Message From the Pastor

 Highlands Newspaper Article 2/2026

  This is a good time of year to consider our “heart health”. I am not talking from the perspective of a cardiologist, but from a spiritual perspective. 

  How is your heart? Is your heart broken by grief? Is your heart smothered by sin? Is your heart throbbing in pain because of a broken relationship? Is your heart full of joy and rejoicing? Is your heart resting in deep peace? How is your heart? 

  Our hearts may be feeling all these things and more. As we consider our heart health, we might turn in the Bible to Psalm 51. In this psalm King David is agonizing over the condition of his heart. David’s heart is broken over his sin. He has had an affair and then had the woman’s husband killed. With the help of a dear and trusted friend, David was confronted by the deep pain his sin has caused others, himself, and his relationship with God. In this psalm David prays for mercy and forgiveness. David prays, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 

  It is good news that God showed David great mercy. God’s love for David was steadfast. And God used David, with his cleansed heart, for great and God honoring work.

 This is true for us too. Despite our sin, and the hurt we have caused; even when our heart is broken and full of grief; God’s love for us is steadfast. God has mercy on us, forgives us, and fills us with healing love. Even in our brokenness, God has good and God honoring work for us to do.

  We are invited to join David’s prayer, asking God to create in us clean hearts. As we join this prayer, we let God work on our hearts. As your heart is in God’s hands of grace, how is God creating a clean heart within you? What in your heart needs to be cleansed? What needs to be forgiven? What needs to be pushed out of our lives? What needs to be washed away? What needs to be healed? 

  Let’s also consider how we participate with God in creating a clean heart within us? How can we receive and trust God’s mercy? How can we be filled with the gracious and steadfast love of God? How can God help us to find peace? This may take some extended time in prayer, both crying out in pain, as well as silently letting God create a clean heart within us.

  We let God in because we know that we can trust God with our heart. God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 

  This is a season to take intentional time to let God in to cleanse our hearts and renew our spirits.   Our lives are so much better when we take time to let God in to create in us clean hearts and renewed spirit. God bless you on this cleansing journey. 

Sermon for the First Sunday of Christmas 12/28/2025 

    I have to be honest with you, I really don’t like this Reading we just heard from Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 2:13-23). As I was preparing for our worship together, I wanted to skip our Gospel Reading assigned for today and go with a Reading that is more uplifting and full of joy and celebration.

    But this Reading reminds us that Jesus was born into this world where there is tragedy and there are jealous tyrants who will do anything to keep their power, even if it means killing babies. This world that we live in, this world that Jesus came to is full of tragedy and disaster, of violence and killing.

    Even in our own lives we know the struggles of living in this world. We know about strained relationships and declining health. It seems that one health concern piles on top of another. Life can get pretty heavy. We can grow weary of so much heart ache. So, what do we do with these realities of life? How do we keep from falling into despair? How do we maintain hope and sustain our peace and experience joy?

    Well, first, I think it is necessary to be honest with God and even with other people. It is ok for us not to be ok. There are times when weeping and crying and shouts of hurt and even anger are appropriate.

    What Herod did to the babies in Bethlehem is not acceptable. Violence and killing in our world today is not acceptable. As people of God, it is necessary for us to use our voices to speak against evil and acts of violence.

    It is also our role as people of God to lament and to weep. We join those who are hurting and weep with them. Together we experience and express the pain of life in this world. As the people of God we join together to weep and grieve with those who are hurting.

    And then, it is time to remember. It is time to recount God’s work in the past so that we can see God at work today. Our 1st Reading from Isaiah reminds us to “recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

    To keep our spirits from falling to despair, we recount, we remember, we look back to see where God has been with us in the past. We recall the stories of the Bible that tell of God’s acts of mercy and help and rescue and salvation. We remember ways God has worked in our own lives to care for us and help us. As we remember God’s work in the past, we are encouraged that God is with us today.

Martin Luther taught that it is precisely in places where we would least expect to find God, in suffering, pain, disaster, catastrophe and in the cross that God is clearly present. In the most difficult times and places, God is present and hears our desperate cries for help.

As we look to Jesus we see how he lived as God with us. Jesus knew heartache and rejection. He knew grief and suffering. He experienced death. And we remember that Jesus rose victorious over death. He has come back from the grave to give us life and salvation.

