Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
Advent 2B
Maybe the Consultation on Common Texts that puts together the Revised Common Lectionary thinks that Advent is no time to think about God’s anger over sin. Because by carving verses 3-7 out of this lection from Psalm 85, we once again edit the Almighty. It’s OK to start with the first 2 verses and […]
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Advent 4A
[…] so) we feel worse about bad news from folks this time of the year than we would at any other time. As I have noted in other Advent sermon commentaries over the years, if a sad event or an outright tragedy happens to someone near the Fourth of July in the United States, we […]
Luke 3:1-6
Advent 2C
[…] You want change that lasts, transformation that taps into what C.S. Lewis called “the deep magic of the universe,” then those are the places to go. In Advent, as perhaps at most any time of the year I suppose, it’s so easy for even people in the church to have the wrong focus, to […]
Micah 5:2-5a
Advent 4C
[…] are quite literally right in front of us in even the church sanctuary on any given Sunday? Is anyone unaware of the significant surrounding darkness here in Advent 2021, our second Advent in a still persistent pandemic? Our world is gripped by fear, by sickness, and by serious divisions on how to deal with […]
Luke 1:46b-55
Advent 4B
The Year B Lectionary makes Mary’s song, “The Magnificat,” an alternative Psalm lection for both the Third and Fourth Sundays in Advent. For Advent 4B the main Psalm lection is from Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26. This commentary will be on Luke 1 and Mary’s song but if you want to read a prior Advent sermon […]
Isaiah 35:1-10
Advent 3A
Advent in Year A of the Lectionary’s cycle of readings is a poetry lover’s delight. From the images of mountains and military in Isaiah 2 to the plants and animals and a little child in Isaiah 11, we now come to the images of a trackless desert transformed into a verdant paradise with […]
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Advent 1C
[…] is precisely out of this context that this message of restoration and salvation—and through that of hope—comes. The Lectionary assigns this text for the First Sunday in Advent in Year C and pairs it with the Gospel reading from Luke 21 and Jesus’ words of apocalypse that anticipate the end of history. In a […]
Psalm 25:1-10
Advent 1C
[…] in seeing life as a learning experience at the feet of God? But precisely what—I hear you asking—does this have to do with the first Sunday in Advent? In one sense I confess that I have no idea why this was chosen for Advent 1 in the Year C Lectionary. But maybe we can […]
Luke 3:7-18
Advent 3C
[…] whatever task is yours to perform in life, John said. In a way, John’s words boiled down to, “Be nice!” Is this the message that presages the advent of the Messiah?! Well, yes, as a matter of fact it is. The coming of God’s Christ and of his salvation and reconciliation of all things […]
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Advent 1B
[…] specific sacred name of Israel’s one and only true God. That last verse addressed specifically to Yahweh is like the poem’s crescendo. Given how often we associate Advent with Christ as the Light of the World, you can see why this image of God’s shining face is assigned for the First Sunday of Advent […]
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