Zion Lutheran Church, 2122 Bronson Boulevard, Kalamazoo, MI (2026)

06/01/2026

One of our families had an adult son, who spent his entire life at home because of a debilitating genetic flaw. He couldn’t walk or talk, didn’t develop emotionally and physically as most do, and needed help with every daily need. Before he was born his parents were told how difficult their lives would be, which was true as we saw their pain of losing him to an earthly death. Many assumed their son was unaware of his world around him. His parents would beg to differ. Their interaction was special and an inspiration to all who know them. When he was younger, dad would carry him into church. As he got older, he came in a wheelchair. The phrase “special needs” was his birth blessing, and “special love” was the miracle gift from God his parents offered in response.

One church member related a Sunday when she heard loud screeching noises behind her during worship. She wondered why parents weren’t taking better control of their child. She turned to see an imperfect young man, trapped in the body of a child, being held in his father’s arms. She saw the child’s smile and the love of his parents as they hugged and held him close. She shared how embarrassed she was of her first reaction but thankful for the moment as from that day on, this family was a reminder for her of the love that only comes from God. This was faith in action, in their body language, their eyes, and their peace as they sat and loved their son. She said from then on, every noise from this young man was for her like a message from an angel. Such is the miracle of faith.

In his earthly birth and death Jesus embraced our greatest moments of weakness to connect our special needs with heavenly love. He continues to touch our lives with his presence and power which allows us to live with faith, hope, and love despite our personal limitations or weakness. I am humbled by families such as this one when I realize how easily I can get distracted by what I feel is unfair or I have no means to control. God is alive and well on Planet Earth. Each of us has seen such moments of glory and should never fail to thank God for the special ways he surprises us with his presence. More than we often realize we are surrounded by such miracles that can remind us of our own call to wash feet, love the broken, and allow faith to free us for the special need of servant love. Faith understands that God has stooped to our level to lift us to his, embracing and healing every one of our special needs with a love that is greater, never-ending, and contagious for all whom it touches. There are so many daily ways the Christmas angels continue to sing!

05/29/2026

There has been much debate regarding Pope Leo’s statements regarding how people treat each other. Some feel he has no right to comment on what might be considered political or social issues. Those who resent having their parades of selfishness, ego, and control rained on are always quick to find fault with anything having to do with how faith looks in action. And yet, Jesus calls all who truly believe to let His light shine. That leads to an example of one man that has touched me in how in a very simple and quiet way he went about letting Jesus’ light shine in his life. And doing so changed more lives than one might imagine.

One of the most cheerful and loving guys I have ever known died this week. He was a principal, husband, and father, as well as being a shining beacon of Christ’s love in every life he touched. He taught in difficult public school settings. He was a principal of one of those schools, when many with his years in the classroom would have preferred a more lucrative and easier role rather than to continue to spend time in the trenches. One example of his parenting gives a clue as to how he found simple ways to let Christ’s love shine in his life.

When I became his pastor, his three daughters were grown. Two were married and the youngest was in college. He and his wife were always happy, supportive, and loved by all who knew them. (And always will be!) But one action went above and beyond what I had ever even considered for my own children, but showed how he put faith, hope, and love into action. Every week he handwrote a letter to each daughter! I don’t know how or why he started that or how many years it continued but to think of all he had on his plate and he still took time to write loving letters to his children every week blew me away. His wife was responsible for beginning our preschool and served many years as teacher and role model for many of our children. Now that they are reunited in heavenly peace, their earthly ups and downs are over, but their shining example of servant love will never be forgotten. Their daughters have been incredible gifts to their families and everyone they ever touched has grown in our own ways of living because of how he allowed the love of Jesus to shine in practical and daily ways.

You see it is one thing to say are people of faith, but putting those words into concrete action is where the rubber truly meets the road! This gentle man, like a gentle pope and millions of others, understood faith is a verb and not a noun. If anyone in our world finds that offensive it is simply a reminder we have to keep letting Jesus’ light shine, especially for the sake of those who allow (or enjoy) darkness to cloud their living. We must never be afraid to let Jesus’ light shine, as that allows his faith, hope, and love, to touch lives that others might never touch.

