In this category are Full of Years blogs that examine how time fills the lives of older persons. Time as a gift and time as a responsibility. Implicit in all entries: This is a good time to be living fully.
The Advent lectionary sometimes includes Jesus’ comment about signs and wonders that will announce his Second Coming. (See Matthew 24 as an example.) Those omens will include natural disasters as well as human-caused catastrophes. These dark, foreboding omens signal world-ending events God’s people might expect. Today I offer a slightly contrarian view: That some of our contemporary signs andMORE...
Each month I read Scientific American, cover to cover. Those explorations almost always lead me down spiritual paths. The same reaction occurred recently as I dug through *Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World, a fascinating read authored by geology professor Marcia Bjornerud. Her scientific insights complement biblical theology that I hold dearly. That I find helpfulMORE...
Every so often I like to refresh the part of my vocabulary that includes archaic expressions. “Heed” is one of those terms, a *noun or verb that means something like paying attention—perhaps at a slightly deeper level. Making sense out of everything my senses are taking in. Perhaps even doing something about what deserves that kind of attention. Some days it feels to me like there’s too much toMORE...
Easter’s message promises life after death. Loss of life is the entryway to the blessing of new life, and so we consider death as part of the process God offers in the assuring reality of resurrection. The miracle of this gift comforts us when we encounter death. But what if you and I are not yet dead? Holding on to something only resembling life, and hoping for new life? Yearning for normalMORE...
Soon it will be Easter in Ukraine. It’s hard to think much beyond “How can that happen this year?” The country lies in ruins, made desolate by the warring mind of a desperate Russian dictator. Death is strewn across the landscape, in ways that perhaps stagger Ukrainians’ comprehension. “Resurrection’s victory” squeezes into a smaller mindset, perhaps even too small for imagination or hopeMORE...
This entry offers the 1outline of a heartening story: After the Russian Revolution and World War I, Lutherans in the United States were significant partners in 2large-scale famine relief in Eastern Europe. In the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution and World War I, much of Europe struggled to reconstruct the lives of its citizens. Cities and villages lay in ruins, governments were in disarrayMORE...
As I write these few words, bullets and bombs are raining down on the people of Ukraine. An aggressor threatens Eastern Europe, and the specter of another world war haunts us. My older adult mind races: “What can I do about this horror?” One practical answer stands out strongly: It feels like you and I—and others who have come through other dangers and wars—are specially called to exemplify calmMORE...
(This entry is part of an ongoing collection of blogs that examine the future of congregations post-COVID19. Each entry forms itself around a question looking for clarity or even answers.) The Church has always kept its vitality because of its capacities to draw people into the realm of God’s love, and then to send them out to preach and live that Gospel. But as an institution, the Church hasMORE...
It’s that time of year when leaders might need some help. Perhaps those of us who are full of years might be the ones to *hold up our Moses’ arms! Post-holiday realities are galumphing back into leaders’ priorities: Future planning, fiscal years wrapping up, performance reviews, annual meeting reports. Some leaders might be nearly overwhelmed by start-of-year tasks, roles or responsibilities; theMORE...
At this time of year, I’m happy to join the throng of 1palindrome-named people—those whose names can be read backwards and forwards—carrying out our special responsibility to examine both the previous and coming years with discernment. (Ada, Reinier, Eve, Otto, Anna, Aoloa, Elle, Nolon—you know what I’m talking about, right?) These first days of a new year are the time when 2Janus-likeMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.