The Salt Shaker
flavoring the world with justice and love
The Cross, the Gallows, and the Capitol. Part 1.
A Story I sat once in the visitors gallery of the United States Senate. While visiting relatives in DC, my father and I thought, “Here’s a chance to listen to the Farm Bill debate in person!” Ignoring my uncle’s advice to not take the Metro downtown after dark, we...
March 13 Update on COVID-19
Attention members of Saint Michael, Much has changed since last week when I sent a message about the COVID-19 outbreak. Much has changed since last night when the church council met. It seems all at once, we have awoken to the seriousness of the issue before us....
S1E1: CAUTION! Spiritual Speedbumps Ahead!
If I don’t believe in the “supernatural”, why is coming to church important?
If I don’t believe in the “supernatural”, why is coming to church important? As a part of the learning in the confirmation program, we ask students to fill out “worship notes”. They don’t have to outline the “three points of the sermon” but they are encouraged to be...
Where is God in an Ash Wednesday Massacre?
In January, I wrote about the uniqueness of Ash Wednesday coinciding with Valentine’s Day and suggested both crosses and hearts are appropriate shapes for ashes on foreheads because: “at the center of the cross beats the very heart of God, entering into our suffering...
By Heart: Conversations with Martin Luther’s Small Catechism
We will dust off Luther’s Small Catechism and wrestle with his ever-relevant question “What does this mean?” What does it mean that God is for us? What do the ten commandments mean, or the sacraments, the creed, or the Lord’s Prayer? Join Pastor Tim on Tuesday...
Dear Pastor, “Have you ever rode a horse?” – and other questions
About ten months ago, when I had only been at Saint Michael for a few weeks, the subject of "questions" came up during worship. Thomas, that "doubting" disciple, had some questions for his friends who claimed to have seen Jesus raised from the dead. Interestingly...
Would Jesus Have Facebook?
My day begins fairly early, not quite as early as when I had dairy cows, but still pretty early. Shelli leaves for work around 6:30 and that means I have time in the morning to do some reading, exercise, and catch up on the news. Most of the time that means spending...
Christmas “Time”
Now at the beginning of the new calendar year, it might be good to remind ourselves that the Christmas season is twelve days long, as the old song says: twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, twelve days to ponder the mystery of the Word becoming flesh and...