First Reading
Acts 10:34-43 or
Isaiah 65:17-25
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Gospel
Luke 24:1-12
Happy Resurrection Sunday! Today marks the high point in the liturgical life of the Church and the life of Christ which it emulates. It is the end of the 40 day fast in which we prepared our hearts, minds and even our bodies to fully celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. I hope this morning's service that you attended was a meaningful celebration of Jesus' resurrection and also a proclamation of the hope we have in Christ. It is sometimes hard to look at the Easter story with new eyes after my 29 years on the planet. In our service today, we explored the difference Christ's resurrection makes in our life and read the verses immediately preceding our passage in 1 Cor. But I think at Easter, no matter how many times we have read the story, we need to return the Gospels' account and proclaim what happened all those years ago.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Palm Sunday
Liturgy of the Palms
Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Gospel: Luke 19:28-40
Liturgy of the Passion
Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16
Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56 or 23:1-49
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Today is Palm Sunday as I am sure all of you are aware. This is the Sunday where we traditionally celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The "Liturgy of Passion" begins with the Last Supper and continues all the way to Jesus' death. Hopefully we all will be reflecting on the Passion narrative later in the week, perhaps even at a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service. So much happens in the last week of Christ's life before his crucifixion that it is appropriate we spend time reflecting on it before we celebrate Easter.
Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Gospel: Luke 19:28-40
Liturgy of the Passion
Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16
Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Gospel: Luke 22:14-23:56 or 23:1-49
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Today is Palm Sunday as I am sure all of you are aware. This is the Sunday where we traditionally celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The "Liturgy of Passion" begins with the Last Supper and continues all the way to Jesus' death. Hopefully we all will be reflecting on the Passion narrative later in the week, perhaps even at a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service. So much happens in the last week of Christ's life before his crucifixion that it is appropriate we spend time reflecting on it before we celebrate Easter.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Lent Week 5
Psalm: Psalm 126
Old Testament: Isaiah 43:16-21
Gospel: John 12:1-8
Epistle: Philippians 3:4b-14
I hope this last week has been good for you all. Today is the final Sunday of Lent before Palm Sunday next week, followed by Holy Week. Today we look at a particular episode in Jesus' life which is recorded in at least 3 Gospels and occurs about a week before Jesus' death, so around Palm Sunday. (Luke tells a similar, but probably a different moment from Jesus' life.) Leading up to Jesus' betrayal and death on the cross, he was a anointed by a woman at a dinner party in Bethany. Only John tells us that this woman was in fact Mary, the sister to Martha and Lazarus. The picture we see here in chapter 12 is very similar to the other one we see of the two sisters in Luke's Gospel. (Luke 10:38-42) In Luke, neither Lazarus nor the village name are mentioned, but the matching names has led most people to agree that "Mary and Martha" are the same sisters in Luke and John. But more than just the names, another details are more striking. In both stories, Martha is busy "serving," while Mary is sitting at the Jesus' feet. This is fact an unusual place for a woman in Jesus' day, but shows that Mary was indeed a disciple and learned from Jesus. There is much to be said for Jesus' inclusion of women in his circle of disciples. But we will leave that aside for now.
Old Testament: Isaiah 43:16-21
Gospel: John 12:1-8
Epistle: Philippians 3:4b-14
I hope this last week has been good for you all. Today is the final Sunday of Lent before Palm Sunday next week, followed by Holy Week. Today we look at a particular episode in Jesus' life which is recorded in at least 3 Gospels and occurs about a week before Jesus' death, so around Palm Sunday. (Luke tells a similar, but probably a different moment from Jesus' life.) Leading up to Jesus' betrayal and death on the cross, he was a anointed by a woman at a dinner party in Bethany. Only John tells us that this woman was in fact Mary, the sister to Martha and Lazarus. The picture we see here in chapter 12 is very similar to the other one we see of the two sisters in Luke's Gospel. (Luke 10:38-42) In Luke, neither Lazarus nor the village name are mentioned, but the matching names has led most people to agree that "Mary and Martha" are the same sisters in Luke and John. But more than just the names, another details are more striking. In both stories, Martha is busy "serving," while Mary is sitting at the Jesus' feet. This is fact an unusual place for a woman in Jesus' day, but shows that Mary was indeed a disciple and learned from Jesus. There is much to be said for Jesus' inclusion of women in his circle of disciples. But we will leave that aside for now.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Lent week 4
Psalm: Psalm 32
Old Testament: Joshua 5:9-12
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
This Sunday we look at perhaps one of the most well known parables Jesus ever told, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Only Luke tells us this parable, but the imagery is so real and the emotion so relatable that the language of "the Prodigal Son" is even in the secular vernacular. What is it about this particular parable that resonates so deeply with us? What did Jesus touched on in the human psyche?
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