by Brandt L. Montgomery

This article adds a refreshing narrative to the advent season by exploring doubting Thomas whose feast day is four days before the birth of Christ. The reader will receive a strong reminder of the power of hope while in the throes of doubt. As Jesus meets Thomas in his grieving, we are encouraged to be bold enough to rejoice even while waiting through imperfect times.

by Peter S. Perry

Exploring the reality of Christmas time’s complexities, the season’s mixed emotions are contextualized in God’s eternal landscape. Readers will see the strength of rejoicing as an action rather than a reactionary feeling as it anchors us in the joy of Christ even as the world faces ongoing tragedies.

by C.H.E. Sadaphal

Rejoicing has an inherently reverent nature. With the use of a single verse, Psalm 97:1, we are taught that rejoicing acknowledges the King, the extent of the King’s sovereignty, the means by which the King rules, and the guarantees enjoyed by those in the Kingdom.

by Christine Stopka

A personal and vulnerable narrative that reveals the difficulties of the wilderness that life often is. The essay gives readers an alternative to simply reacting to the hopelessness of the wilderness by rejoicing. This piece’s approach to rejoicing is unlike the typical approaches this season displays. It is a quiet, careful, and measured approach to seeing how God works in our dark places to reveal the light.

by Neal D. Presa

by Neal D. Presa

by Reginald Brantley

by Darla Turlington

by Jin H. Han

A young but meaningful landmark is celebrated in the Reconciliation issue and opens a discussion that goes hand in hand with the seasonal theme of Rejoicing. The troubles that The Confession of 1967 attempted to reconcile are still being addressed, and the waiting often obstructs our view of God’s invitation to rejoice as new creation. The contributions gathered in this combined issue challenge us to continue any and all labors that spread peace and reconciliation for all.

by Erik M. Heen

The characteristic Lutheran “spirituality” centered in service to the neighbor, often expressed in the slogan “freed to serve,” is succinctly articulated in Luther’s 1520 treatise “Freedom of the Christian.” The slogan raises fundamental questions: “How are we freed?” “From what are we freed?” and “How is it that ‘service’ most characterizes freedom?” Luther concludes that though the “Word” is the means God uses to liberate humanity from Sin, “faith” is the agent that moves the focus of one’s attention off of self and on to one’s neighbor-in-need.

by Petra Carlsson Redell

In this article, Rev. Doc. Petra Carlsson Redell reflects over two Lutheran ideas, namely the Lutheran notion of grace and the idea of the priesthood of all believers. Redell suggests that if these notions are treated with care, they may help us spread the love of God and the inspiration of the Spirit in the political and social reality of our time.

by Jonathan Linman

Rooted in a robust, nuanced, and expansive understanding of Christian freedom, Martin Luther’s famous paradox, paraphrased as “subject to none, subject to all,” forms the foundation for Lutheran social ethics which continue to resonate with profound relevance in our day, five hundred years after the beginning of the Reformation.