The point of Jesus becoming a baby was to experience all of life with us, to suffer death, and to rise victorious over its power so that in

 him we might have eternal life. Jesus came to this world to show us how to live in this world with love and mercy, with peace and hope; and to be for us the way of salvation. We are sustained in peace and we have our hope restored as we recall the salvation that is ours in Jesus.

Our Reading from Hebrews told about Jesus saying, Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Jesus knew how hard it can be to live in this world. He knew struggles and pain; he knew grief and sadness. And then, in his resurrection, we see the power of God bringing life out of death and hope out of despair.

As we recount God’s saving acts, we are then ready to join in the psalm in singing to God our praises. Even in this troubled world, even in our grief and pain; our spirits are lifted to sing praises to God and to trust that God is with us through all things, and we are never separated from the love of God.

The Christmas message is more than a sweet story about a poor little baby born in a stable.  It is news about our Savior, the one who brings us a new and everlasting life as children of God.  It is about God breaking into this cruel world to bring peace and hope.

Gretchen Wolff Pritchard wrote, “Christmas is about much more than a baby in a stable.  It is about being found by God.  God has chosen to be with us, wherever we are, whatever we have done; and in God’s good time we will be fully restored to our lost home.  We will climb back into the lap of the One who loves us, and be held, embraced and fed.”

Jesus came to this cruel world so that sin and death would not be the end of the story.  Christmas is just the beginning of the story about how God came to us, to live with us, to die for us, to reunite us to our maker, to give us hope, to give us life as His Children.

    Today we remember and celebrate that God comes to us. God comes to us in the hurt and grief, in the violence and destruction, in the sorrows and sadness, in the tragic and cruelty of human sin in order to rescue us, to forgive us, to comfort us, and to be with us through all of it assuring us that God’s love is steadfast and will never leave us, no matter what and forever. Amen.

Article for November 2025

A hymn that many of us will sing over the next couple of weeks is, Now Thank We All Our God. This hymn was written by Martin Rinkart who was Bishop of Eilenberg, Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. During the war many people moved to Eilenberg because it was a walled city. But with the population being so dense, famine and disease spread throughout the city. Due to the casualties of war, famine and disease, Rinkart, being the only clergyman in the city, had to do 40 to 50 burial services each day. His own wife also died during this time. In 1637, filled with grief and exhaustion from having done more than 4000 funerals that year, Rinkart’s faith remained strong as we hear in the words of this hymn that he wrote.   

            May our gratitude be kindled and our faith inspired as we sing Rinkart’s words:

1.       Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; who, from our mothers’ arms, has blest us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

2.       Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, with ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us, and keep us all in grace, and guide us when perplexed, and free us from all harm in this world and the next.

3.       All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given, the Son, and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven, the one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore; for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Highlands Newspaper article for September 4, 2025

Lessons from the trees

Here in Highlands, we are transitioning from one season to another. It has been a wonderful Summer. We have had plenty of rain and high temperatures. We enjoyed resting in the sunshine. Now we are ready for Fall. We look forward to cooler evenings and crisp mornings. The changing color of leaves is always a highlight. The variety of colors amazes us and draws crowds to gaze at the beauty. Fall is a refreshing season.

As we move from Summer into Fall, what lessons can we learn in this change of seasons? We may look at our own lives and consider how we are changing. How are we beautiful in new ways? And as we watch the leaves fall from the trees, we may wonder, what in my life do I need to let go of? What hurts or failings from the past season do I need to let go of?

As the trees shed their leaves we can ponder the importance of forgiveness for our own lives. What is within us that needs to be forgiven? We also reflect on the pains have we endured from others that need to drop from us. 

It may take all the whole Fall season to work this process of letting go and forgiving, but we have this season. We have this time to release the pain and hurt as well as the guilt and shame. We have this season to let go and be refreshed. 

Forgiveness begins as we take into the depth of our spirits the promise that God forgives us. That is the message of Jesus. In his teachings and through his death and resurrection we receive the assurance of forgiveness. As we truly believe that God forgives us and that there is nothing that will take us out of God’s grace, we can then begin to forgive ourselves. This is quite a process, but the more we trust in God’s grace the more we can accept forgiveness.

As we fully take in the healing that comes from God’s forgiveness, we can begin to forgive ourselves. It is then from this place of renewal that we consider forgiving other people.