05/25/2026

Memorial Day is a holiday remembering military members who have died while serving our country. Most who serve in the military are not looking to die or even to face battle, but in being part of such service commit themselves completely for the sake of others, realizing the cost of such service might be the cause of their own earthly death. It is right to take time to honor the lives of those whose commitment is so great. My father served for a quarter of a century in the military, while I did not serve at all. The commitment he made was not one asked of me. Exempt from the military draft during Vietnam because I was studying for the ministry, I never considered having to give up my life for my country, as he was willing to do. What most like me, who have not served in his way, do not understand is that the commitment of the military is one of surrender to their leadership. As fewer serve in the military there are more and more in leadership who do not understand the sacrifice they were not willing to make but expect others to make because of their decisions. It is a sober reality that one who has not been in such shoes cannot fully understand the price being asked of others.

I raise this issue because it is true. Politics has nothing to do with our pause to remember the sacrifice of others, and should never be the motivation for expecting others to make a sacrifice that leaders have not been willing to make themselves. That is all the more reason to take time to appreciate and honor those whose love for country allows them to follow orders and policies of others who might have no understanding of the depth of what is being asked. As Christians, we have a similar, daily remembrance of a more earth-shaking reality. God embraced our broken world, with all its flaws and imperfections, in service to the entire world. He lovingly and willing paid the ultimate price by sacrificing his life, not for a nation or political expediency, but out of loving surrender to each life he created. Jesus was born knowing he would die in service to billions of lives who caused the pain of conflict, stoked the fires of selfishness and hatred, and were trapped in the consequences of a war between heaven and earth. And yet Christ served willingly, completely, lovingly, and faced death for you and I, even though most of us do not even have a clue of what such a sacrifice entails. That is a perfect love.

My father, like many of his compatriots who served loved his family, his life, and his country. He didn’t always agree with his leaders but his commitment to serve was the price of his commitment to serve. He didn’t die in battle, but died nonetheless and because of his service was honored with full military honors in Arlington National cemetery. One of the symbols of his service, when he was buried, was a riderless horse with boots in the stirrups of the saddle facing backward as a sign of a rider that had served but would ride for his country no more. In our daily memorial remembrance of Jesus’ love a cross is the symbol that reminds us of his service for us. The empty cross proclaims his victory for us is complete and will never need be mounted by him again. For Christians, most of whom will never be asked to pay such a price for the lives of others it should always be a sober reminder of the price of God’s love, and the duty and obligation I have to others for a life given back to me as a gift. A life to be lived not to demand attention or fame but to serve others as I have been served.

Just was we understand the frustration of members of the military who have often been asked to surrender their lives by those who have not made that same commitment, but obey orders because of their commitment, we likewise, as people of faith ought feel a similar obligation of loving service and complete surrender to God’s call for us to follow in his footsteps, knowing he asks with the reality that he has already done even more for us. Memorial Day is special, and needs more attention than it gets, but offers a practical example for people of faith of why it is important to take more time to be thankful for what God has done for us, and decide whether we will respond in kind, or selfishly ignore the completeness of a love that has given everything, even life, for you and for me.

We have gotten better at saying “thank you for your service” to those who serve and should pay even more attention to God’s similar desire to be able to say to each of us, “thank you for your service.” We are, after all, in this together, as he has paid the price to be free from sin and death and free to live in service to each other as he has done even for each of us. When Jesus asked his disciples to “do this in memory of me,” he intended those words to echo daily in our hearts and minds as well. Every moment is to be a memorial to his perfect love.

05/22/2026

I was sitting on our deck, in the early evening, and a cardinal started its call which on this night was two long whistles followed by four or five short ones. After a brief silence, I tried to mimic the whistle. And the cardinal responded. Not knowing what his call meant, I don’t know if it was mocking me or talking to another cardinal. I repeated the call but with only two short following whistles. And the cardinal responded in kind. It was a weird moment as felt we were relating but had no clue what that meant.

But if felt good to have paid attention and taken a moment to remember we are always surrounded by God and his creation. Rather than assume I have all the answers, such moments allow me to watch, look, and listen to the life God places all around me, not only for me to control but for me to see how much greater God’s creation is than simply me. I know that God has changed my life through his sacrificial love, and yet often fail to allow my changed life to remember God is the creator of all that is, and his plan is not for me to usurp but to embrace in thanks to him and service to those around me.

My nature moment with cardinals reminded me of a simple approach to life, as God intended, from a Cherokee parable from centuries in the past. A grandfather was explaining life choices to his grandson, using nature to explain that struggle. He told his grandson we each have two wolves inside us. One is full of jealousy, anger, sorrow, greed, lies, selfishness and the like. The other is full of hope, joy, love, compassion, and faith. The grandson asked his grandfather “which wolf will win?” And his grandfather answered, “the one that you feed.” The fact that dogs are called man’s best friend, and yet are also descended from wolves added to that image for me.

