What does the Lord want from us?
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A
Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12 “Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.” With these first few verses we, the people, put God on trial. We will be the judge and the mountains and the foundations of the ea
People waking in darkness have seen a great light
Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A Isaiah 9:1-4, 1Matthew 4:12-23 Isaiah says, “The people waking in darkness have seen a great light.” It is because of this light that they, the people, rejoice. The darkness Isaiah refers to is most likely the fall of the Northern Kingdom at the hands of the Assyrian empire. Later, many people reading this passage would probably reflect on their captivity or their ancestor’s captivity by the Babylonians. As we have seen throughout histo
Full of controversy and conflict
Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year A Isaiah 49:1-7 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42 Psalm 40:1-12 Paul is obviously aware of these problems when he writes this letter because his letter is addressing these issues. But before Paul gets into all dirt that is going on in the church, he opens with a statement of faith and thanksgiving. In his opening remarks, Paul offers thanks for each one of the people in Corinth, because God has graced them with the knowledge of Christ. This g
Pick up the Baton
First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord Year A Matthew 3:13-17 Today we have reason to celebrate; we have a baptism. Not the baptism of a baby; it is the baptism of Christ. The baptism we celebrate is not new, but any baptism is a reason to celebrate. John the Baptist, a radical person of his time, teaches us about a baptism of repentance. He didn’t invent this idea, but he seems to have started a movement which was growing; growing so much that Herod was afr
Names have meaning
The Feast of the Holy Name, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 2:15-21 Names have meaning. Many of us know this to be true to some extent. When we think of our name, I’d imagine many of us know why we received our name. It could be that we are named after a relative or a person our parents respected. For example, our son is named after both of his grandfathers; William and Laurence. Sometimes we are named after people that our parents really didn’t know but they liked the sound of the
