Matthew 1:18-25
Advent 4A
Comments, Questions, and Observations Oddly, we close out Advent this year with the birthing story. Matthew’s birth narrative doesn’t usually get much attention on Christmas day because it’s rather anti-climactic in comparison to the Luke’s—our tried and true Christmas story. As I discuss in the textual points section below, we don’t even get the […]
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Proper 29A
A Shepherd In the US context, the day after Thanksgiving begins the Christmas season. But this is one of those years where a fluke of the calendar means the church won’t be celebrating Advent (let alone Christmas) yet. We have one last Sunday in Ordinary Time. Liturgically, the first Sunday of Advent begins a […]
Isaiah 7:10-16
Advent 4A
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, just 3 days away from Christmas, our reading from Isaiah 7 doesn’t seem very Christmasy. Oh, it does if we focus only on verse 14 and the way our Gospel reading for today interprets it (Matthew 1:18-25). But if we read our text in its context, there’s no […]
Romans 8:22-27
Pentecost B
[…] readings for Pentecost, 2015? As I pondered that, I recalled some wry comments made by Orthodox theologian Frederica Mathewes Green on the very different ways we celebrate Christmas and Easter. “It’s that time of year again, when school children are coloring pictures of Jesus hanging from a cross, and shop owners fill their windows […]
James 5:13-20
Proper 21B
[…] of sins. When the wanderer turns back to Christ, his sins, however many they may be, are completely covered. They don’t drag along like the chains of Christmas past in Dickens’ Christmas Carol. It is possible to have a whole new beginning, because the past is cancelled. I’ve never forgotten that scene from the […]
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Advent 1C
[…] every chapter of our lives in the light of that great and glorious day. And that reminds us that Advent is not just an early celebration of Christmas, as so many of my former parishioners thought. (“Why don’t we sing more Christmas carols in Advent?”) Rather, Advent is a time of preparation for Christ’s […]
Philippians 1:3-11
Advent 2C
[…] There’s thanksgiving and joy, love and peace. It makes me think of Thanksgiving Day with a table sagging under the fruits of the harvest, or the annual Christmas feast with family gathered around the table in boisterous good cheer, or the Cornucopia filled with fruit and vegetables and grain on the Communion Table at […]
Isaiah 35:1-10
Advent 3A
[…] overtake” God’s people, he promises in verse 10b. “Sorrow and sighing will flee away.” At least some of us will experience some gladness and joy during the Christmas season. Our hearts will fill and our throats will tighten just a bit as we gather with some of our family members and friends to celebrate […]
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
Advent 4B
[…] Mary’s Magnificat is the recommended reading for today, but I think the alternate reading in Psalm 89 can provide some rich homiletical fruit for this day before Christmas. Both Luke 1:46-55 and Psalm 89 are songs of reversal. Mary sings of God bringing down rulers from their thrones and lifting up the humble, filling […]
Romans 16:25-27
Advent 4B
[…] Paul saying “Goodbye” to a lot of people who came to faith because of Mary’s son, Jesus. Maybe taken together these passages remind us that Advent and Christmas are never just about generic humanity. It’s always personal. It was for Mary. It was for Paul when he wrote his letters. Indeed, if ever you […]
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