Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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“I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, . . . then you shall know that I the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.” — (Ezekiel 37:14) There is a lot to unpack in this story of the valley of dry bones found in Ezekiel 37:1-14. This story of a place of dry bones, of a slaughter from long ago, an attempt to eradicate a people and the memory of that people, can lead us to a number of messages. And I think one central message is this: real life begins with the Spirit of God. The imagery of the valley of the dry bones is a pow...
One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. — John 9:25 Time after time as I have visited with people, I have been told that sometimes an experience is so powerful that it supersedes all rational thought. I think a major theme in the story of Jesus healing the man born blind recorded in John 9 is the difficulty that everyone had with the experience of this blind man. It began with the disciples trying to answer the theological question of whether the man’s blindness was the result of his own sinfulness or that of his parents. Since...
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! — Psalm 95:1-2 In a democratic society, it appears to me that individualism reigns supreme. Each man and woman is trumpeted as master of his or her destiny and is free to pursue happiness as their hearts would lead them. It is this kind of cultural assumption that lies behind the question that gets asked of every six-year-old, “What do you want to be...
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” — Genesis 12:1-3 As I reflect on God’s call of Abram, I am struck by the fact that the call came before God made a covenant with Abram, before God renamed him Abraham,...
The very first Christmas began with dreams and visions. In Luke’s gospel we read of the visions of Zechariah, Mary, shepherds, Simeon, and Anna. I have been considering the dreams of Joseph and the magi recorded in Matthew. The fourth dream recorded there is another dream of Joseph’s. We read: “When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead’” (Matthew 2:19-20). We are not su...
I have been considering five dreams in Matthew this Advent season. The third dream is another one of Joseph’s dreams: “Now after [the magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13). And so an arduous 200-mile journey, fleeing in the middle of the night, filled with danger at every turn, begins with a dream. It seems that there is a contest happening...
This Advent season I have been exploring the many dreams and visions that surround and are part of the story of Jesus’ birth. While there are a number of visions in the nativity found in Luke, I have been focusing on the five dreams we find in Matthew. In the second dream we encounter in Matthew the magi learn that Herod is a danger to the Christ child and they are not to return to him with news of where the child lives. We read: “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road” (Matt...
This Advent season I am struck by how many dreams and visions are part of the story leading up to Jesus’ birth. Take one of Joseph’s dreams for example: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. It appeared that Mary had been unfaithful, that she had disgraced Joseph. What else could it be but unfaithfulness? She was pregnant and Joseph wasn’t the father. I...
by Rev. Doug Nemitz First Lutheran Church New Rockford When I think about our New Testament reading for Sunday, Sept. 29 (1 Timothy 6:6-19), and the ever widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and the poorest, it seems to me that the Christian faith always lives in uneasy tension with wealth. On the one hand, we who follow Jesus recognize that wealth could be seen as a genuine gift from God to be used to bless others. On the other hand, as Jesus recognized in preaching so much about the dangers of wealth, it can be a devious tem...
As I consider 1 Timothy 2:1-7, our New Testament reading for Sunday, Sept. 22, I’m struck by Paul’s assertion in verse 4 that God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The explicit inclusiveness of Paul’s assertion here leaps off the page. Whether it is directed against the restricted salvation offered by false teachers or even against Jewish claims to exclusivity, both the being saved by God and “the knowledge of the truth” are available to all, not just a select few. In verses 5 and 6, Paul then stresses...
In the tradition to which I belong, a typical Easter greeting might be something like this: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!” I think it is wonderful to remind one another of this central, foundational fact upon which Christianity is built, especially on Easter. Jesus Christ is risen and we, too, will be raised from the dead. This is great news! As I reflect on one of the resurrection accounts in the Bible, I’m struck that Mary Magdalene came to Jesus’ tomb “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark” (John...
These results caught my eye the other day and got me wondering. Once again, Finland has won and the United States has come in a sorry 19th place. Finland is, officially, the happiest country in the world. Denmark is the second happiest. Norway is third, Iceland fourth, and the Netherlands is fifth. Go figure, huh? And these countries are all known for their cold winters and the kind of activities that go with the cold, like ice skating and cross-country skiing. Me, I would have figured that the tropical countries would be the really happy...
“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?” — 1 Thessalonians 3:9 It seems that our society is becoming more and more individualistic. And, as a result, we often neglect the power of the faith of the larger body of Christ in the world to affect our lives. In this letter, Paul was writing to the Thessalonians in a time in which he himself was enduring considerable persecution and suffering (see 1 Thessalonians 3:4, 7). Timothy had just returned with a report that the Thess...
As I was reflecting on Mark 13:1-8, the assigned gospel reading for Sunday, Nov. 18, I began to wonder: Is Jesus a pessimist or an optimist? I think this text reveals a significant difference in how Christ looks at things compared to how we see them. The one disciple, who was struck by the beauty of the temple buildings, could very well represent each one of us. In our human condition, we are so easily caught up in beautiful things that won’t last. Maybe the disciples wondered if Jesus had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed when he said, ...
In the spring of 1971, I sat down to write my last will and testament— no, not that last will and testament. This was a silly little exercise that many graduating seniors did, in which they explained what they were leaving to their high school alma mater and the underclassmen left behind. These “wills” were mimeographed and stapled together and distributed through the school that last week of classes. It’s been so long that I don’t remember everything I left to everyone, but I do remember a few things. I left my long, consecutive string of tard...
As I was praying about, meditating and reflecting upon, asking questions about Sunday’s assigned second reading (1 John 5:1-6), a particular part of the text caught my attention. It was 1 John 5:6a: “This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood.” While these words may seem strange at first, they do have some relevance to our modern time. The early Christians were engaged in a theological battle with the gnostics. The gnostics thought that the material world was evil and t...
