Category Archives: Passageways

January 20, 2025 · 11:23 am

On King, the “King of Kings” and those who would be king.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. (Psalm 146:3-4 NRSV)

Today, January 20, 2025, is MLK Day, a United States national holiday first observed in 1986, honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King, an ordained Baptist pastor (1948), is of course known for his role leading the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. History has shown that he was an imperfect person who was investigated by the FBI for extramarital affairs. Nonetheless, his imprint on history is significant and lasting, as he used his considerable gifts in oratory, mobilization and peaceful, nonviolent protest to get the attention of a nation and turn the tide in America’s prejudicial treatment of people of color. Sadly, this prophet of change did not get to see the full fruits of his labors come about as he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Today, January 20, 2025, is also Inauguration Day in these United States, as the 47th President, Donald J. Trump, will return to office for a second term. Trump is just the second president, joining Grover Cleveland, to serve two non-consecutive terms in the White House. This is just the second time the inauguration of the U.S. President has fallen on MLK Day. Ironically, Trump’s inauguration will be held in the Capitol rotunda, just four years after that place was the scene of a riotous uprising by insurrectionists he incited to “stop the steal” – a phrase he used to propagate the falsity of his having won the 2020 election, which he did not.

Read more: On King, the “King of Kings” and those who would be king.

Trump, like King (and the rest of us), is an imperfect person. He too has been investigated by the FBI, though for differing reasons. He is on his third marriage, and in May of 2023 was convicted by a jury in a civil suit for sexual abuse and defamation. In May of 2024 he was also found guilty of 34 felony crimes by a New York jury of his peers in what’s been called a “hush money” case designed to influence his 2016 election. He is the first convicted felon to have been elected President of the United States. It should be noted that Trump continues to maintain his innocence and appeal these convictions.

I find it ironic that these two men, one named King, and the other who would like to rule as a king, are tied together by a day that is recognized for different reasons. The MLK holiday is designed to be a day of remembrance and service in honor of one who spoke truth to power. He called for a people who had historically been treated unjustly and inhumanely to be recognized as equal and given their unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The inauguration of a U.S. President is a day filled with speeches, prayers, and the vitriol of campaign promises to be kept. When it involves the incoming President replacing an incumbent from an opposing party, it often signals a new direction and political approach to the issues news makers and politicians have succeeded in elevating before the electorate.

Trump, like King, but very different from King, has succeeded in the art of oratory and communication. While the tenor and tone of his messages (social media posts and rally speeches) often take a much darker approach, he has succeeded in using various mediums to connect with people. He has a very loyal base of supporters, many of whom have felt disenfranchised by the progressive American agenda of those who Trump has labeled “the enemy”. Trump has learned how to stoke the fires of such feelings and does it with success. This often aligns him with persons with whom he shares very little in the way of background, socio-economic status or even true faith identity. One of his most notable techniques is to repeat a falsehood so many times and with such conviction that people believe it to be true. He does not speak truth to power, but in power has been known to abuse truth for the propagation of his own agenda.

As the reader may by now have unraveled, I am no fan of Donald J. Trump. I do not look forward to the next four years of bluster and chaos that he will unleash on our nation. I am sorry to see him returned to the Oval Office. I have a different viewpoint from his on many of the foundational issues about which he pontificates. And I cringe at the methods he has used to scare, mock and belittle people into allegiance or silence. I pray for our nation and especially for those who may be in positions of service to thwart some of this man’s worst instincts and efforts. And, I pray that the weight and responsibility of the office might awaken in him some sense of statesmanship and service befitting a President.

As this day, January 20, 2025, approached I kept finding myself thinking about a different kind of king. Jesus is the King of Kings. He is the only anointed one worthy of our worship, complete allegiance and devotion. He is the Prince of Peace, a just ruler who is friend to all. He is a Savior who gave his life for all of humankind. In Him I put my hope, my trust and my future.

I came across Psalm 146 in the weeks leading up to today as I spent some time in prayer and morning devotions. It was as though verses 3 and 4 jumped off the page at me. No human ruler, prince, president or king is capable of delivering humankind or solving our problems. Some govern more justly and equitably than others. Some speak more eloquently and forcefully than others. But none of them – no pastor, no politician, no leader, no one – will succeed in the way or mission that Jesus does. He alone is who we are to keep our eyes on. He alone is who we are to listen to. His words are worthy our contemplation. His directives are our marching orders. His corrections are for our improvement. His example is ours to emulate. He is the King of Kings, the only true King, the righteous One, the Chosen.

