It's easy to think or sing about what we want for Christmas. The prophetic witness of Elizabeth and Mary helps us recognize that through Jesus, what we really want for Christmas is something we already have.

John's sermon in the wilderness continues with some pretty harsh words, but at the bottom of it all is indeed good news. The good news God offers isn't always what we expect, but thankfully, nothing can get in its way.

We hear the voice of John crying in the wilderness a message of preparation and repentance. Repentance is how we prepare for a divine guest this time of the year.

We are surrounded by cosmic loss, but in the midst of all the things that fill us with fear, there are also signs of hope. Lift up your heads. Christ comes!

We give thanks as we welcome Pr. Amy Gillespie of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Lombard, Ill.) for a special pastoral dialogue. Our conversation reflects on the texts and the place of worry (or lack thereof) in our lives at this moment.

We spend our lives trying to discern where we belong. Today Jesus is questioned by Pilate who keeps trying to understand how it is that Jesus and his Kingdom, belong. The truth is, that no matter what, we belong in Christ.

Generosity is about more than money. It's about service and the love of God in our hearts!

On this All Saints Sunday, we recall the people in our lives who have gone before us into death. While we grieve together, we celebrate that God grieves alongside of us and wipes the very tears from our eyes making “Good Grief” possible.

As we celebrate the reformers of yesteryear, we contemplate how it is that we are still reforming. Luther speaks of freedom as a dual reality: we are free from sin through Christ, and thus freed for the service of others in Christ's name.

Readings of Bartimaeus in Mark so often focus solely on the miracle of returning sight, but truthfully it is so much more than that. It's about seeing who Jesus truly is and being called to follow.