By: Rachel Carle Readings: Isaiah 41:14-20, Romans 15:14-21, Psalm 21 For 27 days this year, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Southeast DC did not have running water. 270 individuals in care, 700 staff. No running water to wash their hands, bathe, use the bathroom, or sanitize the hospital rooms. St. Elizabeth’s serves predominantly black...
By: Sarah Johnson Readings: Isaiah 24:1-16a, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, Psalm 21 The passage from Psalm tells us, rather intensely, that we will destroy our enemies, and their wicked, plotting descendants. I think a simple first pass has us imagining human enemies, but as we look at the other texts- a foretelling of...
By: Sarah Bagge Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 15:14-13, Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 (7) As a gardener, I’m always drawn to natural and agricultural images in the Bible. Today’s readings are full of them – the shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse in Isaiah and again in Romans, John...
By: Sara Babcock Readings: Isaiah 40:1-11; John 1:19-28 When I started this project, I thought of longing as a quiet act. Connecting it to the season of Advent brought images of monks in old stone buildings, sitting in the dark and looking forlornly out at the stars. Suffering in silence, maybe —...
By: Bekka Meyer Readings: Isaiah 30:19-26; Acts 13:16-25; Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 I love the hymn “Canticle of the Turning” (ELW 723) enough that it was sung by the congregation at our wedding. I love its message of justice and the tenacity you can feel in the melody – it’s a call...
By: Susan Boyle Readings: Isaiah 4:2-6; Acts 1:12-17, 21-26; Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 When I listen to the news of the world – conflicts between peoples, hunger, poverty, grief, natural disasters, hate, and violence – I can be discouraged. Where is God in these times of despair? Where is the canopy to...
By: Sara Babcock Readings: Isaiah 54:1-10; Matthew 24:23-35; Psalm 124 I spend a lot of time wishing the world was different, or at the very least that things would change faster. I wish that everyone was safe, housed, fed, loved, and truly free to live happy lives. And then when I’m done...
By: Vanesa Browne Readings: Genesis 9:1-7; Hebrews 11:32-40; Psalm 124 During meditation, centering prayer, or any moment of silence, our minds inevitably wander. We may think about our looming to-do list, a comment from a loved one that just didn’t sit well, or what’s for dinner tonight. As these thoughts drift into...
By: Justin Fitch Readings: Genesis 8:1-19; Romans 6:1-11; Psalm 124 “But God remembered Noah” is a phrase cherished by many. I wonder, though, how often we consider the whole story of the Flood. While scholars argue (as they do) about the length of days Noah and his family remained in the ark,...