So, whether, dear reader, my monologue has offended you or emboldened you, I would ask that you pause to reflect on this day, about the only King who is a position of authority over our lives that truly matters. All other kings and wannabe kings will turn to dust as their plans perish. But to this King, King Jesus, “every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

May God be with our new President, our nation, our world, and each person who is made in God’s image.

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December 3, 2024 · 1:36 pm

The Blessing Behind the Begats

Abraham begat Isaac. . . . and Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias . . . . and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1: 2, 6 & 16 KJV)

Singer song-writer Andrew Peterson has a song titled “Matthew’s Begats” that is part of his Christmas album Behold the Lamb of God. It’s a word salad of a song, filled with the names and lineage of Matthew 1 – a passage when read in the KJV that is filled with “begats”. “Begat” is an old English word that means to bring forth or bear. In Biblical use it is often associated with the role of a man who “begats” offspring, though of course said man could not produce without the equal, if not greater, participation of a woman. But in Bible times it was a man’s world, so Matthew’s “begats” is mostly about men – fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen more generations from David to the Exile, and then (you guessed it) fourteen more from the Exile to Jesus.

In his gospel’s first sixteen verses we encounter names such as Phares and Zara, Aminadab and Salmon, Boaz and Obed, Jesse, Solomon, Rehoboam, Josaphat, Manasses, Amon and Jochonias, to call forth just a few. Mention is also made of Tamar, Ruth and “her who had been the wife of Urias” (Bathsheba), as well as Mary, the mother of Christ. Matthew 1:1-16 is probably not one of the more memorized or quoted passages found in the Gospels, but it is interesting. Without all that begetting, Jesus would not have been begotten, meaning no incarnation, no Messiah, no Christ, no Christmas. Translate that as no hope, no redemption, no restoration, no salvation, no re-creation, no eternity. It all began with the begats.

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November 9, 2024 · 10:57 am

Threshold Moments

Standing in the passageway with nervous expectation.
Determining the direction of steps not yet taken.
Whether to move forward toward an unrehearsed future,
or to retreat back to a familiar bastion of complacency.

Such are the questions of liminal spaces, which provide
puzzlement and entanglement to both fact and faces.

Weighing adventure against the safety of known routine.
It’s something like a morning shave or the exhilaration of stepping out.
The surprise is not to be here again, but that it took so long between.

Visits to this terrain being by nature repetitive;
part of chronology’s push beyond the screen.
Three steps forward, two steps back.
Advancing and retreating – such a common dance.

The music begins, will you?

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August 11, 2024 · 5:49 pm

What I Have Learned in 40 Years of Marriage

Today my wife and I have been married for 40 years!  That seems like a long time, yet it also seems that it was just last week we said, “I do”. 

Coming up to this milestone I’ve been thinking about those years, filled with so many experiences, people and places, and what I’ve learned in that time.  What I’ve learned about marriage? About my spouse? About myself? About life?

So, here’s a list of 40 thoughts that in some way partly encapsulate my learnings:

