We come to our third encounter in our Lenten Journey. This week we read John 4:5-42 where Jesus stops at Jacob’s well in the Samaritan village of Sychar. He encounters a woman there in the sixth hour of the day. One of the most fascinating, and longest, conversations in the Gospels unfolds.

Join us on Wednesday as we enjoy our monthly student-planned and student-led service. Danielle Dockman, PhD student, is presiding. Vamsi Kagitha, MA student, is assisting. Peter Okeyo, MA student, is preaching. Carolina Bowen, M.Div. student, Sophie Warnberg, M.Div. student, and Joshua Elias, M.Div. student are leading music. It should be fantastic.

We resume our weekly rhythm of communal spiritual practices after a delightful RFS experience last week.

Monday

11:00am | Text Study on Zoom

Tuesday

11:00am | Contemplative Practice – OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom

6:30pm | Soup Supper – Dining Room A

7:00pm | Virtual Vespers – OCC 148 and Zoom

Wednesday

11:00am | Service of Holy Communion – Chapel of the Incarnation on on YouTube

11:45am | Chapel Cafe – Dining Room A

Thursday

11:00am | Lunch Church – Dining Room A

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Enjoy this illustration from A Cartoonist’s Guide to John.

It is Monday morning and I am currently teaching a course during RFS 1. My students are doing a small group project, so I’m taking this opportunity to write a quick blog post. It is a delight to share this weekend with students from around the world.

This coming week we have the opportunity to share in communal spiritual practices services of Holy Communion.

Today, Monday, March 2

Dr. Schifferdecker will preach from Genesis 12 and God’s promise to Abram. We look forward to sharing communion with our RFS 1 students and being online via YouTube.

Wednesday, March 4

Dr. Lewis will preach from John 3 and the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus in Jerusalem. We welcome the students of RFS 2 on campus on Wednesday and are delighted that we get to spend our time together with this service of Holy Communion and those online via YouTube.

Thursday, March 5

Our Lunch Church this week will celebrate our practice of Why Jesus? Joe Squire, M.A. Student, will share his story and answer the questions, “Why am I a Christian? and What difference does Jesus make in my life?” We look forward to sharing this in-person event.

Friday, March 6

We will conclude our RFS 2 session with a service of the Word and Prayer. We will launch our third week of the community art project as we dwell in the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well. This session will be in-person only.

Our Lenten journey begins this week with the first encounter with Christ. The Spirit leads Jesus in the wilderness to fast for forty days. Then he encounters the Devil who sets three tests before him.

Join us on Wednesday as Dr. Lois Malcom, Professor and Olin and Amanda Fjelstad Reigstad Chair for Systematic Theology, preaches on this text during our service of Holy Communion.

Soup Supper and Virtual Vespers Begins This Week!

Tuesday, February 24, we begin our Lenten practice of Soup supper and Virtual Vespers.

We will gather in person at 6:30 (notice time change from graphic) for a simple soup supper in the Dining Room.

Then we will gather on ZOOM at 7:00pm for a simple time of gathering, checking in, reading scripture, and prayer.

The Community Art Project Has Begun

We Welcome RFS 1 This Weekend

Please pray for all the students who will be traveling to the Twin Cities this week to attend the Spring Residential Focus Session on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We kick things off with a fun-filled open mic night on Friday. Then we will have a Super Simple Saturday Service for everyone on campus, Saturday at 11:00am. This will be a time of singing, prayer, and centering for a great weekend together.

Next Monday, The RFS 1 Service of Holy Communion

We end RFS 1 with communion on Monday, March 2. Dr. Schifferdecker will preach on God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12.

We will observe Ash Wednesday together this week and receive the symbol of ashes on our foreheads. All are welcome.

Watch this video for an overview. Share it with your friends.

The weekly rhythm begins this Thursday…

Thursday

11:00am | Lunch Church, in person. We will share a meal, engage the Gospel text for the upcoming Wednesday, then respond through co-creating one part of the banner that will be hung in worship.

Monday

11:00am | Text study on Zoom. We will engage all the readings for the Revised Common Lectionary.

Tuesday

• 11:00am | Contemplative Practice. Hybrid in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom.
• 6:00pm | Soup Supper in Dining Room.
• 7:00pm | Virtual Vespers on Zoom. This is a time to check-in, read scripture, and pray together.