Bosco the beagle, is a gift of God who has given me insights I would never have considered had I not paid more attention to our easy or difficult moments. As Bosco and I tug back and forth on his/my leash, whether he or I am pulling, is a reminder that my wants and needs are not more important than others. There is much God has created which is beyond my control or even understand. Faith is my surrender to God and the willingness to watch, look, and listen for his guidance rather than trying to shape God into my wants and needs. Faith is deciding which part of my nature I will feed. Sitting in the quiet of an evening breeze, watching clouds and listening to birds sing helps me remember what such a surrender feels like. In the same way trying to figure out a stubborn little beagle, that is as much a life from God as me, is a gentle step in the right direction. It’s all about what we choose to feed and what song we wish to sing.

05/18/2026

I had an incredible variety of jobs in high school and college, which were a twofold blessing. First of all I was able to graduate from four years of college and four years of seminary with very little debt. Maybe more importantly I learned a lot about the real world and met an incredible and diverse bunch of people along the way. While attending the Seminary in St. Louis, I had a part time job in the branch of a local bank. It was a quiet, little bank, on the edge of town. The job didn’t interfere with classes, and there was little drama, until one day when a woman came to my teller window and asked me to cash her check. Something just didn’t feel right about her and about her check.

It was a substantial check but she had no identification. As I started to question her she ran and disappeared down the street. We had a bank guard in our little branch, but I think he was taking his afternoon nap and missed the entire episode. (As I said, there was seldom much drama.) I called the police, describing her size, skin and hair color, color of her dress, and also that one of her front teeth was gold. A police car drove up and I was asked to repeat all the details. While that was still underway, a police van pulled up and I was taken outside to identify the woman. I was shaking so hard and trying to act calm but likely didn’t convince anyone.
They opened the rear door to the paddy wagon and sitting alone on the bench was, of all things, a large man! I didn’t know what to do. I had told them it was a woman, and this was definitely not a woman. Then one of the cops opened a shopping bag that was by the feet of the man. They said they found it in his car, along with a wig. In the bag was the dress I remembered and the wig looked familiar. Then the man said, “It wasn’t me!” That was enough to get me ready to run, but as he spoke, I saw his gold tooth, remembered his eyes, and his familiar voice. My confusion was cleared up as I identified him. Later on, I would be called to serve as a witness at his trial.

What might others remember about you? What have they seen and what have they heard? What would cause you to be recognized and how would you feel about the description of your life and your actions? No matter what you think you can hide, you are memorable in different ways to different people. That guy thought he had a perfect disguise, except he forgot one distinguishing characteristic. We are witnesses every day to who we are, what we believe, and what is important (or not). People we come into contact with can likely describe us better than we can describe ourselves.

Before Jesus was arrested he washed his disciples’ feet as a way to make visible what love felt like, and his sacrifice on the cross emphasized what it looked like. Jesus plan was to make certain his followers watched and remembered what he was doing for them. Such servant love became the characterizing description of the flavor of his ministry in our midst. Just like his birth in a manger is the way we see how God humbled himself to better have us identify with his love. The reason for God to show up on earth in a body of flesh and blood was for us to recognize and remember what God’s love is all about. And then he left the witnessing job to his disciples (which includes us) so we could also reveal the love of God up close and personal!

So then, what do others witness in how we live? Will they see God’s love and the peace which comes from faith, or will they see something else? This is not to inspire guilt but to free us to remember whose we are. We’ll never get in right all the time and are forgiven ahead of time when we slip and slide. But celebrate how precious a moment it becomes when we hear that someone felt the love Jesus, from you or from me! We don’t seek to be lifted up as something special, but how special it is when Jesus is lifted up by you or by me! (adapted from “Life Crossings”)

05/16/2026

For a variety of reasons TV westerns are no longer the standard fare of little boys. For those of us of a certain age, no Saturday morning was complete without our favorite wild, wild western in black and white. And of course you could always tell the good guys from the bad and sooner or later at least one of the bad guys wound up in a jail cell before being marched out at high noon on the main (and only) street of whatever town that episode took place in. Crowds gathered like we do for the Super Bowl to watch a bad guy get what he deserved, which was usually a public hanging. That later led to lunchtime games of “hang man” in the cafeteria, where the point was to guess the letters of a secret word. If you had too many wrong guesses your character got hung!