  1. People are more important than projects.  The most important person in my life is my spouse. That hasn’t changed despite children, grandchildren, friends, etc.
  2. It is not good for man (especially this man) to be alone.  I learned this one the hard way. No job is worth separation – even if the separation is planned or supposed to be temporary.
  3. Family matters way more than career and other superfluous goals.
  4. Ministry is much easier when one’s life partner also feels called.
  5. Sometimes silence speaks more than words.  This can be true both positively and negatively.
  6. That “do not let the sun go down on your anger” scripture? (Eph. 4:26) Good advice.
  7. Being married to “the queen of small talk” is a gift when one is an introvert.
  8. Teachers need about a two-week adjustment period when school is out for summer or starting back up in the fall.  Just stay out of the way, be helpful, and be understanding.
  9. Some of the things that seemed important and worrisome, can age into funny memories.
  10. As long as you share common core values, its ok to have other interests, habits and hobbies.
  11. Be flexible.
  12. Learning to say “I’m sorry” or “I was wrong” early in a relationship will avoid a lot of grief along the way.
  13. There is no greater sorrow than your child’s sorrow, no greater joy than your child’s joy.  Having a spouse with whom to share this is a blessing.
  14. Change should be expected in any relationship, especially a long tenured marriage.
  15. Being married to your best friend is always having someone in your corner.
  16. Big decisions are best made after sleeping on it.
  17. When you say “yes” to a job, you should give that job your best effort.  There’s no excuse for not working hard.
  18. When you work at something you love, it hardly seems like work.  Marriage is work, but it needn’t be toilsome.
  19. Marriage is like a book – lot’s of chapters, some more interesting than others, but each essential to the story.
  20. Communication is to a marriage what water is to a fish.
  21. It truly doesn’t help to worry about tomorrow, each day does have enough trouble of it’s own.  (Matthew 6:34)
  22. If it makes your spouse feel better to watch the breaking weather report ad nauseum, put in your headphones or go to the other room.
  23. If it makes your spouse feel better to read all the latest Boilermaker news – you’ve got a pretty great spouse!
  24. When in public your teacher spouse is identified, stopped and talked to; just realize how many lives she’s helped shape and form and be thankful!
  25. Tell your wife “I’ll be in the car” before you leave to go to the car.
  26. Don’t wait until after you turn on the water to brush your teeth before you share something important.
  27. Understand this: Cleaning is to Lori what lawn and garden work is to Dan – a happy place!
  28. Moses had Aaron; Dan had Lori.  Neither one would’ve made it in ministry without their person.
  29. A farmer once told me as we welcomed our first child: “Dan, with every child you’re going to drop another rung down the ladder.” Three kids and soon to be five grandkids later, I’m just thankful she keeps me on the ladder
  30. Cereal can be good for supper, not just breakfast.
  31. Life is better when you travel in pairs.  (Genesis 2:24; Genesis 7; Luke 10:1)
  32. In hindsight, God’s got this!
  33. Being married to someone who can close down any public building because there’s someone to talk to, you get used to it.  Builds patience.
  34. Always make friends with the custodian.  These are important people who work hard and deserve respect. 
  35. The sun will come out tomorrow.  Might be behind the clouds, or only seen in a “sun break”, but it’s out there somewhere.
  36. The “love language” thing?  It’s valid. We don’t all give or receive love in the same way.  It’s worth learning your spouses love language.
  37. In the end “it’s just money”.  Generosity wears better than an attitude of scarcity.
  38. You can never imagine where and what a lifetime together will reveal, be thankful you get to explore it a day at a time.
  39. On their 40th Anniversary I asked my father-in-law when he and my mother-in-law had been most happy.  He said, in his dry wit, five minutes here, five minutes there.  But you know?  Those five minutes add up – be happy!
  40. “For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health” is a vow to be lived into and to stick with.  Easier said than done?  Not really.  Not when you love the one who’s meeting you part-way.

Happy Anniversary!

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July 17, 2024 · 9:54 am

Come Sail Away

I imagine those who once sailed these waters off the coast of southeast Alaska, as I watch and photograph a cruise ship sailing ahead of our own into the distance and space of an evening horizon.

These were the lands and waters of the Tlingit (pronounced Klin-git) people long before they were home to Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Holland America lines. Other indigenous groups that called these waters, fjords, islands and sounds home included the Haida, Tsimshian and Eyak. Equally skilled with paddle and bow, they hunted and fished these places where now tourists by the thousands pull out cell phones and cameras to capture something native.

Could the native peoples, first nations as known in Canada, have imagined such huge floating vessels equipped with galleys, staterooms, casinos, bars and fine dining spaces? Could they conceive of the extravagance docking on shores of their homelands, passengers spilling forth to explore, shop, and go on excursions into the wild? Could they have fathomed the pallets of groceries even one such floating buffet might consume? The expanse in time and culture from these extremely different eras seems vast. Yet, here in common space these very different times and people collide. Alaska – the great land – has a history of human diversity that just keeps on diversifying.

In preparation for our cruise and my own exposure to Alaska I did some reading. James Michener’s Alaska was one volume, along with John McPhee’s “Coming into the Country”. Robert Service’s collected poems was a late edition recommended by a friend. I also revisited Jack London’s “White Fang” and “The Call of the Wild” for good measure. The cumulative appreciation of such reading was the many cultures and peoples who had once called the land home. From the historic travelers of Asia’s land bridge, to the Aleutians, Athabaskans and Eskimos, this great land has known settlers of many stripes. The Russians, British and Americans would all lay some claim to this frontier. Evidence is seen in the settlements yet today. Names like Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau bespeak the influence of people from outside.

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