It is death that deserves derision, not the disciple who reaches through sorrow for his Lord.
Illness is not romantic. It is not a test, a metaphor, nor a blessing in disguise.
The unity of God’s people is grounded not in lineage nor land but in the promise of the coming Christ.

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Strasbourg’s hymnals are especially relevant to American Lutherans because much of what we experience in our churches comes to us from Strasbourg.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of Your God is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places by Chad Bird (1517 Publishing, 2023).
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of these early Lutheran hymns – and their physical availability in hymnals – in the piety of common people living in Lutheran towns and territories.
This is an excerpt from “Encouragement for Motherhood, Devotional Writings on the Work of Christ” edited by Katie Koplin (1517 Publishing, 2024) available for purchase today.
C.S. Lewis, Grief, and the Holiday Season
The following poem was written by Tanner Olson to accompany 1517’s 2023 Advent Resources, The Clothing of the King. Advent begins this Sunday.
The joy of which Lewis speaks is a deep yearning of the soul not unlike the nostalgia we feel upon seeing a favorite childhood object once again.
How can he say it? How can he say that Christ is after all the entire meaning of life for him, and that death is no real worry?
Lewis takes us to the planets to satisfy our cravings for spiritual adventure, which, as he says, “sends our imaginations off the Earth,” in the first place.
God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
Sing of Jesus’ Easter victory for you, and watch Satan flee with his worries and cares!
This hymn is not for people who feel strong, but those who are weak.