Ascension Day: How We See Things
[…] over? No, ours is a world of hatred and strife, of children shooting children on playgrounds, of cancer and leukemia, of homegrown terrorists shooting up campuses and Christmas parties. It doesn’t look like a world ruled by a good Lord. How then can we claim the truth of Ascension Day–the truth that Jesus is […]
Psalm 148
Christmas 1C
We have but one Sunday after Christmas this year as Epiphany proper is already next week on January 6. So the Lectionary decided to let loose with all the post-Christmas praise it could muster by choosing Psalm 148. Talk about relentless! This Psalm is one long string of the imperative hallelu yah or “Praise […]
Galatians 4:4-7
Christmas 1B
Ask almost any school-aged Christian why we celebrated Christmas, and she’s likely to answer something like, “Because it was Jesus’ birthday!” While she might have a harder time identifying why Jesus’ birthday is important, most mature Christians know that Jesus’ birthday is important because he grew up to redeem us from our sins. On […]
Matthew 2:13-23
Christmas 1A
Wasn’t it just Christmas four days ago? Didn’t we all just get to visit the manger again, sing all those wonderful carols, feel aglow in the wash of twinkling lights and glimpses of angels fluttering overhead? But now Matthew, fresh off his exceedingly short birth narrative in chapter 1 and then the Magi story […]
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Christmas 1B
[…] couple of problems in this Lectionary reading, we can preach a sermon on it that will address a perennial and painful question on this First Sunday after Christmas. The first problem is the same one we stumbled upon two Sundays ago when we focused on Isaiah 61:1-3 and 8-11, namely, who are antecedents of […]
John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Christmas 2C
Comments and Observations Most people will have to go back to work the day following this Second Sunday after Christmas. It will be Monday, January 4, 2010, and the holidays will be officially over for most of us. The kids enjoyed their two-week break but on Monday, it’s time to roll out of bed […]
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Christmas 2A
[…] of the goodness to come sounds like a review of a Harry & David catalogue, like a tour through a Williams Sonoma store, like a down home Christmas with Mario Batali. And let’s not tell our doctors or cardiologists, but the priests of the ensemble get promised the fattiest portions of the beef roast, […]
Psalm 148
1st Sunday after Christmas C
[…] in his call for representatives of God’s whole creation to praise the Lord. Of course, the Revised Common Lectionary appoints this psalm for the first Sunday after Christmas. However, that Sunday also happens to be the last Sunday of the year. So those who preach and teach it might ask worshipers to dig into […]
Ephesians 1:3-14
2nd Sunday after Christmas C
[…] after another, at least here in West Michigan. But that’s not where our lectionary lesson from the Epistles takes us today. This is the second Sunday after Christmas, and our reading from Ephesians 1 gives us one more opportunity to celebrate that great event by reminding us of the wonderful gifts we have received […]
Psalm 148
Christmas 1A
The time between Christmas and Epiphany is one of those flex times in the Revised Common Lectionary—sometimes there are two Sundays after Christmas and before January 6 and sometimes just one in case Epiphany falls exactly on the second Sunday after Christmas. So sometimes Psalm 148 is in the Lectionary mix and sometimes it […]
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