This is the big week! We celebrate our students who have worked hard for many years to earn degrees and to be equipped as leaders who will bear witness to the Good News of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. We also celebrate their families, friends, congregations, judicatories, staff, and faculty who supported them along the way.

Baccalaureate on Saturday

Graduates and their loved ones will gather in the Chapel of the Incarnation at 2:00pm on Saturday for one final worship service together. We will hear a word from Dr. Lois Malcolm and be fed at the table. There will be a class photo and reception on the Bockman lawn following the service.

Commencement on Sunday

We gather at 3:00pm at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis to celebrate the awarding of degrees.

Please keep these graduates, their loved ones, and the people they are called to serve in your prayers. We ask God for safety in travel, joy in the celebration, and courage for the next steps.

Note: Our regular rhythm of communal practices is on summer break. We will gather again during the Residential Focus Session from June 14-20. Those services will be livestreamed.

The semester is over. Many of you are taking final exams or finishing up final papers this week. Chapel and communal practices will cease for the summer. Commencement is two weeks away.

Let us take a deep breath together.

This is a transitional time. Many emotions are swirling around. The USA honors the fallen on Memorial Day this weekend. You may be traveling for the weekend or packing up to start the new chapter of your life. The geopolitical climate is continually disturbing. Transitions and memorials can be hard and many things can try to pull us in multiple directions.

Take another deep breath. You got this, because God’s got you.

The text that captured my imagination this week comes from the Narrative Lectionary, Galatians 1:13-17, 2:11-21. I was reminded of how the church is not a bounded set of look-alikes, but is a centered set of vast diversity.

Dwell on this image…

No matter where you find yourself this week, may it always be centered on Christ as we are called to be the manifold embodiment of God’s love in the world. (click here if you would like to explore the centered set image)

peace.

This is our last week of the regular rhythm of Chapel and Community Spiritual practices. Wow! that is hard to believe. The Spring term ends next Monday and then we switch into summer mode.

A Service of Blessing and Sending on Wednesday

Everyone is invited to join together this Wednesday to offer a special blessing for students, staff, and faculty who are about to leave for internships, CPEs, and sabbaticals. We are going to have a beautiful contemplative liturgy with prayer and Holy Communion that culminates in a sending blessing from President Steinke. You can watch the Livestream here.

It All Boils Down to This…

The Gospel text this week is short and sweet. Jesus simplifies the entire Good News to one single commandment: Love One Another. Then he gives the “Why?” of his words. If you love one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.

How are we doing?

When we bring these words into conversation with the other readings this week, I think it gives us a beautiful, broad picture of what the world could look like. In Acts 11:1-18 Peter explains to the people of Jerusalem that he saw God pour out the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house. Psalm 148 reminds us that all of creation is God’s beloved tapestry. Then, Revelation 21:1-6 shows a beautiful picture of God’s preferred and promised world where God dwells amongst the people and Shalom reigns.

God’s love is for everyone and everything!

May we take a deep breath this week and seek to find the ways–big and little–that we might be vessels of God’s unconditional love on all creation.

Blessings on this week of study, teaching and preaching.

This Week in chapel

All chapel events are at 11:00am

• Monday text study on Zoom.
• Tuesday Contemplative Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday Contemplative liturgy with Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards. We welcome President Steinke to offer a blessing for those launching on new adventures.
• Thursday Lunch Church. Simple communal practice in Dining Room A.
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom.

I have two invitations for you this week:

Invitation to Pray

Please pray for Luther Seminary because two big things are happening on our campus this week. The first is that our second on-campus accreditation visit is happening on Monday and Tuesday. Last month we went through the ATS (Association of Theological Schools) 10-year review campus visit. This week we will have the HLC (Higher Learning Commission) campus visit. These are important, but stressful, moments for a school to experience. The second is that our Board of Directors will be on campus for their regular May meeting on Thursday-Saturday. Please pray for wisdom, courage, and peace during all these meetings this week.

Invitation to Reflect

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! Happy Mothers’ Day! As I dwell in the texts from the Revised Common Lectionary this week, I see a theme of new life that comes from pain and death, and how Jesus is the Shepherd who leads us there.

You may not feel like celebrating this season. You may feel caught in darkness. That’s OK. AND, I encourage you to remember that the original hearers of these texts were people who were suffering greatly. The disciples of Jesus were Jewish people who were suffering under the tyrannical oppression of the Roman Empire. They were people experiencing deep division and hatred between ethnic groups. They were people who were faced with death if they proclaimed their devotion to Jesus rather than the Empire.

Our hope is found in the resurrection life of the Good News of the kin-dom of God that Jesus proclaimed and embodied. The murderer Saul became a grace-filled giver of new life. Sister Tabitha was raised from the dead. Those who were slaughtered for their faith gather around the lamb who was slain and proclaim, “Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

Mothers who have passed through the pain of giving birth know the joy that comes on the other side. God, the universe, our generation is in the pains of childbirth, awaiting the already-but-not-yet life that our Shepherd Jesus leads us to each day.

