Tag: 2026

Prepare: Jesus’ disciples are familiar with fear. Throughout the gospel of John, we hear that Jesus’ followers are filled with fear, especially of the Jewish authorities. To proclaim Jesus as messiah is to face expulsion from the synagogue and separation from family and friends. Following Jesus comes with fear and risk. This fear is compounded at Jesus’ death. He tries to prepare his disciples for his death and resurrection, but they are unable to comprehend these predictions. After Jesus’ death, the disciples’ fears are intensified by grief. They had hoped for Jesus to rebuild Israel into a great nation and…

It seemed fitting to meet Floricel on International Women’s Day. She is a mother, community organizer, and beloved community member. Floricel Liborio is an indigenous woman from Guerrero, Mexico. At the age of 18, she arrived in San Jose, California and has since built a family and life that includes compassionately supporting her community. Unfortunately, due to more ICE check ins resulting in disappearances of our immigrant community members and sometimes even citizens, Floricel has decided to prepare for the worst and vows to never go silently or alone. Including Lutheran Pastor Nelson, who accompanied her to her most recent…

Prepare The gloom and despair of Matthew 26-27 hangs over the beginning of chapter 28. Those who had followed Jesus, who had been welcomed by his grace, had lost everything. All of their hopes had been cruelly nailed to the cross with violent and stunning finality. Many of those close to him, fearing for their own lives and darkened by unspeakable despair, hid in a room. Three women who had followed him, however, forced themselves to bring honor to Jesus one last time, heading out early in the morning to anoint his broken, scarred, dead body for burial. Jesus had…

Prepare  Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 marks the beginning of Holy Week. The scene feels celebratory, but it’s actually layered with tension. Jesus enters the city not on a war horse nor in a display of political power, but on a donkey. In doing so, he fulfills the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. This signals a different kind of kingship: one rooted in humility and solidarity with ordinary people.  As Jesus enters, the crowds respond with enthusiasm. They spread cloaks on the road, wave branches, and shout “Hosanna,” which means “save us.” This is both praise and protest, a…

Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers that support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from other partners in a monthly blog post. Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life Taking us on a tour through the Psalms, Dangerous Songs explores three grand dimensions of human life–thriving, desolation and uncertainty. With an eye toward trauma theory, the psychology of recovery, practices of cultivating delight, and the inherent musicality of…

Greetings Hunger Leaders, Below you will find ELCA World Hunger resource suggestions for the 2026 season of ELCA Synod Assemblies and congregational engagement! Please feel free to order printed copies or create a QR code with these resources for download.  Please read to the end; there are many valuable resources here! Lifelines o   For the World Hunger annual report please see the 2025 Fall Lifelines issue, now available for download, as a PDF and interactive flipbook, and also available for order as a physical copy. 2026 Spring Lifelines should also be available by April. Print/Digital Resources Feeding Ministries Guide o  If you are interested in…

Issue 103 of Administration Matters Rostered Ministers Gathering 2026 Registration for the 2026 Rostered Ministers Gathering, happening July 6-9 at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, is open! All ELCA deacons, pastors, bishops and candidates approved for call are invited to be “Woven Together” in a time of intentional connection, listening and learning from one another in these challenging times. Engage with dynamic preachers, speakers, presenters, and even a theologian-in-residence and artist-in-residence. Register soon to get the early bird rate (available through March 31). A limited number of scholarships are available to defray registration costs and other expenses — learn more…

Prepare Samuel thinks he knows what a king should look like: strong, tall, impressive. Yet, God challenges him on this notion, declaring, “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” This same theme of seeing beyond appearances in John 9 emerges when Jesus heals a man born blind and invites everyone present to reconsider what true sight really means. What should be a moment of joy becomes a debate. The disciples assume someone must have sinned. The neighbors doubt what they see. The religious leaders question the…

Prepare  As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have been respected and educated, one you would go to with questions and hope for answers. And yet, he came to Jesus under the cover of night, confused about the teachings he’s heard and wanting some answers. Jesus tells him he must be “born from above.” The Greek word anōthen means both “again” and “from above.” Nicodemus hears it literally, but Jesus is pointing to something deeper—a spiritual rebirth initiated by God. Being “born from above” isn’t being morally superior or getting everything right. It’s about the identity we receive that is rooted in…

Prepare To begin, let’s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We’ve got heroes from the Bible’s past. There are voices from heaven. People faint from fear. Jesus transfigures, whatever that actually means. This story is just weird. There are a few things to keep in mind about Moses and Elijah that might be helpful for understanding this story. First, no one saw Moses and Elijah die. When Moses dies, God grants him, alone, a glimpse of the promised land and then God buries Moses, but no one knows where (Deuteronomy 34). Elijah ascends into heaven by means of…