Pentecost 22, November 13, 2012

What would you be doing right now if you weren’t afraid?

What would you be doing right now in your life if you weren’t afraid?  What would you be doing in your church if you weren’t afraid?  What kind of ability do you have buried in fear that could be useful to others if you weren’t afraid?  What kind word would you speak, what phone call would you make, what offer would you extend, what contribution would you make – if you weren’t afraid?

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Reformation Sunday, October 30, 2011

Human history is punctuated by many great moments when someone took a stand. Consider Ghandi and Nelson Mandela – men who took at stand for independence and civil rights and spent time in prison for their convictions. Or Patrick Henry, one of our founding fathers, who said, “Give me liberty or give me death” and, along with many other American patriots, laid his life on the line for the cause of freedom. We remember Abraham Lincoln and those who stood against slavery. Or more recently Ronald Reagan who took a stand in a speech at Berlin and said: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” We think of those who have fought for civil rights in our county. And today might be a good day to mention Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist who refused to move to the back of the bus. I guess we’d have to say she took a seat, not a stand. And we might also be proud to note that Mrs. Parks was a Lutheran.

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