An Open Letter to the Current Board and Constituents of United Lutheran Seminary Dear Colleagues, I have been incredibly hesitant to comment publicly on United Lutheran Seminary’s recent controversies and actions out of respect for current leaders there and because I am standing at a distance. Yet because events there have been not only heartbreaking but also, I believe, detrimental to the status and standing of Lutheran theological education in the Northeast, I have chosen to share some of the questions I have. They are, I want to emphasize, questions. This tragic series of events has reminded me to avoid rushing to judgment and to give...

John 10:10b-18 Dear Partner in Preaching, It’s a bit of a narrative jump from the last three weeks of Easter readings to this sliver of the “good shepherd” text of John 10, so it might be worth orienting your hearers to the simple fact that this week we’re at a very different point in John’s story of Jesus. Just to set things in context: this is Jesus’ third (and final) trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. What is sometimes called “the good shepherd discourse” is a continuation, and really an elaboration, of the conversation already started around Jesus’ healing of the man born blind. Among other things, that means...

Luke 24:36b-48 Dear Partner in Preaching, Late again; short again; sorry again. But here it is: I think the following is one of the most engaging, hopeful, and beautiful lines in Scripture: “While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, Jesus said to them….” Why do I love this verse? Three reasons. First, wonder, disbelief, and joy. I have to imagine that one of these three words accurately describes just about everyone who will walk through the doors of our church this Sunday. Some come wondering what they may find, earnestly hoping for a word that makes sense not just to them, but of them. Some come for the sake of...

John 20:19-31 Dear Partner in Preaching, My apologies for the lateness of this post. This week totally got away from me! So I’ll keep it short. Two brief ideas that perhaps fall together and complement each other. Thought # 1: What an assortment of people and emotions in the two upper-room gatherings John narrates! There are folks who deserted Jesus, denied him, watched him die at a distance, and at least one up close. There are folks who saw the empty tomb, one believed (though what he believed, exactly, we don’t know) and one was confused by what he witnessed. Fear abounds, and doors are for that reason locked fast. After Jesus appears...

John 20:1-18 Dear Partner in Preaching, I know this is your busy week, our busy week, and rather than close with a word of gratitude, I want to start there. So many people will come to hear a word of hope and healing this Sunday. So many will come not knowing what they need to hear, just that they need to be there. So many will come not even aware of their need, perhaps coming out of habit, or to please another family member, or just because it’s Easter. And you will greet all of them the same, proclaim the good news to each as if the only thing that matters is that they are there to hear God’s good news of resurrection, healing,...