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Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 17, 2024: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33; Psalm 51:1-13 “I will put my law within them, and I will write it in their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33) “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,…

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10, 2024: Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 Today our gospel includes John 3:16, which for many evangelical Christians is the central text of their faith: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not…

Third Sunday in Lent, 3 March 2024: Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22; Psalm 19 I always find it interesting how a Sunday’s readings echo and connect to each other. Today is particularly striking. It is the middle of Lent, and we are reminded in today’s Psalm that “the Heavens declare the glory of…

Second Sunday in Lent, February 25, 2024: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38; Psalm 22:22-30 Today Bishop David Rice joined us, and in his sermon, reflected on the gospel. Today’s gospel from Mark is one of the hard ones, where Jesus tells his disciples that those who wish to follow him must “deny themselves…

First Sunday in Lent, February 18, 2024: Genesis 9:8-17; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15; Psalm 25:1-9 A few weeks ago, after one of our recent rains, I went outside and saw a rainbow in the sky. I don’t think I’ve ever lived somewhere where I see as many rainbows as I do in Merced: there’s…

Last Sunday after Epiphany, February 11, 2024: 2 Kings 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9; Psalm 50:1-6 We end up here every year at the end of Epiphany: up on the mountaintop, with some of the disciples seeing Jesus in glory. The accounts in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke are largely similar: the…

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, 4 February 2024: Isaiah 40:21-31; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c Last Monday on X (formerly known as Twitter) Elmo asked a simple question: “How is everybody doing”? At this point, there are 19,000 responses, which range from stories of grief and loss to existential dread. People are clearly…

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28; Psalm 111 The season of Epiphany is one where Jesus is revealed. Over the past two weeks, we have heard stories of Jesus calling his disciples. Today we hear another story, of Jesus preaching at Capernaum. There “he taught them as one having authority,…

Third Sunday After the Epiphany, January 21, 2024: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20; Psalm 62:6-14 Today we are asked how well we listen. What do we hear, and what do we do with what we hear? We are not, as a society, very good at listening, especially to things we do not…

First Sunday after Christmas, December 31, 2023: Isaiah 61:10-62:3;  Psalm 148; Galatians 4:4-7;  Luke 2:22-40 In today’s gospel we leave the intimate scene in the manger that dominates Christmas images. With his parents, we travel the short distance to Jerusalem. There his parents follow Jewish law and present their first born son at the Temple…