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God on Trial

Din Torah

The phoenix, the Invictus cross, and the butterfly–all symbolizing different meanings of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to Christians.

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

October 7, 2012

World Communion Sunday

Job 1:1, 2: 1-12

Yaffa Eliach, a highly respected Jewish historian who is herself a survivor of the Holocaust, tells the story that in 1979, she was a member of President Carter’s Commission on the Holocaust.  The commission, who would ultimately lay the groundwork for the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, had visited sites of countless atrocities and collected stories from Holocaust survivors. After visiting Auschwitz, the commission held evening services at the ancient Rema Synagogue in Cracow, Poland.  In the middle of the worship service, “Miles Lerman, a former partisan and sole survivor of a large Jewish family,” stepped forward, banged his fist on the bema, the pulpit, “and declared that he was calling God to Din Torah—summoning God to court!” Read More »God on Trial

Childlike Church in a Grown-Up World

The only stained glass window that was taken from Broadway Presbyterian Church when it moved to the present site of St. Stephen in 1950.

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch

September 23, 2012 

Mark 9:30-37

 

 

Here’s something I’ve seen happen in every church I’ve ever served in. Families with children join the church, or start coming back after a long hiatus. They are sitting in the pews with their children. The children get antsy and a bit distracting, as children do. And one of the “long time” members leans over and whispers to the family, “You know, there’s a nursery.”

And as often as not, the family never returns.Read More »Childlike Church in a Grown-Up World

Shield Aflame

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch
August 26, 2012
St. Stephen Presbyterian Church
Fort Worth, TX
Ephesians 6: 10-20
John 6: 52-71

As a pastor I’ve seen a few folks die. And yet, because of their faith they are still alive. One is remember is Alice, a dear lady from my last church, who had for years been a hard worker for the church, generous, hospitable, kind. She came down with cancer, and the most difficult thing for her was the realization that she could no longer “do” as she once did. She became very anxious about the state of her soul; how could she please God if she couldn’t “do” anymore?Read More »Shield Aflame

Broken Pieces–Mark 6: 35-44, Part 1

 

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Fort Worth, TX

The Lord’s Supper

July 15, 2012

 

Jesus’ disciples want to send the crowds home to get something to eat. Instead, Jesus tells his disciples “You give them something to eat.” He has them organize the thousands present in groups of hundreds and fifties, as were Roman army units, and they pass out the bread.

And somehow, everybody has enough.

We call this the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, but the Bible doesn’t say it’s a miracle. Scholars will argue forever about whether the food somehow multiplied like bunnies or if in fact people there really had brought food with them, and decided that rather than hoard it, they would share it with the members of their group. We aren’t going to solve that mystery today, and that’s not what I want to focus on.

What’s interesting is that Jesus tells the disciples to give the crowd something to eat, but the disciples don’t really do anything special. They organize the people and they hand out the food. That’s it.

And then, they gather the broken pieces.Read More »Broken Pieces–Mark 6: 35-44, Part 1

Big Tent?

Former PC(USA) moderator and prolific blogger Bruce Reyes-Chow has started a petition drive called “There is more than one version of Christianity!” His point is that there is a great deal of diversity the Christian family. Christians need to be more tolerant of one another and the media and culture need to recognize Christian diversity, too.Read More »Big Tent?

Why Be A Christian? Part One: Need

One of my former parishioners from Bethesda Presbyterian in Bethesda, MD, was in town last week for a conference. He lives, of all places, in London, England now. And he brought good news: he’s getting married to an English woman, a “barrister,” as the Brits call them. She sounds very intelligent, lively, and fun–perfect for my friend.

But she is not a Christian. She claims to be “agnostic,” but he suspects she’s just sugar-coating it “because she loves me.”Read More »Why Be A Christian? Part One: Need

Where the Waves Are–Dr. Warner Bailey, Preacher

WHERE THE WAVES ARE

Genesis 37.1-4, 12-28   Psalm 105.1-6, 16-22, 45b   Romans 10.5-15   Matthew 14.22-33

Seeing is not always believing, especially when you look out into the teeth of a storm.  Seeing is not always believing, especially when our heart is full of bitterness, anger, rage, and that sinking feeling of absolute helplessness.  The disciples of Jesus had been with him many months, perhaps a couple of years, and they had witnessed his mighty power many, many times. They knew his face like the back of their hands, and yet when they saw him coming to them over the boiling waves, their last ounce of courage evaporated in the face of the storm. The whole boatload of them convulsed into the despair of overwhelming horror.  They thought he was a ghost, the grim reaper, come to take them to their watery graves.Read More »Where the Waves Are–Dr. Warner Bailey, Preacher