I have a problem. But first, let me say happy birthday. Today marks the 114th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s birth. Bonhoeffer, as many of you know, was a German Lutheran pastor executed by the Nazis in 1945. Along with Maximillian Kolbe and Oscar Romero, he stands in the pantheon of 20th Century martyrs. Bonhoeffer isContinue reading “Spoke in the Wheel: Epiphany 5A”
Author Archives: Mark Ekstrom
Merton & Me
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it. Thomas Merton overlapping unmet lives with this in common: a love for high places and solitude and living within the tension ofContinue reading “Merton & Me”
Lola L-O-L-A Lola: Grace, Gratitude & Dogs
It is really difficult to know what to write about this week, not because there isn’t anything going on in the news; we all know what’s happening there. And the readings for Sunday are some of the richest of the entire year. They include this famous passage from the prophet Micah – He has toldContinue reading “Lola L-O-L-A Lola: Grace, Gratitude & Dogs”
(un)Civil War
Epiphany 3A 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis described hell as a city empty in the middle and inhabited only on the edges. The center is empty because the inhabitants have gotten angry with one another and moved as far away as they could. That’s why, according to Lewis, hellContinue reading “(un)Civil War”
A New Song
2nd Sunday after Epiphany Psalm 40 John 1:29-42 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. If you happen to be a fan of the Irish rock group U2, those words might sound familiar. On their 1983 album War they appear in the song 40, which is a recastingContinue reading “A New Song”
Holy Week Triptych
Gethsemane A poem for Maundy Thursday As if in a dream I see your silhouetteframed against the impassivemoon and cold, distant stars. I would reach out for you,but I am merely a shadow,a phantom of no real substance. My spirit is willing to rise butmy sleep-dulled flesh is held fastin its sandy cradle. You callContinue reading “Holy Week Triptych”
Epiphany, Asperger’s & Me
If you have you ever felt excluded, or if you have ever been excluded, then this blog is for you. I have to confess that, outside of my family, I have never really felt like I belonged, I have never really known where I fit. A lot of it has to do with the factContinue reading “Epiphany, Asperger’s & Me”
Death Frogs
Maybe I don’t hear so well. And maybe I prefer it that way. You can have your “dense fog advisories” I’ll take my “death frogs,” an unstoppable amphibious army falling from the sky doing God knows what, wreaking havoc wherever they land, gobbling down anything that crosses their path. Maybe I live in a worldContinue reading “Death Frogs”
A Measure of Time
Take time make time waste time all kinds of time. Time flies, flees and then there is Father Time benevolent and wise. Do you want to know the truth? He’s nothing but a liar and a cheat, playing a long con, dealing Texas Hold ’em with the ace of spades hidden up his sleeve, hustlingContinue reading “A Measure of Time”
Words Matter – my first blog post
Second Sunday of Christmas January 5, 2020 John 1:1-18 (For this blog I will be following the Revised Common Lectionary) “Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland I suppose for my first blog post there isContinue reading “Words Matter – my first blog post”
Divine Overtones 