Wednesday

11:00am | Service of Holy Communion. Hybrid in the Chapel of the Incarnation and on YouTube.

Join the Community Art Project.

There will be an imagination station set up in the OCC all week. You are invited to respond to the Gospel text visually–drawing, abstract colors and shapes, words–and add it to the banner. Each panel will be added to the banner on Wednesdays in Chapel. Use the QR code below to upload your contribution. We will print it and add it for you.

This week we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus. This is the pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry. The work of abundance and light in Galilee is over. It is time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem where he knows he will be executed. He invites/warns his disciples that they must take up their cross in order to follow him. That is the journey of Lent we will begin next week.

Things are about to get very dark.

Jesus’ disciples needed a glimpse of hope—a glimpse of glory—in order to make it through this dark time. The Gospel of Matthew (as well as Mark and Luke) tell the story of how Jesus brought Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain where Jesus stands with Moses and Elijah. Here the Law and the Prophets stand embodied next to Jesus. Once again, as it was at his baptism, the voice of God declares him to be God’s son, the beloved, the one to whom the disciples should listen.

The epistle reading (2 Peter 1:16-21) is especially helpful for me this week. Peter’s audience was suffering oppression. Times were dark for them, as they tend to be for the Gospel in oppressive political systems. Peter took his people back to the moment of Jesus’ transfiguration for another glimpse of hope.

May the light of Jesus’ transfiguration give us courage and hope through whatever dark times you may be experiencing this week.

Join us each day for Communal Spiritual Practice

Monday Text Study on Zoom

Tuesday Contemplative Practice in OCC Meditation Chapel and on Zoom

Wednesday Service of Holy Communion in the Chapel and on YouTube.

Rev. Dr. Rolf Jacobson, Dean of the Faculty, Professor of Old Testament and The Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Scripture, Theology, and Ministry, is preaching this week.

Thursday Lunch Church. In person only. I will be leading a simple reflection on the transfiguration.

We stand in shock and horror at the beginning of this week as yet another Minnesotan was shot and killed by an ICE agent over the weekend.

Lord, have mercy.

Each of the readings in the Revised Common Lectionary this week scream in protest to tyranny, oppression, and evil. Micah is speaking to a nation whose leaders have been oppressing the poor and overtaxing the people and now their kingdom is crumbling. The antidote is humility, mercy, and justice. The Psalmist describes the heart of a true leader; one who is humble and speaks no slander. Paul reminds the Corinthians that the cross is foolishness to the wisdom of the Greeks and weakness to those who consider themselves strong. Jesus proclaims the message of the Kingdom of Heaven in his preamble to the sermon on the mount. Blessed are all the people whom the Empire looks down on as dispensable, worthless, and a threat.

Disciples of Jesus, we are called to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. We are called to stand with Jesus among the poor, the downtrodden, the outcast, the marginalized, the forgotten. We are called not to repay evil with evil, but to do the foolish thing. The theology of the cross reminds us that it is only in humility, love, and truth in justice that the world will ever change.

Pray for us here in Minnesota that we would resist tyranny with humility and steadfastness. Pray for our political leaders that they would let go of pride and power and seek the good of all people, before more people die.

Lord, have mercy.

Student-Led Worship this Wednesday

Pray for our students this week who are planning and leading our service of Holy Communion on Wednesday. Rachel Wyffels, senior M.Div. student, is preaching. You can attend in person in the Chapel of the Incarnation, or watch the livestream on YouTube.

We begin this week with swirling emotions. We are so thankful for a wonderful RFS last week. It is always good to see our distributed learners on campus. We are thankful for the successful experiment of holding RFS 2 at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and are grateful that all are safe.

We also have heavy hearts as the tensions on our streets continue to mount. We pray for our neighbors who are living in fear and sheltering in place. On this day when we celebrate the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. we are reminded how much we need his message of non-violent action.

We pray for our city, our nation, and our world. We pray that evil would be exposed, that truth-in-love would be the standard, that justice and shalom would engulf us. May we, as disciples of Jesus, walk in the way of Christ in the midst of it all.

Back to Our Weekly Rhythm

This week marks the beginning of our regular rhythm of communal spiritual practices for the Winter term. Mark your calendars for 11:00am Monday-Thursday each week (not Monday this week for MLK).

