Words of Welcome

  Exodus 14:19-31 We cross borders all the time. While crossing the border into Canada is relatively easy, as long as we have the proper identification, crossing the Mexican border is much more difficult. It’s even more difficult if you’re crossing over without documentation. People cross borders, whether our southern border or other borders, for many different reasons. Sometimes, they are refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their homeland. Other migrants might be seeking a better life in a place that offers more opportunities. I think one thing that many of us forget is that migration is not a new phenomenon. Most likely, if we are European Americans, our ancestors came to these shores for the same reason many come today.  When it comes to immigration to the United States, it’s clear that our nation’s immigration laws and policies are broken. Fixing the problem will require careful attention that to this point our politicians aren’t ready to face.  Ther...

Mount Shasta from the north Psalm 104:24-34 “O Lord, how manifold are your works!” Through God’s Wisdom, “all things bright and beautiful” are being created, and all God’s creatures depend on God’s Spirit for sustenance. This is true also for the new creation in Christ. So, with the Psalmist “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” The connection between the 104th Psalm and Pentecost is subtle, but the Psalm’s witness to the work of the Spirit is there. It’s there in the references to God’s Wisdom and God’s life-giving breath. It’s there in the presence of the Spirit through whom God renews “the face of the ground.” The Spirit comes not only on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit’s presence gave life to the church, but the Spirit has been present since the beginning of creation. We hear this word about the renewing presence of the Spirit during a pandemic and while the nation is faced with the question of wha...

Revelation 21:1-6 In the movie The Perfect Storm, a group of fishermen heads out to sea looking for one good catch that will sustain them for the winter. After many days of failure, they finally bring in that big haul and get ready to head home. The only problem is that their ice machine is broken and without ice the catch will spoil. Their only hope is to make fast break home and hope that their small supply of ice holds till then. This strategy is, however, dangerous because a massive storm stands in the way. If they wait out the storm they’ll lose the catch and needed cash for the winter, but heading home could lead to their deaths. Believing they can conquer the sea, they head home. Their audacity is tested because this is no ordinary storm. This is a perfect storm, a convergence of weather and sea so powerful that there’s no way out – and in the end they’re lost without a trace. THE THREAT OF CHAOS The ancient world feared the power of the Sea. Homer’s Odyssey is a good example of...