Immigrant Neighbor On My Mind
Highlights from the new LCMS report on immigration, “Immigrants Among Us.”
Proper 28 • Daniel 12:1–3 • November 18, 2012
By Leopoldo Sanchez In his struggle against the pneumatomachians, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit by reducing his nature to that of a ministering spirit or angel, St. Basil (c. 329–379) highlights that good angels are “holy” only because the Holy Spirit, who is God, has made them so. The Holy Spirit uses ..
Proper 20 • Jeremiah 11:18–20 • September 23, 2012
By Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. You Can Kill the Prophet, but You Can’t Kill the Message The text gives a gloomy picture of what happens to God’s prophets. Through Jeremiah, Yahweh has convicted Judah for breaking the covenant he made with their forefathers by turning to false idols and disobeying his word. The response? Men ..
Reflections on Oswald Bayer, “A Public Mystery”
Editor’s Note: On March 21, Prof. Oswald Bayer gave the lecture “A Public Mystery” at Concordia Seminary. More information on the lecture is available here, and video of the lecture will be available soon. Dr. Leo Sanchez offers this summary of and reaction to not only this lecture, but the main emphases of Beyer’s work. ..
Temples of the Holy Spirit
An Epiphany homily to celebrate the work of the Spirit in ordinary lives, and to mark the life of Martin Luther King, Jr
Advent 1 • Isaiah 64:1–9 • November 27, 2011
by Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. The song goes that, after Deuteronomy, Isaiah is the most monotheistic book in the Old Testament. The confession of faith that the Shema (“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”) sums up reminds the people of Israel that there is only one God who deserves ..
Global South Christianity, music, and the church
Leo Sanchez speaks on Global South Christianity and the ways its cultural traditions can move us beyond old “Anglo” categories of mission, worship, community, and music
Lent 3 • John 4:5–26 (27–30, 39–42) • March 27, 2011
By Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. Life is never the same after you drink of this water! The familiar Samaritan woman text is seldom set in the context of the Gospel’s broader presentation of Jesus as the one who bears and gives the Spirit, the one upon whom the Spirit rests and who baptizes with the ..
Galilean Neighbor On My Mind
Defining missions without some concrete neighbor in mind helps no one. All mission talk should claim some neighbor. The Ablaze!® movement often spoke of the “unreached” and the “uncommitted.” The most common biblical designation, of popular use among preachers and laity, is the “lost.” But who exactly are the “lost”? Christ goes after sinners who ..
Arizona Neighbor On My Mind
Arizona neighbor, how I love and advocate for thee. But wait. Who exactly is my Arizona neighbor? Immediately after signing Arizona’s latest (and for some, controversial) immigration law (BS1070), governor Jan Brewer explicitly defined that neighbor for us: “The citizens of Arizona.” No surprises there. After all, if our Lutheran theology of vocation teaches us anything, ..
Palm Sunday/The Sunday of the Passion • Deuteronomy 32:36–39 • March 28, 2010
Homiletical Helps on LSB Series C—Old Testament
by Leopoldo A. Sánchez M
Proper 3 · Romans 1:8-17 · May 25, 2008
By Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. The apostle Paul had long planned to visit the brethren in Rome who had heard the Gospel from other Christian preachers (1:13). When Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, he had yet to deliver a collection to the poor Jewish Christians in Jerusalem before making the long-awaited trip to the ..
Holy Trinity · Acts 2:14a, 42-48 · May 18, 2008
By Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. On Holy Trinity Sunday, it is tempting to find in Luke’s portrayal of the life of the Jerusalem community, where all brothers and sisters confess the same apostolic teaching and share all things in common, an analogy of the three divine persons in communion with one another who share the same ..
Day of Pentecost · Acts 2:1-21 · May 11, 2008
By Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. Some have referred to the Acts of the Apostles as the “Acts of the Holy Spirit.” However, neither tide does full justice to the focus Luke wants to give to the risen Christ as the mediator of the Spirit of the Father to the apostolic church and through her to ..