By Travis J. Scholl Let’s be honest. Given the wondrous epistle reading from Galatians 3 (“But now that faith has come … There is no longer Jew or Greek … But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son … So you are no longer a slave but a child … ”) ..
So, I’ll pick up a hot potato: In what seems like it is becoming a typical 5-to-4 decision last week , the Supreme Court decided in Salazar v. Buono that the World War I memorial—or more precisely, the cross that is part of the memorial—that stands in the Mojave National Preserve is not unconstitutional and does not advance a particular religion…
Getting ready to plant 75 trees at Concordia Seminary. Credit: Diane Meyer/Respublica “Christ is risen! Christ will come again! Let’s go plant some trees!” Which is exactly what we did at Concordia Seminary today. 75 of them. Our chapel preacher, Chuck Arand , summoned us to the stewardship of creation with the words above
Paul Scott Wilson featured at Day of Homiletical Reflection, May 5
John's Town Hall, RIP My good friend and colleague Chris Born and I walked a few blocks from Concordia Seminary today to have lunch at one of our regular haunts, John’s Town Hall , on Skinker in the Dorchester. The place was empty. Closed
“The Dude abides.” It’s a topic that, in one way or another, we’ve talked about numerous times in this blog, like here , here , here , or here . Or you could just see them all in the movies category. It’s also the name of a seminar I will be team-teaching on the four Tuesday nights of April. The course carries this premise: “Even if God isn’t mentioned, nearly every film contains an implied theology.” And we’ll look at plenty of examples to prove that thesis: “Citizen Kane,” Ingmar Bergman, “Star Wars,” Woody Allen, Spike Lee, “Toy Story,” the Coen brothers…you name it
I haven’t owned a video gaming system since my parents got my brother and me the original Nintendo. But I’ve seen the commercials for “Dante’s Inferno” a number of times now, and I confess I’m captivated. Not that I intend to buy it. The real Dante’s Inferno is one of the great works of world literature, and still defines much of our visual mythology of hell. (This despite the fact that, for Dante, hell was freezing cold rather than burning hot.)..
María Teresa Dávila Noted ethics scholar Dr. María Teresa Dávila will speak at Concordia Seminary tomorrow night, Thursday, March 18, at 7:00PM. A professor at Andover Newton Theological School, she will be giving the fifth Annual Lecture in Hispanic/Latino Theology and Missions of Concordia’s Center for Hispanic Studies (CHS). The theme for Dr. Dávila’s lecture is “ Unión, Reunión y Comunión : Latino/a Religious Diversity and the Wager of Ecumenical Communion.”..
by James W. Voelz Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders I. Introduction: This famous passage occurs toward the end of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey, as he was heading back to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (20:16). He decided to bypass Ephesus as he proceeded down the West Coast of Anatolia, as Luke says, “lest it happen ..
by Thomas Egger As the season of Lent approaches its climax—Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection—our Lord summons our attention: “Behold! I am about to do a new thing! Right now it sprouts forth—don’t you perceive it?” (Is 43:19) Ultimately, this pericope has an eschatological thrust. On this Sunday, however, it resonates with the rich Lenten ..
By Travis Scholl None of the gospels tell us what mountain Jesus climbed with Peter, James, and John to be transfigured. But I’d like to think it was Mount Nebo, despite the fact that the geography makes it virtually impossible. I’d like to think that from its mountaintop, the three disciples could have seen the ..
By Reed Lessing Introduction “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them….” This familiar Collect for the Word is an apt theme for Jeremiah 1:4—10, as this pericope is all about Yahweh’s Word. This ..
By Travis J. Scholl Wisdom doesn’t seem to come up much in our biblical preaching, despite the fact that the themes and literature of wisdom play a significant role in the Bible, particularly the Hebrew Bible. And perhaps this narrative of King Solomon’s dream is wisdom’s “source text,” the central narrative of wisdom and how people ..
By Travis J. Scholl “The text is designed so that the memory is a generative event in subsequent generations of Israel, generative of energy and courage for the belated contexts in which God’s people will again face oppression, will again cry out in pain, and will again appeal to the God of all departures.” So says ..
John Danforth delivering the homily at Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004 (Screen capture: C-SPAN) The New York Times broke the story on the formation of this new center yesterday, named for one of our state’s most distinguished senators, John C. Danforth, who is also an ordained Episcopal priest. Washington University announced the center in a press release and news conference today
By Travis J. Scholl If last week’s Gospel reading dealt with things external (defiled hands), this week deals with things internal (an unclean heart), part two in Jesus’ teaching on what makes things (and people) clean and unclean. The audience has changed: “Then he called the crowd again and said to them …” (v. 14, emphasis ..