Faith & Politics Reflections

 TRANSFORMATIVE NOT TRANSACTIONAL – SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2025 Luke 6:27-38   “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will b...

 In honor of Black History month. Photo from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America archives. The Rev. Dr. Will Herzfeld was a pastor with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the 1960s and active with Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement of that time. This picture shows him (fourth from the right) as a leader of a 20,000 person march through San Francisco commemorating the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington. So, that would have been 1983. In 1984 Rev. Herzfeld made history when he became the first African-American bishop to head a Lutheran denomination in the United States – the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America – (which eventually joined in the merger of 1988 which formed the ELCA.) The name “Will Herzfeld” lives in my childhood memory. Rev. Herzfeld and my father served together on the Wheatridge Foundation Board in the mid-1970s. I remember Dad coming home from a Board meeting once talking about (I think) Christmas seals t...

BLESSED BE - SUNDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2025 Luke 6:17-26 "Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you hav...

 COLLAPSE - SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2025 Isaiah 6:1-8 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the ...

These are the Prayers of the Church from  Sundays and Seasons  that many ELCA congregations will be using this Sunday, February 9, 2025. (The First Lesson is the call of Isaiah and the Gospel a call to discipleship.) We  are  supposed to amend the prayers to our setting, right? I'm just a guest preacher this Sunday so sort of out of the loop, but is anybody else doing this - I hope? *   *   * "With the Spirit of Christ shining upon us, let us boldly pray for the church, the world, and all of creation. A brief silence. God of surprising abundance, you call your people to enter deeply into the world. Equip us to respond to your call, gather up what we have, and offer it to all.  We lift up especially today the ministries of Lutheran Global Refuge and Lutheran Community Service NW, defunded and told to cease their ministries by our Federal Government.  Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. God of creation, provide protection from the element...

 MUSK/FLYNN LIES ABOUT LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES The claim that government grants or contracts with organizations like Lutheran Social Services are “illegal” is not just misleading—it is a deliberate misrepresentation of how public-private partnerships function in the U.S. Here's the truth: Lutheran Social Services (LSS) ( https://lutheranservices.org ) is a network of nonprofit organizations operating across the United States, providing essential social services to individuals and families in need. LSS agencies operate independently in different states but share a commitment to serving vulnerable populations regardless of religious affiliation. Their work includes: Refugee Resettlement & Immigration Services  – Many LSS organizations are key partners in resettling refugees, assisting with housing, employment, and integration services. They work under federal programs like the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, ensuring that refugees receive the support they need to become se...

  THE LONG ARC - SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2025 Luke 2:22-40: “When the time came for Mary and Joseph’s purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah . . . There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting ...