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Easter Sunday, April 20,2025: Isaiah 65:17-25; Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-12; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! This proclamation, repeated three times, begins the Easter liturgy. We have made it through the long days of Lent, and the hard days of Holy Week. We have sat…

Passion Sunday with Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025: Luke 19:28-40; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 AND Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56 (or Luke 23:1-49); Psalm 31:9-16 Today is the Sunday of two moods: we begin with reading about Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, with crowds cheering him on, throwing their cloaks on the…

Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 6, 2025: Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8; Psalm 126 Today’s gospel recounts a story that is told in all four gospels, a sign that it was very important to the early church. In all of them, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He is with his disciples having…

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 30, 2025: Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32; Psalm 32 Today we hear again the familiar parable of the prodigal son. I can’t remember when I first heard this parable, but I cannot remember when I did not know the story. Most of us are familiar with it,…

Third Sunday of Lent: Exodus 3:1-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8 If “they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” Moses’ question is not unreasonable: after all, the voice from the burning bush has just said “I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the…

Second Sunday of Lent, March 16, 2025: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1;Luke 13:31-35; Psalm 27 Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem when some pharisees warn him that Herod wants to kill him. Oddly, he does not thank them. Instead, he acts as if they were Herod’s messengers, sending an angry message back to Herod. Did…

First Sunday in Lent, March 9, 2025: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 As I was reading this week’s lessons, I was struck by the inclusion of Psalm 91. About thirty years ago, I led my a series on the psalms at my church. I remember an elderly church member who told…

Our writer has been busy elsewhere, so here is a reflection from this Sunday, the last Sunday in Epiphany, from three years ago:

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany: Genesis 45:3-11, 15; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50; Luke 6:27-38; Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 The thing about the lectionary is that you don’t get to choose your favorite passages, or the ones you need at the moment. You have to deal with scripture, and sometimes it hits in difficult places. Today is one…

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, February 16, 2025: Jeremiah 17:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26; Psalm 1 Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength,whose hearts turn away from the Lord. . .Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,whose trust is the Lord. It’s all about where you put…