Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Well, I guess I’m supposed to have a thesis statement. It is this: Included in the gift of Christ as sacramentum is always the gift of Christ as exemplum. He both gives Himself to us and then invites us into communion with His life, doing things His way. A little known feature of the old The Lutheran Liturgy (Altar Book for TLH) is that it provided a collect for each epistle and gospel reading. So I went to the thirteenth Sunday after Trinity and found this prayer for the Good Samaritan gospel which I invite you to join me in pray ..read more

That’s what my RUDE wife always tells me when I complain about a packed schedule, saying: “I just want to return to normal.” So last week we had some excitement with Dave winding up in the hospital for a couple days with chest pain. It turned out NOT to be a heart-attack, and we got him home on Thursday. Friday, we flew over to Denver where we met up with Lucy and Laura, and headed up to Estes Park for a wonderful few days together in the Word with Norene Linke’s wonderful Northern Colorado Women’s Retreat. And there I got my marching orders from Rosa! (Ha! See, I haven’t forgotten!). We got b ..read more

And wow seems entirely inadequate to describe the Triduum at St. Paul’s this year. Choir sang at the Maundy Thursday evening liturgy, including Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Stainer’s “God So Loved the World.” Good Friday’s Chief Service was up in attendance at noon. It wasn’t too quiet because of the joyous noise of little children. At Tenebrae Vespers that day Megan Pellock gave us an outstanding setting of Handel’s “But he was wounded” and the choir sang the entirety of Schalk’s St. John Passion. Saturday the vigil was probably our best attended ever. We gathered in the courtyard of the sch ..read more

….not THAT one, the “after” feast. My friend Jamie wanted to know what the Weedons were serving, so here is this year’s menu:  Appetizers of assorted cheeses, crackers or pork rinds, with sliced summer sausage. Main course is roast lamb loin for those who care for that, and then lots of ground lamb-beef-feta balls for those who find the lamb by itself to be a little offputting (that would be me!). The lamb-beef-feta balls will be topped with either tzaziki or alfredo (I’m going with the alfredo myself). Side dishes include Saganaki (cheese doused with brandy and set alight, though ..read more

Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion was originally written to be performed in the Good Friday Vespers liturgy. I did not know that there was an English version of the Passion until today! It’s available in either Apple Music or Spotify (just search for St. Matthew’s Passion; Jeffrey Skidmore). And if you’d like to learn a bit more about the Passion, here’s a fine article. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…for sharing this beautiful picture with me. It's looking from Dr. Lee Maxwell's grave back to the old St. John's Lutheran Church in Maryville. Lee served there as pastor for many years, and was preceded there more than a century before by none other than the great Friederich Lochner. It's also the mother parish of St. Paul's in Hamel. Sadly, the church was closed a few years after Lee's death. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…that is what I think every time we are blessed to visit Mexico. Here are some pics from our latest adventures:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

…that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more

A good thought for holy Lent, whose arrival is so soon: “The one who knows that the enemy stands before the gates and straightway lets him enter the city; the one who has been warned of the descending steps of sin but does not heed the warning; the one who knows what is the armor of faith and has been clothed with it but does not use it to repel the evil spirits, mocks and despises the good gifts of the kingdom of God more than the heathen. The violent conflict with shame, dread, and hesitation that always rages in his heart before a Christian consents to sin, in contrast to the easy course o ..read more

…I got a little grandpa snuggling in Winnie Mae, our youngest grandchild (#13): http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog ..read more