I appreciate this quote from Les Brown that reads, “Forgive anyone who caused you pain or harm. Keep in mind that forgiving is not for others. It is for you. Forgiving is not forgetting. It is remembering without anger. It frees up your power, heals your body, mind and spirit. Forgiveness opens up a pathway to a new place of peace where you can persist despite what has happened to you.”

As we receive forgiveness, we feel so relieved and renewed, and we want others to know this too. So, from this place of being forgiven we can then express this same forgiveness to others. This, too, is a process. It may take a whole season to work through our hurt and come to a point where we can offer forgiveness. It is not simple, but it is necessary.

This Fall, consider the trees and let them guide you in this season of forgiveness and renewal.

Highlands Newspaper article for April, 2025

In Christ’s family, there are no divisions 

25-27 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe. – Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise. 28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises. -- Galatians 3:23-29 The Message 

The Apostle Paul declares that baptism is a powerful bond that unites people not only with God but with other believers. Those who call themselves children of God experience a transformation that removes prejudices of race, social class, or gender in favor of true unity in Christ. It is with this in mind that we celebrate Juneteenth with our siblings of African descent, and Pride month with our siblings in the LGBTQIA+ community. As many of you know, Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It recalls how the states of Louisiana and Texas heard the news that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Slavery continued in those two states for more than two years after the proclamation was signed because the word had yet to travel there. Texas and Louisiana finally got the good news on June 19, 1865. Former slaves broke out in spontaneous celebration. These were dangerous times. Even in the face of resistance and threat, the formerly enslaved Africans found ways to give voice to the wide range of thoughts and emotions at the announcement of the end of legalized slavery in the United States of America We are celebrating God’s goodness and grace to all God’s precious children, with no limits, restrictions or exceptions. No matter our sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or situation in life, we are children of God and dear siblings of one another. For those who are seeking God’s undeserved, saving love, and belonging for their life, we welcome you to be a part of the ministry of Lutheran Church of the Holy Family, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In this community of faith all are welcome and all find the grace of God for their lives. Together we celebrate God’s life transforming love. Within our congregation we encourage one another in our lives even, and especially through struggles and hard times in life. We are there for each other with genuine care, compassion and prayer. We share generously the financial resources we have with ministries in Highlands and throughout North Carolina to bring hurting people help, hope and healing. All are welcome! 

Highlands Newspaper article for March, 2025

5-Minute Morning Faith Reset

         For many of us mornings can be a big rush to get going, out the door and off to work. But the way we start our day can influence the way the rest of the day goes for us. Five minutes can make all the difference.

         Try this 5-minute morning faith reset. Take your coffee or tea to your favorite chair and sit. As you sit, take five deep breaths, breathing in God’s goodness and blowing out your stress, anxiety, and worry. Then pray this prayer from Psalm 143:8. Let me hear of Your steadfast love in the morning, for in You I put my trust. Teach me the way to go, for to You I lift up my soul.

         Pray each phrase several times until you really mean it. When you are ready, sit and listen for God’s guidance and inspiration.

         This prayer reminds us that we are, first and foremost, loved by God. God’s love is steadfast. God will not let you go, no matter what. God is sticking with you through whatever happens, and God is forgiving you for whatever happened yesterday. You are in God’s steadfast love. Your primary identity as you go into the day is that you are a dearly, deeply and eternally loved child of God. That is who you are!

         Above all else, anyone else, even yourself, God is the one we trust as we go into the day. We may have our schedule for the day. We may have our “to do” list. But we also want to be receptive to what God wants for us in this day. God’s plans are better than our plans. We want to be open to an opportunity for ministry that God may put in our path. We want to be open to receiving and sharing God’s grace as we go into the day. We put our trust in God. We are open to God’s guiding Spirit.

         To God we lift up our soul. In faith, in thanks, in praise, in service, we lift up our soul to God. We devote ourselves to being an agent of God’s mercy and peace and help today.

         As we see ourselves a loved child of God, we are then ready to see others as loved children of God too. Many people will not act like loved children of God as we go into the day, so we will need to be extra patient and kind, showing through our lives God’s love for them.

         Pray it one more time. Let me hear of Your steadfast love in the morning, for in You I put my trust. Teach me the way to go, for to You I lift up my soul.