I had not remembered any of that for decades until this week and a public hanging in our neighborhood. (Really!) This week I drove into our neighborhood, where there is often a homemade sign pleading for drivers to slow down. On this occasion there were no signs but some sort of wooden contraption about three feet high in the middle of the road. I slowed down to get around it and noticed someone had taken a couple pieces of scrap wood and built a little gallows. And hanging by a rope was a dead squirrel. (I doubt if the squirrel had stolen horses or robbed a bank, but likely was the victim of a car that might have been moving too fast.) In any event, it was an unexpected visual roadblock I couldn’t help but pay attention to and remember. There were too many cars behind for me to stop and get a quick picture, and so I came back later but it was gone. (But not forgotten.)

Consider the issues and items in life that get your attention, that are unexpected or definitely out of place. No matter what, you will remember them longer than what you ate for breakfast the day before. Some images are so unique that their meaning is remembered long after the image is no longer close at hand. A gallows in the middle of the road was not the most loving, thoughtful, or creative effort, and likely led to some interesting dinner conversations with little children that night. The point being, the unexpected gets remembered, and can be used as a lesson for good or for bad. Now we are coming up on the punch line!

Every day you are creating images and monuments by how you live. What will others remember about you and what will they see that is out of the ordinary? People notice more than we sometimes intend; it is simply the way things are. One day Jesus asked his followers to let their lights shine. In doing so he was not asking disciples to draw attention to ourselves, but consider what light others will see, remember, and relate to. They are going to notice whether we plan it or not, so we need be careful with our choices so that our witness will be more helpful than hurtful, and more loving than selfish. In considering what Jesus has done for us, why would we waste his love on anything other than sharing the changed lights of grace, mercy, and peace he has given us to shine and share?

05/12/2026

Zion Lutheran Church Annual Congregation Meeting: May 17 at 11:30am

05/12/2026

Our daughter brought her puppy named Frank to visit this weekend. Bosco, our grown up beagle was not impressed. Frank is a dachshund-terrier mix with the boundless energy of a puppy. Bosco would rather reserve his bursts of speed for very special occasions. It didn’t take long to realize Bosco was not interested in sharing his personal space. Frank lives in an apartment in Chicago, and is always on a leash when outside. The ability for him to run free in our fenced in backyard made him look like low flying jet. (How can any animal, with legs that short, move so fast?) Frank tried to get Bosco to chase him but he declined the opportunity and sat quietly watching the speed demon fly around him in circles. Overall it was a good weekend and they figured out how to get along, as long as Bosco could maintain the illusion he was in charge.

Reflecting on this animal encounter reminded me how our more sophisticated tendencies are not that different. We too are creatures of habit, and when a routine is forced upon us that catch by surprise we often decide not to play. When someone whose personality is bubblier, or more depressing than we have the energy to deal with we will find an excuse to disappear. We all like to control our space, set rules for all who come near, and decide who we prefer to spend time with and who we would rather avoid. We all want to choose whom we hope will be our friends and are disappointed if others are not similarly inclined. Animals are often mirrors of our own behavior, which can be either amusing or frustrating to behold. But Frank and Bosco did show me something I wish we were all better at. Despite their differences in age, energy level, appearance, and normal routines they found a way to coexist in peace. They figured out how to do so more easily than many of us do. At the end of the day, we all sat on the couch, and the two of them sat by each other.

I will not assign any human or theological traits to their behavior but they did better with each other than many who are higher on the evolutionary ladder ever even attempt. We are so adept at focusing on differences than remembering we are all children of God. As I watched two animals with nothing in common find something in common, without any prompting, classroom instruction, or a response to their prayers I was humbled. One day Jesus told a gathered crowd that if they would simply love one another, others would know they were his disciples. Think about that for a moment. He didn’t say we had to fall in love with each other but that we should treat each other with love. Frank and Bosco were able to accomplish quickly what many humans can never accomplish. Remember, God loves the whole world, animal, vegetable, mineral, and especially you and I. If we remember whose we are, we are on the way to remembering love is to be our middle name. If God can love us, for who we are (and often are not), maybe we could at least make an effort to learn how to do the same. What can it hurt to try?

