Lent 2 – March 4, 2007

Psalm 27:7:  ‘Hear my voice, O LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.’

I don’t think here that the psalmist’s call is taking the shape of a quick text message to God! Instead,  he or he wants an answer from God that comes quickly, and shows mercy — love and understanding.

What type of voice do we have when we seek out God?  Sometimes,  it can include praise and thanks.  At other moments, it can seem to be like an on-air journal, telling God what our day’s been like.  Still more times, our ‘voice’ can be full of questioning, or be fueled by fear, anger, or confusion. Or, words can escape us altogether.

In each of these scenarios, I believe that God does have mercy and hears us.  The answer we can receive can take many forms, and might not be what we are expecting.   Some times, it will come early. Or, there might seem to be too long a wait.   We might not be able to hear the ‘voice’ clearly.  Yet, God invites us to continue in dialogue as we offer and receive.  God does have mercy, enough for all of us.

 

Hello world!

Welcome! This is our second attempt at having a parish blog.  Our Saviour’s and Immanuel form a 2-point parish on the north side of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.  We are congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. 

I am Matthew Diegel, I have been pastor here since Jan. 1, 1995.  I was ordained in 1987, and served at Christ-Windsor, ON, before coming here.  My partner is Kaija Ranta, and we have three daughters – Elina, Stacie, and Alexa, plus Hildegard the wonder dog.  I enjoy anything having to do with history, reading, long walks, music, cooking, and being with people.  I also am interested in new forms of technology and communication.  I was born in 1960, in a town northeast of here – Geraldton — but spend most of my early years in Brantford ON, home of the telephone and Wayne Gretzky. 

Since the season of Lent is a time for repentance and renewal, I thought this would be a good time to start over with our idea of a blog.  Each week, I will comment on at least one of the lessons for the coming Sunday, with a few to my own feelings, what’s happening in the community and the world, and quotes I find interesting.  Please feel free to join in!