Home »
Ephesians 3:1-12
Epiphany C
As many churches will do this Epiphany Sunday, my last church often celebrated the Epiphany of our Lord with a careful study of the story of the Magi in Matthew 2. Guided by that singular star in the western sky, those three wise men from the East represented the nations of the world coming […]
Isaiah 6:1-13
Epiphany 5C
[…] power undoubtable? This game of hide and seek that God plays with the human race makes it far too difficult to believe in God.” This season of Epiphany is a reminder that God has made himself visible and audible and tangible, but people still didn’t come to faith in large numbers in spite of […]
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Epiphany 5B
Comments and Observations On this fifth Sunday after Epiphany, this lesson from the epistles seems to have nothing to do with Epiphany, until we take a wider and deeper look. A review of the wider context reminds us that Paul is writing here to a church that is deeply divided—by the abuse of spiritual […]
Acts 8:14-17
Epiphany 1C
This snippet of early Christian history might seem unimportant, slim fodder for a sermon, and a peculiar choice for this first Sunday after Epiphany, until we see its place in the larger story of the Christian church. Then we’ll recognize it as one of the great turning points in the Gospel mission. That, in […]
Nehemiah 8:1-10
Epiphany 3C
[…] preachers, but what does it have to say to the average church goer? And what in the world does it have to do with this season of Epiphany? We can begin to unpack the wider meaning of this text by asking why the people spontaneously gathered for worship. What was the occasion? Well, it […]
Isaiah 60:1-6
Epiphany C
On this Epiphany Sunday, most preachers will choose the Gospel reading for their preaching text. Matthew 2 shows us the very first Epiphany of Christ to the world. Born in a barn in a far-off corner of the world, Jesus is worshipped and treasured by his parents and those shepherds and, if some carols […]
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Epiphany 3C
[…] is a serious problem, but I want to suggest that an even greater problem is the one Paul addresses in our text on this third Sunday after Epiphany. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” said Abraham Lincoln, speaking about a nation divided over the issue of slavery. He was echoing Jesus, who uttered […]
Psalm 29
Epiphany 1A
[…] knows all too well that the there are times when the choice of readings doesn’t make sense. That is not the case for this First Sunday after Epiphany when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. The “main” reading from the Gospels is, of course, about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. At […]
Isaiah 9:1-4
Epiphany 3A
Consistent with the season of Epiphany, the Lectionary readings from the Old Testament continue to focus on the Servant Messiah as the light of the world. It’s a message we need to hear because we live in particularly dark times, as did the nation of Judah to whom these words were addressed. The time […]
Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Epiphany 7C
The theme for this Sixth Sunday of Epiphany is the same in all four Lections—reversal of fortune. Psalm 37 and Luke 6:27-38 talk about loving enemies, thus reversing the usual response to those who abuse us. I Corinthian’s 15:35-50 expounds the great doctrine of the resurrection of the body, which reverses the apparent victory […]
Search Results: epiphany