Prairie Musings

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it.” John 1:5 You might think that the most-repeated command in the Bible is “Do not sin….” Actually, “Do not fear,” and its sibling command to have hope, appear many more times than anything about sin—I count at least 103 times the Bible says, “Do not fear!” In the end, I’m sure that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. Fear paralyzes us, fear causes us to be blinded to the humanity of others, and, most importantly, fear destroys hope. Christian hope is not optimism—not a childish wish-fulfillment dream that we’ll get a magic wand and, poof, everything will be pink and blue flowers. Christian hope is a life lived in the certain knowledge that although there is darkness, the Light of God will never be put out, and eventually the earth will be filled with the light and glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Think about the best “children’s” literature and movies—The Lion King…Harry Potter…The Lord of th...

This first Sunday after Pentecost is called “Trinity Sunday.” Since we all know the Trinity is an inexplicable mystery, rectors usually make their assistants preach on this Sunday—but Fr. Bob is moving this weekend….and so, here I am.  Why does something that can’t be really explained matter so much to our faith? The word “Trinity” doesn’t even show up in Scripture—why should we care? Well, here’s why, according to two great living theologians: as Will Willimon puts it, the Trinity is our best way to tell the story of “God’s rich, relentless love for us.” And Paul Neuchterlein says, “The Trinity is not a logical puzzle for us to solve—the Trinity is God’s Love Story for us to be swept up in.”… God’s love story…let’s explore that a little. The first person of the Trinity is God the Father: God, the Creator of all, who is not, therefore, a created “being.” God, who is utterly beyond our understanding and our knowing, outside of our time and space. This kind of abstract, distant God h...

Lectionary readings This prayer is from the great American theologian and longtime Duke professor Stanley Hauerwas: Almighty and ever-loving God, we give you thanks, on this Day of Pentecost, that you did not leave us alone but came to us, in the power of your Holy Spirit, and breathed your life-giving power into every life gathered here this day. You found a way to get to each person here, even when we had no idea of how to get to you. Furthermore, you refused to let us be alone, all locked up in ourselves. You found a way to thrust us into the church, to drag us into fellowship with a group of people whom we would probably never have joined if you had left us to our own devices. By your Spirit you put us into a new, diverse family [not just here, but] one that stretches from one end of the earth to the other. In all this, we give thanks that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, you have saved us from ourselves. Amen! Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the Church. What a ...