax collectors and sinners attracted to Jesus? Second, why did their attra...
Our assigned Old Testament reading for Sept. 8 is Deuteronomy 30:15-20. I find these words fascinating as we get to listen in on a few of Moses’ concluding words to the Israelites as they were about to enter into the Promised Land. After 40 years in the wilderness, the people of God are finally ready to cross the Jordan River, and Moses’ final words urge the people to do nothing less than “choose life.” This is huge. A constant theme in the book of Deuteronomy is that there is a loving God, and this God invites our love. It seems to me, as...
As I reflected on Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, one of our assigned readings for Sunday, Sept. 1, I noticed that the writer of this letter (or sermon?) was nearing the end of the message. It’s no secret that last words have real power, so it was often the case in this type of communication for a writer (or speaker) to begin exhorting the readers (hearers) to live in the proper ways in response to what was written (spoken) earlier in the message. The writer of Hebrews is no different. The author exhorted, urged, charged the listeners to a style of l...
Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. — Exodus 15:20 God had done some incredible, amazing, mighty deeds to free God’s people from their life of slavery to the Egyptians. And now God had done another mighty deed by opening the Red Sea to the people of Israel— and then entombing Pharaoh’s warriors within it. Freedom was won; a land of promise was ahead. It was an event never to be forgotten. Miriam could not, would not, let the moment go...
This past Sunday, we at First Lutheran celebrated Palm Sunday. In our celebration we reenacted the events of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem by having our children lead the procession of palms. As I reflect on the excitement and enthusiasm of our children, I wonder about those pilgrims who entered the holy city with Jesus, shouting their praises and waving their palms. In the gospel we call Luke we read that a “whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had see...
“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19a). The prophet Isaiah proclaimed this message from God to God’s people who were now in exile in Babylon. As exiles, all of their identity, power, and glory has been stripped from them. The Jerusalem temple (the sign of God’s presence for them) is now in ruins. Their hope is barely a flicker. In this time of desperation for God’s people, God wants the people to remember that God has delivered them in the past. “Thus says the Lord, wh...
In my tradition, we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Church year, on Nov. 25 this year. The assigned New Testament reading is from Revelation 1:4b-8. In that passage I read, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5b-6). I think we, in the United States, are at a disadvantage in attempting to understand this passage. We don’t know much about kings, except that we don’t...
As I read Mark 12:38-44, the assigned gospel reading for Sunday, Nov. 11, I find it interesting that in the midst of all those who are making their offering at the temple, Jesus took notice of a widow who had obviously fallen on hard times. All that she had was only two measly, tiny coins and she gave them as her offering. Jesus said that she gave her very life. Wow! Note that Jesus did not condemn those who gave far more in monetary worth as they gave their offerings but only noted the relative impact of the offerings. Those who had much,...
Jesus said, “Humanly speaking it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God” (Mark 10:27). The apostle Paul echoed much the same message when he wrote, “For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Hmm . . . A story is told about two young men who grew up in a congregation on the Hoopa Reservation in northern California. Both of these young men were raised by single parents, one by his mother, and the other by his father. Both families were actively involved in this congregation. Gerald...
As I reflect on Romans 8:12-17, the assigned second reading for Trinity Sunday, I find myself drawn to the first half of verse 15. Paul writes, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,” (Romans 8:15a). We are well aware of the fear of the unknown. I have known people who stayed in abusive relationships or dead-end jobs because of their fear of the unknown. I’m sure we all have, maybe we have experienced this ourselves. People can be enslaved in a hurtful life because fear is their master. Paul spoke of this as livin...
Reflecting on the assigned texts for this Sunday, The Day of Pentecost, it occurs to me that this is the day Jesus’ disciples had been waiting for their whole lives. They might not have known that this was the day they had been waiting for . . . until it happened. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:4). At Pentecost, with the power of the Holy Spirit, people who were scattered all over the world are gathered together. People from nations all over the w...