         And now you are ready to go and live this prayer.

Highlands Newspaper article for January 16, 2025

Living with Christmas in our Hearts

            After the celebration of Christmas, we quickly go back to our regular routines and feel the pressures of life still weighing us down. There are times when life is tough, and we are filled with conflicts and concerns. When the troubles of the world weigh heavily on us, we, like Isaiah, might cry out in prayer, O that you would tear open the heavens and come down. (Isaiah 64:1)

            At Christmas we celebrate that God has heard our prayers. God has come to us. God is with us (the meaning of Emmanuel). Jesus came to this world to experience all of life as we do, but to also be the presence of God with us through it all. Wherever Jesus went, he sought out people who were hurting, vulnerable, left out and discouraged. To these desperate people Jesus brought compassion, healing, and hope. Through love in action Jesus showed people that God cares and is at work to bring us goodness and rescue.

            As we study the life and ministry of Jesus, we see the heart of God meeting real people in their real-life situation and bringing them grace and peace. In Jesus we are assured that God cares about us. In Jesus we receive a Light that shines in our darkness. In Jesus we have a Good Shepherd. And through the death and resurrection of Jesus we are brought into God’s salvation – God’s eternal rescue. The message of Jesus is that there is nothing that can or will separate us from God’s love for us.

The celebration of Christmas Day was almost a month ago, yet the message of Christmas still sustains our spirits and lifts our hope.

            When the message of God’s steadfast, merciful, and eternal love for us takes hold of our hearts, we receive a peace that helps us to endure all things, and a hope that even inspires joy. We are not alone in our struggles and suffering. God is with us and meets us with grace.

            Even though the celebration of Christmas is long over, the message of Christmas inspires us, encourages us, and comforts us each day. Our spirits are lifted as we receive the message of Christmas. We can live in this real world with all its worries, troubles, and suffering with a peace that helps us continue on with hope.

            As the light of Christ fills our lives, we shine with his light and live with his love flowing through us. From us other people experience the presence of God. We are people who express mercy, compassion, kindness, and generosity. With the message of Christmas lifting our spirits, we join with God in putting His love into action.

            There is a lot of darkness in the world. Many people are suffering. We have the opportunity and the calling to be people who shine with the light of Christ and share the love of God. With the angels we can bring to others “good news of great joy” that God has come to us. God is with us. And nothing will remove us from God’s steadfast and eternal love for us.

Highlands Newspaper article for August 15, 2024

Adjusting our perspective of one another

It concerns me when I hear one person call another person evil. I am not denying that there is evil in the world and there are forces that are at work to promote evil, but it troubles me when a person is labeled as evil. What do we mean when we call someone evil? In studying the ancient languages of the Bible, particularly Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, I have learned that there are different ways to interpret and understand the word evil. What is called evil can be understood as being unripe, immature, unfortunate, ugly, cruel, malignant, rotten, wicked, diseased, incorrect, or a troublemaker. For example, Jeremiah 24:3 in the King James Version of the Bible says, Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. Are figs evil? A better translation may be that the figs are unripe, sour, or rotten, diseased. How about other people? Are people purely evil? People can do evil things, but I prefer to see hope in people and see them as immature, ripening, growing. There is potential to move beyond this immaturity. Or they might be bitter or sour because of experiences in life, but they have potential to heal, recover, forgive and be lovely. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, deliver us from evil. What comes to mind if we consider these other translations? Deliver us from immaturity. Deliver us from disease. Deliver us from bitterness. Deliver us from being wicked. Deliver us from people who cause us pain. When we encounter other people who give us trouble, rather than labeling them as evil, we might first wonder how we can help them mature and heal. We see this in the ministry of Jesus. He met people who were “evil” with healing, hope, and grace. Jesus gave them an opportunity to be forgiven and loved. Jesus offered people the opportunity to repent, to turn from their cruel, immature, diseased, rotten ways and turn to a “Kingdom of God” life that is good, gracious, merciful, healed, whole, loved and a benefit to others. In Jesus we receive life that is forgiven, healed, whole and saved. From Jesus we hear the invitation to turn from evil, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are brought into life that is new, filled with undeserved love, and great potential to bring good to the world. There is hope for all of us. There is grace for all of us. There is home for all of us in the goodness and mercy of God. The ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus defeats the power of evil and brings us new and eternal life in the power of God’s love.