05/06/2026

Sometimes I see things on Facebook I wish I hadn’t seen. Last night I watched a van full of caged beagles set free from a laboratory that used them for animal testing. None of these beagles had ever been outside of a cage, and to see them emerge from an open cage and gingerly step on to grass for the first time couldn’t keep tears from my eyes. Seeing them caressed by rescuers, for the first time run and play with other formerly caged beagles was a joyful sight. Watching them move from fear and apprehension, and seeing how quickly they adapted, running freely with tails wagging and pointing to the sky, was a joy to behold. On second thought, I am glad I watched that video.

I talk often of our beagle, Bosco, who lived his first three years as a test animal in a lab. It is difficult to explain his timidity with me, but this video helped me again to understand. It isn’t that he doesn’t like me, but was conditioned by years of being poked and prodded and confined. He has been more timid with me than I would have liked, but that is changing and my patience with him has been worthwhile. Even if he never warms up to me like he does to Roxanne, watching that video reminds me what he has been through. It is more important to me that he is free and loved than how he acts toward me.

I share that to make a greater point. To an incredibly more infinite degree God’s patience with each of us is made even more clear to me as I think about my waiting for Bosco. We must be careful about assigning human attributes to the awesomeness of God, but his patience is like me waiting for Bosco to embrace more fully the freedom and love we have offered to him. God, on a grander scale, deals with us in more perfect fullness, but his patience with our fears, distractions, and the baggage of broken lives in an imperfect world mean that we don’t always realize how powerful is the undeserved gift of his grace.

We are all timid in our willingness to love others, selfish in what we expect from others, and slow to forgive as we have been forgiven. But God never quits waiting in love to welcome us with the warmth of his incredible love. The cage of sin has conditioned us in damaging ways that can only be inflicted by sin and death. And yet, from prophetic times to the climactic victory of Jesus on Easter, God had patiently, lovingly, and tenderly beckoned us out of the shadows of our imperfections and selfishness which are like bad dreams we cannot shake. He opens the door for us to join him in the wonderful freedom of life in green pastures and still waters. We don’t always act as we should, but God never gives up on the patience, as his love allows him to wait over and over again for us to romp in the playground of his love. His patience knows no bounds and is the power of his love (and our peace!)

05/01/2026

Every afternoon I take Bosco the beagle for a late walk. He can’t tell time, but if I walk by his bed earlier than “walk time” he opens his eyes, sees no leash, and goes back to sleep. If I am late and walk by without a leash he exhibits the same behavior, and patiently waits. When he sees the leash he knows it is time, immediately jumps off the bed, heads downstairs to the couch, and sits waiting for me to put on his harness. Yesterday he was on the couch, but I left to answer the phone, then emptied the dryer, and started getting food out for dinner. Twenty minutes later I found him still sitting on the couch, patiently waiting. If patience is a virtue, he is more virtuous than I.

Patience is an incredibly important quality of healthy living; too often in short supply! My impatience grows when someone doesn’t see a stoplight change to green and suddenly flies through the intersection as the light turns red, leaving me stuck at the light. In such moments any patience drains quickly away, like air from a tire that has run over a nail. You understand the feeling from your own experiences as well. Patience is a virtue but often ignored in favor of anger, frustration, or other less helpful responses. Patience is lost more than it is found. How can Bosco be so good at what I am so poor at?

This is something all have struggled with from the beginning of time. Adam and Eve couldn’t wait and their impatience ended their stay in the Paradise Motel. David’s impatience in desiring Bathsheba led him to making her a widow. In prison, John the Baptist’s patience was tested as he wondered if he had missed the mark and asked his follower to go ask Jesus if he was really Messiah. When Jesus was buried, despite his promise of conquering death, after only a few hours of impatient waiting, his disciples headed back to their places of hiding. Patience is difficult for all.

God has proven time and time again that faithful patience is always rewarded. Where there is patience there is peace, and anytime there is peace it is the fruit of patience. Bosco is not a theologian and cannot read or write but is the embodiment of patience. I have been frustrated for years he doesn’t trust me as much as Roxanne, always seeking her out before me. Rather than patiently waiting for a change in his attitude, I finally gave up in frustration. But this week, for some reason, he decided to sit by me instead of Rox on the couch, falling into peaceful sleep as I scratched his ears. I’m certain he’s not clever enough to have planned this out, to teach me about patience, but that is all I can think about today. Or maybe he is a practical theologian and better at teaching through actions than words (which all of us should take to heart.) But as I said earlier, he definitely is more virtuous with patience than I. But he is helping me to learn! And I am reminded again that where I am patient, I am much closer to finding peace.

Zion Lutheran Church

06/01/2026

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