Reflections from the Pew

Parishioner Dan Sitzman's weekly reflections on current events, the weekly Scripture readings, life, the universe, and everything.

March 9, 2025 – Lent 1 - For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. — Romans 10:12 Vocabulary terms impact perspective, writes science journalist Sabrina Imbler in the book How Far the Light Reaches. For example, if a sea creature is found on the beach, one might say it “washed up on shore.” Another perspective would say the creature is stranded on land, physically unable to return to its watery habitat.  When Paul wrote to the Romans, he made the case that all people are made right by God.… ...Continue Reading
March 2, 2025 – Transfiguration - What did you do the past week? In this final Sunday after Epiphany, we hear the gospel passage from Luke that occurs eight days after Peter first said out loud that Jesus was the Messiah. In the passages between Peter’s declaration and this Sunday’s gospel about the Transfiguration, Jesus told the disciples to not reveal to anybody else what Peter had figured out because Jesus will soon suffer and be rejected, then be put to death, but three days later be raised to life. He then challenged them all, “If anyone wants to come with me he must forget himself,… ...Continue Reading
February 23, 2025 – Rejoicing in the Gifts of Others - Jesus said, "I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” — Luke 6:27 Anna and I gathered with friends last weekend to watch the 50th Anniversary Saturday Night Live special. Several times, I was in tears, gasping for air as I laughed at some skits. As I caught my breath after one star-studded performance, some of our friends admitted that they did not find the skit as hilarious as I obviously did. Laughter does not equal humor and humor does not equal laughter. Researcher Robert Provine, who was in the Psychology Department… ...Continue Reading
February 16, 2025 – Like a Shrub in the Desert - They shall be like a shrub in the desert—Jeremiah 17:6 Visiting South Africa, one is amazed by the large mammals known as The Big 5: the African lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and Cape buffalo. Avian species, too, attract attention, from the African penguins nesting on the shores of Simonstown, to ostriches, to multicolored waterfowl. But a visit to the Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens reveals an unexpectedly fascinating and rare organism, a member of the pea family: Polhillia groenewaldii du Preez, discovered by an intern and described by a masters student three years ago. This woody shrub grows up to four… ...Continue Reading
February 9, 2024 – Black Holes - Not long ago, black holes and planets around other stars were fantastical, but not things with direct evidence about their existence. Trying to “fish” for evidence led to the cosmic equivalent of empty nets. But in February 2016, members of the Laser Interferometer Gravitation-Wave Observatory, jointly operated by staff from Cal Tech and MIT at locations in Washington and Louisiana, published data about the first detection of gravitational waves. Since then, dozens of comparable signals have been collected, attributed to black hole collisions. By 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope provided data to create an image of a black hole at… ...Continue Reading
February 2, 2025 – Phoning Home - And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. — Luke 2:33 At the start of my teaching career, before a phone line was in every classroom, several of us would congregate in a meeting room to use the school phones to call home about students with excessive missing assignments and disruptive behavior. Often, I would ask my colleagues what interactions they had previously with a student’s parents or guardians, as well as seek solace from each other having to tell other adults how their offspring were not meeting expectations. Mrs. Kalina, a long-time… ...Continue Reading