Highlands Newspaper Article for May 30, 2024

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it. Psalm 96:11-12a

The other day I smiled when I smelled sunscreen. I smiled because when I put on sunscreen I am about to go outside for a while. I may be off for a hike on one of our amazing trails here in Western North Carolina, or I may be off to the lake to fish or relax. Often times when I put on sunscreen, I am just going out to mow the grass. But whether it is hiking, relaxing at the lake or mowing grass, when I am outside, I have the opportunity to connect with God through nature.

God’s creation is incredible! I can’t help but to be inspired when I spend time in God’s creation. The powerful mountains, the deep waters, the bees and bugs, the details on the leaves and the smells of the flowers, the hopping critters, chirping birds, and slithering snakes; all of this tells me of an amazing God who made all of it. And not only did God make it all, but God also cares about this creation and each creature, including you and me. God wants good for creation. God wants good for you. When you have the opportunity to put on sunscreen and go outside, look and listen for how God is caring for creation and for you? How is God speaking to you through this incredible creation? What is God calling you to do to care for and tend this creation? But especially, take in the life-giving love God has for you as you consider creation. Just as God cares for each sparrow, God care for you. God wants good for you and your life.

The cute little chipmunks don’t do anything to earn God’s care and love for them. In the same way, there isn’t anything you need to do to earn the love God has for you. We just receive it with joy and thanks, and then we live our lives in response to this love of God. As we take to heart God’s love for us and all these creatures and other humans, we are moved to have this same kind of care for these creatures and creation. Our lives respond to the love of God by reflecting it through out lives out to creation.

The challenge for me, and maybe for you too, is to reflect God’s love to people who are difficult and even destructive. But when I think about it, these are the people who especially need to know that they are loved. We see this lived out in the life and ministry of Jesus. He seemed to intentionally pursue the difficult, destructive and broken people so that he could care for them, heal them and assure them that they belong to the eternal love of God. This ministry of Jesus wasn’t always received well, but for many people it transformed their life and made them like new people. And it was through these previously broken, hurting and difficult people that the love of God was spread in powerful and life-giving ways.

Hear the love of God calling you to healing and wholeness, forgiveness and renewal so that you can be an agent of God in spreading this life-giving love.

Highlands Newspaper Article for March 14.  2024

Inspiration from St. Patrick

On March 17 we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This year St. Patrick’s Day can be about more than drinking green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage. Our faith can be encouraged, and our lives inspired as we learn about St. Patrick and his ministry.

There are many fun legends about St. Patrick, but what we can be fairly certain of is that Patrick, whose birth name was Maewyn Succat, was born in Britain around 387 A.D. When he was 16 years old, he was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They took him to Ireland where he worked as a slave. While he was enslaved, he worked as a shepherd. He spent most of his time alone and afraid. It was during this time that he became a devout Christian, turning to God for strength and peace. As he found comfort in his faith, he began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity, wanting to share with them the hope of his faith.

After six years of working as a prisoner, he heard a voice in a dream that he interpreted as being the voice of God. The voice told him that it was time for him to escape. He found an opportunity to get away, but then he had to walk 200 miles to the Irish coast. Once on the coast he was able to get onto a boat going to Britain. Once in Britain he had another dream. This time an angel told him to return to Ireland as a Missionary. But first he had to have training to be a Missionary. His studies lasted more than 15 years. Following his ordination as a priest, he returned to Ireland both to minister to the Christians who were already in Ireland and to convert others to Christianity.

Patrick’s devotion to God and sharing his faith is reflected in a quote where he says, If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God.

While we may not have an experience in life like Patrick or a call to share our faith with people who brought harm to our lives, we can still have some of Patrick’s passion to want good for others and share with them the peace and joy we find in our faith.

Patrick taught his faith in simple but meaningful ways, including using the shamrock, a three leafed plant, to teach about the one God of Christianity who is known in three expressions as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I invite you to take the opportunity to share your faith by offering the following blessing for your family or the people you celebrate with today.

St Patrick’s Prayer of Blessing

May the Strength of God pilot us.

May the Power of God preserve us.

May the Wisdom of God instruct us.

May the Hand of God protect us.

May the Way of God direct us.

