Tag: Despair
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Leaning into the Wilderness
A Sermon originally delivered to Calvary Community Church in New Berlin, WI Text: Matthew 4:1-17 Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the claim from the heavens that Jesus is God’s son, Jesus is led to the wilderness to be tempted. While we may see these as different events, they are all tied together in one long narrative…
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Waiting for the Mail Carrier
There is nothing like the excitement of waiting for a package to arrive in the mail. Internet tracking allows me to see exactly when it is going to arrive, and it is a day which brings eager anticipation. The items in the package are not that exciting, simply utilitarian items. I know what they are,…
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Pulling Back the Cobwebs
Well, dear readers, I have been absent for a while — a long while — without any explanation. Over a month. Perhaps you may have thought that I have abandoned writing, or abandoned my blog. Neither of these are quite accurate. I have abandoned neither writing nor this blog, I have not been able to…
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Living with what used to be
It was a large square brick building painted grey, about six stories high. It used to be some sort of a manufacturing company, at least that is what I gathered from the remnants of the painted sign on the facade. The days for productivity for this building are over, at least that is what I…
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…God First Loved Us
I had the privilege of administering my first baptism yesterday. It was an infant who was recently born of one of the families in our congregation. It was a wonderful celebration of the sacrament of baptism. The liturgy is beautiful, the child was adorable and dressed in this lovely white dress. She fussed a little…
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“…With Sighs Too Deep for Words”
I had an out-of-town meeting yesterday, about an hour away. On my way to this meeting, the distance provided me with one full hour of unstructured alone time. I was not reading, I was not making telephone calls, I was not having people stop by my office, and I was not writing. I had an…
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Earnestly Praying for Peace
“Pray for peace.” This is a common thing to say. I pray for peace. Mostly, however, I’ve prayed for the idea of peace, I’ve never had to actually earnestly pray for peace before. The Milwaukee area is still on edge from the massacre at the Sikh temple in one of the south suburbs. We have…
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On Being Dried Up
Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is…
Matthew van Maastricht 