Ezekiel 33:7-9, Matthew 18:15-20 In the first reading today, God is speaking to Ezekiel. I find the reading difficult to understand. I also find it filled with thoughts of hopelessness. It seems to be about correcting the other person, the…
Matthew 10:26-33 “Fear no one,” we just heard read at the beginning of today’s Gospel. Jesus said to the Twelve, “Fear no one.” To back up this command, to give the Twelve a reason to behave this way, to have…
John 14:1-12 These Easter days are so full of energy and life. The disciples are off and running to tell the various communities about Jesus and about “the Way.” The reading from Acts shows the Twelve getting organized so that…
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus sends two of his disciples off to get a colt in the nearby village. He and his disciples were heading to Jerusalem. Many people were going to Jerusalem. It was Passover time. The two disciples…
Is. 49:3, 5-6; John 1:29-34 When I first read the Scripture texts for today, I thought it’s the baptism of Jesus all over again: one of Isaiah’s servant songs and the words about the dove and about baptizing and about…
Isaiah 2, Romans 13, Matthew 24 When I read this Sunday’s Gospel earlier in the week, I thought that, in some metaphorical way, it speaks to the current situation in the United States and what the future could look like.…
Exodus, 2 Timothy, Luke 18 Pray always, we hear today. Be patient and constant, don’t get weary, keep at it, don’t give up, don’t lose heart. These commands or urgings are threads throughout the three readings. None of these expressions…
Luke 10: 25-37 What must I do to gain eternal life? How do I love God more? How do I find God? Or even, how can I be happy? These are questions that people have asked for a long time.…
The section of John’s Gospel that we have just heard is part of what we know as the “last discourse,” Jesus’ words and his prayer at the Last Supper, when he knows the end is near. We know that John…
Acts 5:12-16 Revelations 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 John 20:19-31 Several years ago, during the Easter Vigil Elaine Prevallet quoted a phrase from a poem of Wendell Berry’s. He used the expression: “Practice resurrection.” In the last month, the daffodils and jonquils…
Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 5:1-11 Today’s readings — the Isaiah reading and the section from Luke’s Gospel — present us with two people, Isaiah and Peter, at the very beginning of what will involve them deeply and completely for the rest…
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Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21 We just heard in the first reading about God telling Moses to instruct Aaron and his children just how to bless the people. A wonderful blessing God speaks to Moses: “May God bless you,…