May the Shield of God defend us.

May the Host of God guard us against the snares of the evil ones, against temptations of the world.

May Christ be with us!

May Christ be before us!

May Christ be in us, Christ be over all!

May Thy Salvation, Lord, always be ours, this day, O Lord, and evermore. Amen.

Highlands Newspaper Article for December 2023

Pondering with Mary                  

December can be a very busy, even hectic month as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas. We have shopping to do, parties to attend, cooking, baking, cleaning, and celebrating. It is wonderful and exhausting. 

The days after December 25 can be a time when we can consider the deeper meaning behind the celebration of Christmas. Beginning on December 25 and continuing through January 5, we can now settle into the Twelve Days of Christmas. As our celebration of Christmas continues, we can now sit with Mary, the mother of Jesus, ponder the true meaning of Christmas.

Imagine what the days leading up to Jesus’ birth were like for Mary. Here she was, a pregnant teenager who had traveled away from home and what was familiar to the big, busy city, only to find that there was no place for them to stay. It had to be scary and upsetting for Mary. And then, as she was there with the animals it came time for her to deliver the baby. I wonder if she was frazzled, or did she have the

promise of the angel playing over and over in her mind, saying, “The Lord is with you.”  She had humbly trusted and surrendered herself to the plan that the angel had announced to her, but this may have been more than what she thought she was getting into. 

Once the baby was born and Mary started to catch her breath, along came the shepherds. She had just given birth and now she has to welcome these dirty, smelly shepherds who came to see her baby. But with their visit came another message from an angel that said, to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

When the shepherds finally left, Mary could ponder all that had happened and this message from the angel that was told by the shepherds. An experience like this and news like this takes some pondering.  As we join Mary in pondering this Good News of great joy that the Savior and Messiah has been born, we consider, what does it mean to me? What difference does it make to my life? How am I changed by this news?

It is quite incredible that the God of the universe has come to us, to abide with us, to be pure and holy love for us. This is the gift of God that is for all of us and each one of us. God comes to us right where we are, even in and especially in the mess of life, the pain of life, to be a light shining in our darkness. 

Our world is hurting. The wars and tragedies weigh heavily on us. Our own lives know struggle, grief, loneliness, and disappointment. It is to this world and to our lives that God comes to be with us, to be love for us, to be the light of hope. 

Today we can ponder what this means. As we receive this light and love into our lives, we are then able to share it with those around us. We can be peacemakers and agents of compassion as we join the work of God in the world.

Highlands Newspaper Article for October 5, 2023

Pursuing a Humble Spirit

If you are interested in living a life that is opposite of “road rage”, consider the ancient and very practical teaching of pursuing a humble spirit.  We very easily get caught up in pursuing our own interests and desires and see other people as interrupting our pursuit of what we want. Our lives can get so busy that we get absorbed with what we have to do and just see others as getting in the way. We don’t like to have our busy lives interrupted by someone else, especially when we are in a hurry to get somewhere. This often leads to conflict with others, even road rage. It takes a lot of practice and intentionality, but pursuing a humble spirit brings great peace and joy to our lives.  A helpful quote from Bordon B. Hinckley says, Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others. As we pursue a humble spirit, we will practice treating others with respect and dignity. We will work on a perspective of seeing others as more important than ourselves. Try it. The next time you go to the grocery store, practice seeing others as more important than yourself. Even as you are driving your car, go out of your way to be polite and considerate of others. As we practice pursuing a humble spirit, we may feel ourselves overcome with a renewed joy and peace in life. We might find that we enjoy making a positive difference in other people’s lives. One of the greatest teachers on pursuing a humble spirit was Jesus. And not only did he teach it, but he also lived it. The Apostle Paul shares an ancient hymn about Jesus in his letter to the Philippians (2:5- 11) as he writes:

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,  6 who, though he was in the form of

God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,  7 but emptied himself, taking

the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  8 he humbled

himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.  9 Therefore God also

highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,  10 so that at the name of

Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11 and every tongue

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus shows us that true greatness is not found in forcing our own will by oppressing or belittling others but in showing mercy, compassion and even serving others. As we pursue a humble spirit, we are not showing weakness but rather self-control and gentleness. An anonymous writer said, Being a gentle person means that though you have the power and potential to be devastating through your attitudes and actions, but you control them so that you have a calming and soothing effect on others. Joy and peace will be yours as you pursue a humble spirit.

