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Unmerciful Servants: in Marriage and Life
By Mary Abrahamson Peter asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to forgive my brother?” Remember Jesus’ reply? Jesus answered with what is often called The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which we can read in Matthew 18:21-35. A servant owed his master a great debt. In the parable, these represent God (master), and us (servant), and the debt of sin under which we live and which separates us from God (the debt). The master forgave the great debt. God, of course, forgives us our very great debt of sin, every one of our sins, and even the innate sin of our natures. For Jesus’ sake. Continuing on in the parable,…
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Stuck in a Bad Mood
By Vanessa Rasanen My house is currently in disarray. Our to-do list seems to grow right alongside the pile of packed boxes in the corner and my nearly-third trimester belly that has long-been hiding my feet. We are, perhaps crazily, working to get our house ready to put on the market in hopes of moving out — and up — before this fourth baby blesses our home and family with cute coos and sleepless nights. As if that wasn’t enough on our plate, we are also — all of us — adjusting to my husband’s new full-time work schedule in addition to national guard duty, an online course, church commitments,…
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Psalm 51, Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam
By Mary Abrahamsson Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. In this well known and well loved Psalm God gives us some wonderfully clear expressions of original sin, guilt over specific sins, and repentance for forgiveness of sins through His great mercy in Jesus. David references cleansing with hyssop, bulls, burnt offerings, and sacrifices, all part of the ceremonial cleansing rites God commanded in the Old Testament. Many of the refrains are familiar from our liturgies. The liturgies of both the Old and New Testament church consistently proclaim sin and the need for…
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How to not drown in disappointent
By Holly Scheer When I was little I had this idea that an intrinsic part of adulthood was that finally I’d get to have things my own way. I’d get to decide what to do, when I wanted to do it, and who I wanted to do it with. I would be in charge. My own boss. I would be master of myself and my destiny. Sisters, that’s not how adulthood works. We’re not islands unto ourselves, able to selfishly act just based on what benefits us. What feels good, makes us happy, fulfills us. We are sisters, mothers, daughters, wives, neighbors… we are part of a family. Vocation places…
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An open letter on Marrying Young
I HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY in my marriage, thank God. I have a faithful wife, according to Solomon: “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her” (Prov. 31:11). She spoils nothing for me. Ah, dear Lord God, marriage is not something natural and physical; but it is a gift of God, the sweetest, nay, the most chaste life; it is above all celibacy. ~ Martin Luther To my niece I read on your wedding website this phrase, “We know we are pretty young… But…” This gave me pause and here’s why. I don’t know how old your intended is, but I do know you are almost twenty-three. Your…
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Psalm 38, Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me, in rememorationem de sabbato
By Mary Abrahamson O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, for a remembrance of the Sabbath, A Psalm of David Oh, this is vivid! Right from the beginning, David gives us a searing image of God’s anger, …. hot displeasure, arrows piercing, hand pressing. God’s righteous wrath over our sin isacutely portrayed in these two short verses. Again we see God pressing on David to show David his sin. O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down. The following verses remind us of the physical and emotional burden of our sin. We may think…
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Conversation and Consolation of the Brethren
By Vanessa Rasanen I have a confession. I’m not the most patient person. Shocker, I know. I get easily frustrated with others — including (and perhaps especially) with those closest to me, my husband and my children. Even my dogs. I let the day-to-day irritations of life get under my skin more than I should, and I yell, fume, and even — sadly — stomp my feet. To make it all worse I will sometimes vent to friends, privately complaining about the mess the kids made, the struggle we’re having with the kids’ manners, or even the annoying habit of some stranger on the road or at the grocery store. My…
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Milk, Meat, and Introducing Solids
By Mary Moerbe You don’t have to be a parent to know that life gradually gives you more to chew on and understand. Each one of us learned, “The sky is blue” before we learned how and why that happens — if we learned — and religious life and education is in some ways comparable: there is milk and there is meat. St. Peter is clear: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). Taste! Drink! Grow by the goodness of our God! Long for pure spiritual milk. Wake…
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Psalm 32 Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates
By Mary Abrahamson Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, A Psalm of David David starts this well known Psalm with the acknowledgment of God’s great mercy and forgiveness. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. But then David changes direction. He describes his life under sin. Like David, we hide our sin, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are not sinning, or that our sin is not so very bad. Other times we simply will not let ourselves admit that what we are doing is wrong. Like David, we feel the weight…
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Amazing
By Allison Hull “You look AMAZING in that dress!” “Wow, I can’t believe how beautiful you are in that outfit!” “You got a haircut — it suits you so well!” Gushing about other people in their clothes comes easy to me. I can say those things as an outsider looking at them. I can see how the right type of clothes just puts them at ease and makes them glow. I see how a new haircut or color can give them an extra bounce in their step. And I see that when I comment on it they seem to transform and really own their look. They truly do look amazing…
