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Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, February 8, 2026: Psalm 112:1-9, (10); Isaiah 58:1-9a, 9b-12]; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]; Matthew 5:13-20 “You are the salt of the earth“. Jesus is giving us an identity, but it’s a description. We *are* salt. Salt: in Jesus’ world, it was a primary preservative, keeping food fresh for times when it…

Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, February 1, 2026: Micah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12; Psalm 15 What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? It seems simple. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God. It is all action, things…

Third Sunday of Epiphany, 25 January 2026: Isaiah 9:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23; Psalm 27:1, 5-13 When Jesus begins his ministry, he moved to Capernaum in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. Matthew tells us that this is to fulfill the promise of Isaiah that we read to day: “the people who walked in…

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…