Spiritually Speaking for April 20 by Ken Langsdorf, Pastor of Lutheran Church of the Holy Family

Seeing, touching, and hearing the resurrected Jesus. The celebration of Easter – the resurrection of Jesus – continues until Pentecost Day, which is on May 28 this year. Throughout the Season of Easter we study and reflect on Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. Let’s consider together one of these appearances of the risen Jesus as John tells about it in his reporting of the Gospel. John 20: 19- 23 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John is describing an event from the evening of the first Easter Day. The disciples of Jesus have locked themselves away because they are afraid the leaders and people who crucified Jesus may be after them next. I think they are also horrified and confused about what happened to Jesus. It had to be traumatic to see their Rabbi treated in such a cruel way, tortured and put to death in the most agonizing way. It is no wonder they are afraid and locked away. They may have also been confused. If they were expecting Jesus to be a military Messiah who would raise up a revolution against the Roman oppressors, they were greatly disappointed. With the death of Jesus, all of their hopes and dreams were crushed. Now what?

Do you think they might have felt some guilt too? After all, when Jesus, their Rabbi needed them the most, they ran. They abandoned him. Peter, a leader of the disciples, denied even knowing Jesus. I imagine the disciples feeling some guilt about turning away from Jesus when he was taken away. It is to this setting, with the disciples of Jesus locked away in fear, grief, confusion, and guilt, that Jesus appears. And what are his first words? Jesus says, Peace be with you. Or Shalom. He didn’t express any disappointment or anger or wrath. He didn’t come seeking revenge on those who killed him. Rather, the resurrected Jesus comes to his disciples with a message of peace and forgiveness. We see in Jesus the God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We see in Jesus the power of God expressed in mercy, forgiveness, life and love. Jesus shows that God’s power is stronger than human sin, greater than all the forces of evil, and triumphant over death. To humanity who gave Jesus their worst, he offers peace. To the forces of death and destruction, violence and terror; Jesus shows the power of life and love and peace. The power of this resurrected Jesus is not just for the people who lived 2000 years ago. This is an eternal power that meets us today. When we are locked away because of fear, grief, confusion, and guilt, the power of Jesus meets us with peace, shalom, forgiveness and eternity in the love of God. This week a woman who is in hospice care said to me, I am at peace with God. And from that peace with God, I am at peace within myself and with other people. When I die, I will be more alive than I have ever been. That is the difference the Good News of Jesus gives to us today.

Spiritually Speaking column in Highlands newspaper: 1/26/23 

Who am I and where do I belong?

In times of change and transition we may ask ourselves, (intentionally or in the back of our minds) Who am I and where do I belong?

When we experience major life changes like retirement, or the death of a spouse or divorce, or moving to a new place; we may wonder 

about our identity in this new situation. Our lives are often defined by what we do and our relationships. When there is a significant 

change in what we do, our relationships or where we live; we may need time to assess our core identity and values.

     When I recently when through a major life change, I spent some time in discernment. For the past 15 years I knew who I was and had 

      my daily and weekly routines. When I completed that job, I had to find my new life.

      In time of reflection, I came to see that I am more than what I do. I am more than what I have. I am more than what other people say 

      about me.

     What I found is that there is an identity I have that has been there my whole life and will never change. As jobs change and 

      relationships change, the one constant is that I am a loved child of God. Every day, in all the changes and challenges of life,  and for eternity,

      I am a loved child of God.

     This core and foundational identity is for you too. By the grace of Jesus, you are a loved child of God – everyday and for eternity. 

     Nothing, no change or failure will take you out of the love of God. God’s forgiveness is abundant, and God’s love is steadfast. No 

     matter what, God’s will never abandon you. By the grace of Jesus, you are held in the love of God forever.

     No matter what is going on in our lives, we belong to God. And we belong to the family of God. This is the message we preach and 

     live at Lutheran Church of the Holy Family. We see everyone as a loved child of God who belongs to us as fellow children of God. Each   

    Sunday we are renewed in our identity as forgiven and cherished children of God who belong to the family of God.

     If you are going through a change in life or are seeking deeper meaning for your life, know that you are welcome to join us at Lutheran      Church of the Holy Family.