Tuesday | Contemplative Practice. Hybrid in Meditation Chapel and on Zoom.

Wednesday | Service of Holy Communion and Chapel Cafe. Hybrid in Chapel and on YouTube.

Pastor Emily Rova-Hegener will lead us this week as she preaches about Jesus’ ministry beginning and how we are called to break bread together. She will continue the communion table with her Brake Bread practice in the Narthex immediately following the service. This practice is designed to gather us in community and remember the work that God has done and is doing in the physical space of the Chapel of the Incarnation. She is doing this practice as a way to help us begin the transition of saying goodbye to this campus and being open to a new thing that God is doing.

Thursday | Lunch Church. Dining Room. In-Person

Join us this week as Suresh Salam, M.A. Student, shares his “Why Jesus?” testimony.

A Reflection on the Good News

The Revised Common Lectionary readings this week set the stage for Jesus’ ministry as he begins in Galilee. They also fit really well with the state of the world today. Our twin cities and our state have been the focus of attention for the past couple weeks as ICE agents roam our streets. Renee Good was shot and killed, another man was shot. Thousands of people have been dragged from their homes and detained, many of them U.S. Citizens. Protestors are marching in the streets, tear gas and rubber bullets are flying. The Spanish-speaking population and Somali community are sheltering in place, cut off from supplies. Our international students are afraid to leave campus to go to church. The tensions are mounting.

The nation, and the church, is divided over this news and how to interpret it.

The readings remind us that Jesus lived in a similar time and the church has always been embroiled in tension and divided by factions. Isaiah 9 is quoted in the first part of the Gospel reading and reminds us that Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, not in Jerusalem. This was a political statement. The people of Israel had spent centuries living under the occupation of one Empire after another. The Romans ruled the land during Jesus’ life. The puppet Kings of Herod’s dynasty colluded with the Empire and terrorized the Jewish people with exorbitant taxes and unjust governance. Jesus set up his headquarters far from Jerusalem and at the base of the fishing industry in Capernaum.

Jesus came to proclaim a different kind of kingdom. He called fisherman to be his disciples and to reimagine the purpose of their work. He demonstrated to the world that God’s Kingdom was not about dominance and oppression, but about healing and restoration of people who live on the margins. He came to bring the kin-dom—the beloved community—of God for the Shalom of the world.

And it cost him his life.

Psalm 27 reminds us that we are often surrounded by violence, but even in the midst of it we can seek beauty in the house of the LORD. Paul critiques the Corinthians for having petty factions among themselves. He reminds them that the Good News of the cross is foolishness to the systems of the world, but it is the power of salvation for those who follow it.

This week we are reminded that the life of discipleship is an invitation to walk into a world that is fraught with violence and show people a different way. The way of Jesus is the way of healing. It is a way that “shines a great light into the darkness.” We are invited to follow Jesus as he “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23).”

Let us be the Good News this week.

I write this post on a Monday morning in the midst of RFS 1. 150 students have been on campus all weekend and it has been wonderful, and it has been challenging. Many students were asked by friends and family, “Do you really want to go to Minneapolis right now?”

Our city has been engulfed in a tumultuous situation. We all stood in shock as we received the news that Renee Nicole Good had been shot and killed by an ICE agent. Many of our streets have been filled with protestors. Conflicting narratives have been swirling through our various media channels and communication networks. Anxiety is high.

It is a challenging time and difficult to know how to be a Christian Public Leader.

Let us take a deep breath together…

…

This morning, in Chapel, we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. We will feel the water of baptism rain onto our skin. We will be reminded that we are anchored deeply in the waters of God’s Grace. We are reminded in Psalm 29 that God is in the storm. We are reminded in the story of Jesus’ baptism that he is the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. He is the one anointed by the Holy Spirit. He is the one to whom and about whom the voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, my beloved. Listen to him.”

We are reminded that Jesus came into a world riddled with fear and oppression. His people lived under the tyranny of an oppressive Empire. They lived in the shadow of a corrupt King who colluded with the Empire, slaughtered his own people and family to protect his power, and distorted the Temple of God.

Jesus showed us the way. He showed us how to lean into our identity as a child of God, to love our neighbor as ourself. To stand strong in the face of oppression and be agents of God’s love, grace, and salvation.

