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Second Sunday of Christmas: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a; Matthew 2:13-15,19-23; Matthew 2:1-12; Psalm 84:1-8 For today, preachers are given three choices for the gospel, and I have chosen to put together the two readings from Matthew. It gives us almost the whole story around Herod and the birth of Jesus. There is a lot of…

First Sunday of Christmas, December 28, 2025: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18; Psalm 147 or 147:13-21 John begins his gospel with an alternate version of the creation. In the beginning was the word. In this version of the creation, Jesus has been there from the beginning. All things came into being through him,…

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 7:10-16; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 We enter not only the shortest day of the year, but a time of mystery. Isaiah tells us that “the young woman is with child and will bear a son“. Joseph, engaged to Mary, learns that she is pregnant, “by the Holy…

Third Sunday of Advent, December 14, 2025: Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11; Psalm 146:4-9 or Canticle 15 Now that I live in California, I love that we read this passage from Isaiah in December: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom. As I drive to work,…

Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2025: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 You’ve got to hand it to him, John the Baptist was quite a sight. He appears in the wilderness, telling everyone to repent because “the kingdom of heaven has come near”. I’ve always wondered who exactly in the wilderness…

First Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2025: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44; Psalm 122 Our lectionary begins the new Christian year not with excitement and good wishes for the year to come, but warnings about the end of time. Isaiah starts us off in a hopeful way: “In days to come the mountain of…

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, November 16, 2025: Isaiah 65:17-25; Canticle 9; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19 We are almost at the end of the liturgical year, and every year at this time, our readings focus on the end times. Our gospel is no exception. Jesus tells his followers that the temple will be destroyed. There…

All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2025: Daniel 7:1-3,15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 Today we celebrate All Saints, the day we remember the saints who have gone before us. The whole range of saints help us see ways to live our lives as Christians. Jesus appears to set high standards in the gospel: Love…

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24) 19 October 2025: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 Jesus wants his disciples to remember to pray, so, of course, we hear a parable. In this parable we have two people who are apparently stubborn. The widow keeps badgering the judge. The judge does not care…

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 23, October 12, 2025: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 Jeremiah is, as always, telling the people things they do not want to hear. This is a message to the “elders in exile”, so it’s a message to the people who last week were grieving and…