Blessings on this week as we pray for our body and trust in our Good Shepherd.

This image comes from my 300 daily devo doodle collection

This Week in chapel

All chapel events are at 11:00am

• Monday text study on Zoom.
• Tuesday Circle Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday Traditional ELW liturgy with Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards. We welcome Dr. Matt Skinner as our preacher this week.
• Thursday Lunch Church. Simple communal practice in Dining Room A.
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom. AND, a special Lunch Church with the Board of Directors in Dining Room A.

The Easter season is the time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, new life, and new beginnings. Many preachers will walk through the stories of Acts and how the Holy Spirit led Jesus’ disciples to cross cultural boundaries that helped them realize that the body of Christ is much bigger and more inclusive than they had ever imagined. This week we have a special opportunity to be reminded that we still struggle with the scope of who is part of the body of Christ. Who is at the table? Who is often forgotten, or denied access to the table?

We welcome a special guest preacher this Wednesday to guide us through these important questions. Pastor Laura Cannata, (see bio at Robinsdale Parkway UCC) will preach on ideas around accessibility in Luke 5. Then, lunch will be provided after the service. During lunch, Pastor Laura will make a brief participatory presentation to the audience on “Disability Theology Contrasted with Ableist Theology.”

Pastor Cannata is a Justice Minister ordained in the United Church of Christ. She graduated from United Theological Seminary in 2016 and specializes in disability and mental health justice. Laura herself lives with multiple physical and mental health disabilities. She serves on the board of director’s for Disability Ministries and, in her professional practice, is involved in preaching, speaking, and educational engagements.

This Week in chapel

All chapel events are at 11:00am

• Monday text study on Zoom.
• Tuesday Contemplative Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday Contemporary worship with Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards. We welcome Pastor Emily Rova-Hegener to lead us in worship and Pastor Laura Cannata as our guest preacher(see above).
• Thursday 11:00am – Lunch Church. Kristina Cossa, M.A. student, and Joellen Barak, M.Div. student will lead us in contemplative practice in Dining Room A.
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom.

I woke this morning to experience mixed emotions. My intent was to rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the returning of students to the regular flow of Seminary life. I will do that in a moment. However, while going about my morning routine I saw the news that Pope Francis died early this morning.

We pause to grieve and give thanks for the life and work of Pope Francis…

…

And…

This is a good reminder that death is not the end of our journey.

This is the season when we begin each worship service proclaiming, “Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!”

Easter is the day that makes all the pain and suffering of the past week make sense. Creator God, through the incarnation of Jesus, entered into the violence and suffering that we created. Jesus stood in solidarity with the outcast and oppressed. He absorbed the injustice and did not retaliate with violence. As he died, he forgave those who killed him.

That would be a tragic story if it ended there.

But it didn’t.

Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s resounding “NO!” to the corruption and violence of the systems that humans have created that distort the original vision of God.

Jesus came out of the grave.

Jesus’ resurrection is God’s resounding “YES!” to LIFE and new beginnings.

It is not too late. It is never too late. God’s CHESED–steadfast, unfailing love–will call us to new life again, and again, and again.

I think Pope Francis tried to model that hope in his life and ministry. Rest in peace.

This Week in chapel

All chapel events are at 11:00am

• Tuesday Contemplative Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday The International Students Association leads worship with Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards. We welcome Pastor Venicious Reeves to preach and Pastor Sumo Kokor to lead worship.
• Thursday 11:00am – Lunch Church. M.Div. Student Ann Emilie Tjorhom gives her “Why Jesus?” presentation in Dining Room A and on Zoom.
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom.

This is a big week for the Church. The Seminary is on Spring Break this week, so there will not be any of our regular Chapel services. We experienced Holy Week in Community Last Wednesday. You can watch that service here.

While the Seminary may be going quiet this week, I know that many of you will be working triple time as you lead and participate in Holy Week Services.

This week we sit with Jesus in the upper room as he shares his last supper with his disciples. We follow him to the garden where he asks his disciples to stay awake with him while he cries out to God to take this cup from him. We watch in shock as he is arrested and dragged to a midnight trial with the high priest. We stand in horror as he is executed like a common criminal, hanging naked and humiliated in the public eye while the crowd taunts him.

We sit in the cold, numb darkness of Saturday as the disciples are huddled in shock and fear.

waiting.

waiting.

My prayer for you this week is that you will be able to bring all your fears, anxieties, longings, pain, and suffering into these stories. Allow yourself to grieve with the disciples.

And then…

it will happen.

Resurrection!

I look forward to next week when we can regather as a Seminary community and imagine together what new life looks like for us in the power of the Holy Spirit in the coming season.

Until that day, walk this week well, knowing that our loving creator is with you every step of the way.

Where Did the Palms and Hosanna Go in Luke?!?

This Sunday is traditionally called Palm Sunday. The event is called the Triumphal Entry. If you grew up in the church then you probably have fond memories of children parading around the sanctuary waving palm branches while the congregation sings “Hosanna!” People are generally smiling and the tone of the word is joyful and light.