We are reminded that Jesus did not overcome evil with evil or violence with violence. Jesus took the violence into himself on the cross. He overcame the violence with love, with forgiveness, with truth, justice, peace, and resurrection.

This is my prayer for us this week at Luther Seminary. May we be grounded in our baptismal identity. May we be reminded that God looks upon us and says, “You are my beloved child.” May we be people who do not give in to fear, but stand with those who are vulnerable, speak truth in love, and, in the name of Jesus, proclaim Good News as we seek to embody Shalom in all that we say and do.

Lord, have mercy.

Welcome Back!

We begin the Winter term this week with syllabus day, prep week, and RFS 1 (Residential Focus Session)! Prayers for all of you who will be traveling to St. Paul this week. For those of you coming from warmer regions, dress warm!

Our first official event for Chapel and Spiritual Life will take place on Saturday at 11:00am in the Chapel of the Incarnation. This is our Super Simple Saturday Service to greet all the RFS students to campus and start things off with scripture, prayer, and singing. It will be in-person only.

Then, on Monday, we have a special treat for Chapel…

First, we welcome Dr. William P. Brown as our guest preacher.

Second, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus during this service. We will begin the service with a Thanksgiving for Baptism and the practice of aperges, or the sprinkling of water, to renew our baptismal identity.

It should be a great service. Join on YouTube if you are not local.

We’ll begin the normal rhythm of Communal Spiritual Practices on Tuesday, January 20. Be sure to subscribe to the Luther Community Calendar to keep in the loop.

A Meditation on Jesus’ Baptism

We begin the journey through the Epiphany season by observing Jesus’ baptism. The term epiphany comes from the Greek word that means “to manifest, display, show off; come suddenly into view.” It is the season where Jesus shows up in the public scene and starts to change the world.

His public ministry begins with a humble act of submitting to John the Baptist’s invitation to repent and be baptized. The word repent means to change your perspective or the way your think about things. Jesus had spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity. Now, it was time for him to change his mind and step into action to fulfill his calling as the Messiah.

Two important things happen at Jesus’ baptism. First, a voice from the heavens claimed Jesus as a beloved and pleasing son. Second, the Holy Spirit rested upon him in the form of a dove.

The dove-spirit shows us two important aspects of who Jesus was and what he was called to do. First, he is the anointed one. That is the literal definition of the word Messiah. The Holy Spirit of God came upon all the leaders of Israel. Now it is Jesus’ time to lead the people. Second, the dove is a symbol of peace. This Messiah was not leading the people into war, he was leading them into Shalom.

May we, as Christian Public Leaders, follow Jesus’ example. May we walk humbly, accept our vocation as leaders, know that we are beloved, and lead our people into Shalom.

Congratulations to all our students who completed the Fall term! Well done.

The Chapel is taking a break for Christmas and New Year. We will resume our regular communal spiritual practices after the January RFS, beginning on Tuesday, January 20. Check the Luther Community Calendar for details.

God is With Us | A Devo for Advent 4

What does God’s love look like? It is summed up in one word: Immanuel. This is a compound Hebrew word combining the word im-anu, which means “with us” with the word el, which means “God.” It only appears twice in the Hebrew scripture, both times in Isaiah 7.

Isaiah was a prophet who was called to confront Ahaz, the corrupt King of Judah. Isaiah’s wife was going to have a child. The child’s life was going to serve like a time piece. Ahaz’s plans would be laid to waste by the time this child gets old enough to eat solid food on his own. The child was to be named Immanuel. Isaiah’s child was a sign to the people that, no matter how bad it might seem, God is with us.

Fast forward six centuries. Joseph is engaged to Mary. She is pregnant and he knows it is not his. He is distraught as Mary is cast in the shadow of disgrace. A messenger from God visits Joseph in a dream and tells him not to be afraid. Name the child Jesus, the messenger says, because that name means “God saves.” This child will grow up to save his people.

Matthew, the author of the Gospel, interprets this dream for us by quoting Isaiah 7:14. Matthew tells us that Jesus is God-with-us. Our reading from Romans shows us that the Apostle Paul fully believed that this baby born to Mary did grow up to be the savior. Through the crucified and resurrected Son of God we have received grace.

As we light the candle of love this week, may you remember that God is with us. No matter how dark it may seem outside, the light of God’s love lights the way.