Temple Tasks
First Sunday after Christmas: Gospel, Luke 2:22-40 Luke 2:22-40 Joseph and Mary loved their Lord. That may seem a strange thing to point to since the babe they carried into the temple in Luke chapter 2 was their Lord, their Maker...
Tick, Tock, Tick
First Sunday after Christmas: Epistle, Galatians 4:4-7 Galatians 4:4-7 I tend to think that if I were to ask the average bible reader if timing was important to God’s story, most would say “yes,” but without a lot of evidence for...
I Know Not Which to Choose
First Sunday after Christmas: Old Testament, Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Such difficulty following Christmas. The title of our meditation today is a confession from me. The statement Isaiah makes at the beginning of the reading is...
What?!
Christmas Eve: Gospel, Matthew 1:18-25 Matthew 1:18-25 I look forward to meeting the earthly guardian of Mary and Jesus. What a man he must have been. No doubt Mary was lovely in the deepest and most important...
Seeing God’s Love
Christmas Eve: Epistle, 1 John 4:7-16 1 John 4:7-16 If you crack the cover of John’s first epistle you’re going to run headlong into love. And...
Read the Sign
Christmas Eve: Old Testament, Isaiah 7:10-14 Isaiah 7:10-14 Isaiah is so intertwined with Jesus. The marvelous words given to Isaiah some seven centuries before the first advent of the Savior are to be savored. King Ahaz is commanded by the...
The Path to Light
Third Sunday in Advent: Gospel, John 1:6-8, 19-28 John 1:6-8, 19-28 There is a piece of our gospel text that has always intrigued me. It’s one of those little bumps in the story that stop me every time I begin the marvelous...
He Will
Third Sunday in Advent: Epistle, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 The apostle gives us things to do in the epistle for the week. Or does he? Yes, on the practical side the tasks given in this chapter of First Thessalonians are things for us to...
What Are You Wearing?
Third Sunday in Advent: Old Testament, Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Gloves, mittens, ugly sweaters. All of these and more give indications of the season, at least in Northern districts. The prophet Isaiah writes about wardrobe but not quite in the...
The Right Words
Second Sunday in Advent: Gospel, Mark 1:1-8 Mark 1:1-8 Mark’s gospel, the primary gospel considered through this church year does not begin with the birth narrative of Jesus. Rather, Mark begins...
