Matthew 5:21-37 This Gospel lesson is daunting. Jesus says that we fall short of God's reign if even our most trivial-seeming thoughts and attitudes fall short of mutual love. (Lust, for example, falls short of mutual love; it’s a selfish desire to [...]
Isaiah 58:1-12 The season of Lent is approaching, though still several weeks away. (As a kid, when I first heard the word “Lent,“ I thought people were talking about laundry—I soon learned otherwise.) But one of our readings for this week puts [...]
Luke 2:22-40 Ordinarily this Sunday would be the fourth Sunday in Epiphany. But today, February 2, is also a major feast of the Church. No, I don’t mean Groundhog Day; I mean The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. In the Gospel [...]
Matthew 4:12-23 Peter, Andrew, James, and John—Matthew tells us that these were the very first followers of Jesus. All Jesus did was call to them, and they walked out on their steady jobs into an uncharted future. Why would they do that? [...]
John 1:29-42 Our lesson from the Gospel of John is about another John – most often referred to as John the Baptist. I've run into people who think that this John's title made him a member of a Baptist church. So, for [...]
Matthew 3:13-17 John the Baptizer had been praying for God to step in and take over the world. And this is how his prayer got answered: Jesus showed up and followed an upside-down script. Instead of taking over the world, he let [...]
Matthew 2:1-12 (online here) Christmas ends with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. The word “epiphany” means “disclosure,” and in this case it refers to the first disclosure of Jesus’ arrival, and of God’s universally reconciling presence, to non-Jews (aka [...]
John 1:1-14, or 1:1-18 (online here & here) First was Meaning* Godward and Godful** Entry to all else Lively and all-enlightening. Then was Meaning enfleshed Living among us Shining bountifully and truthfully Unquenched by rejection In the face of Jesus Christ. No one has [...]
Isaiah 7:10-16, Matthew 1:18-25 Let’s face it, Isaiah was not thinking about Jesus when he spoke these words to King Ahaz. His focus was on a baby to be born very soon, not hundreds of years later, and he’s assuring Ahaz that [...]
Luke 1:46-55 (Canticle 15 Book of Common Prayer, Magnificat)* “This song of Mary’s is the oldest Advent hymn. It is the most passionate, most vehement, one might almost say, most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. It is not the gentle, sweet, dreamy [...]