This week, as I’ve studied the story in Luke’s version, a few questions have popped up.

• Where are the palm branches?
• Where are the “hosannas”?
• Why are we so happy when Jesus is so somber?

I invite you to meditate on two images. read more…

Coming Up in Chapel This Week

All chapel events are at 11:00am except Thursday evening

• Monday text study on Zoom
• Tuesday Contemplative Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday Experience the events of Holy Week through scripture and song with Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards.
• Thursday 11:00am – Lunch Church. The Society of Stewards join us this week in Dining Room A.
• Thursday 7:00pm – Virtual Vespers on Zoom
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom

We will not have chapel service next week since we will be on Spring Break, so we will be working through the story of the Passion in Chapel this Wednesday. Here are the texts from the RCL.

This is our last stop on the road to Jerusalem. When I meditate on all the lectionary texts, on the spirit of Lent, and on the events in our world of this week–including the massive earthquake in Myanmar–I am drawn to one word.

Tears.

One of the messages of the Gospel is that we cannot get to Easter without the cross. Joy does not exist without tears. Evil seems to win again and again. Good people suffer at the hands of selfish tyrants. Innocent people die in the rubble of tectonic shifts.

Life is hard. Jesus told his disciples that if they want to follow him they would need to take up their cross. They would need to be willing to lose it all.

Lent is not a happy journey. But, it is a true one. Be strong, my friends. If the land seems dry and barren, if your heart is full of sorrow, if the race seems overwhelming, press on. Jesus is walking with you.

For the Revised Common Lectionary

• Isaiah 43:16-21 – Water in the desert
• Psalm 126:1-6 – sowing in tears, reaping in joy
• Philippians 3:4-14 – press on
• John 12:1-8 – Mary anoints Jesus’ feet

Coming Up in Chapel This Week

All chapel events are at 11:00am except Thursday evening

• Monday text study on Zoom
• Tuesday Circle Practice, led by Dr. Mary Hess. in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom
• Wednesday Traditional ELW service of Holy Communion in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube. Our preacher is Dr. Mark Tranvik. Stay for treats at the Chapel Cafe afterwards.
• Thursday 11:00am – Lunch Church led by the RIC Advocacy Group in Dining Room A
• Thursday 7:00pm – Virtual Vespers on Zoom
• Friday intercessory prayer on Zoom

A Reflection on the Reading

Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and we continue our journey through the season of Lent. Each week the reality of the cross becomes more intense and the stakes get higher. This week we pause in Luke 15. Jesus is scorned by the Pharisees because he “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus responds to their disdain with a series of parables that runs all the way to Luke 17:10 (See page 18 of A Cartoonist’s Guide to Luke to see them all in context).

The RCL only asks us to read one of these parables–the lost son–and then leaves the Gospel of Luke next week. It is easy to lose sight of the purpose of this familiar parable when it is plucked out of its context like this. Perhaps it would serve us well to read all of the parables in this section together to see why Luke collected these parables of Jesus in this moment on the journey.

Here is the order: A lost sheep found, a lost coin found, a prodigal son welcomed home and a brother who is jealous, a dishonest manager who uses money to build relationships, a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus who end up in Hades together, a reminder to always forgive one another, faith like a mustard seed, and a reminder that Jesus’ disciples are servants.

It seems to me that, in this collection of parables, Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees for the following lapse in leadership: First, they have made harsh boundaries in order to keep “sinners” out and maintain their own identity as “God’s chosen people.” Second, they love money more than they love people. Third, they have turned their position of spiritual leadership into a way to lord it over people that they consider inferior to themselves.

The parable of a father who welcomes home a repentant son, in this larger context, is a reminder to all of us–especially those who may identify with the jealous brother–that God’s love is for everyone. God’s arms are open wide. We who are church leaders, or who consider ourselves “the faithful ones” are called to love all and “eat with sinners” as we are servants of Christ’s love for the whole world.

For the Revised Common Lectionary

• Joshua 5:9-12 – The Manna stops because the people have arrived
• Psalm 32:1-11 – Happy are the forgiven
• 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 – Jesus became sin so that we might become righteousness
• Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 – Parable of the Father and Two Sons

Chapel this week…

• Monday Text Study – 11:00am Zoom only
• Tuesday Contemplative Practice – 11:00am OCC Meditation Chapel and Zoom
• Wednesday Holy Communion – 11:00am in the Chapel and on YouTube. It is the fourth week of the month, so it is time for Contemporary Worship Style. Our musicians have put together some Summer Camp Favorites to lead us into a time of worship in community. I am preaching this week and Dr. Elton will preside. Chapel Cafe is open immediately following Chapel, so come for treats and fellowship!
• Thursday
  • Lunch Church. 11:00am Erin DeBour-Moran, the director of music for the Chapel, will lead us in a spiritual practice of singing circles this week. Dining Room A.
  • Virtual Vespers at 7:00pm on Zoom.
• Friday Intercessory prayer – 11:00am on Zoom.