February 2 falls right at forty days after the Nativity, bringing an end to the Christmas and Epiphany seasons. This is a short reflection I wrote last year at this time about a hidden in plain sight aspect of the presentation at the temple. The feast day is known both as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. And, in some places, it’s called Candlemas, the day when candles are blessed for use in the remainder of the year. The tradition of celebrating Candlemas evolved, because Simeon...
I led morning prayer again this week and gave the following reflection on the Sunday readings. The texts for today are Isaiah 9:1-7, Psalm 36:5-10, Romans 15:8-13, and Matthew 4:12-17. In the first lesson today, we read: But there will be no more gloom for the land that was in anguish! In the past, God humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, but in the future, God will bring glory to this Road to the Sea, this Land Beyond the Jordan, this Galilee of the Nations. The people walking in darkness are seeing a brilliant light—upon those who dwell...
Welcome to Advent 2–the second Sunday of Advent. The bible texts for this week are all about bringing life to barrenness. In the Beginning The gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, and the gospel of John begins with the image of Jesus as The Word. But the gospel text this second Sunday of Advent is taken from the beginning of the gospel of Luke, which is the only gospel that records the story about Elizabeth and Zechariah. From the very beginning, Luke points us back to the older and larger story of faith and covenant between God...
The gospel reading today, Luke 14:25-33, begins by saying that “large crowds were traveling with Jesus.” Attracted by his miracles, at witnessing Jesus’ power over demons, diseases, and disabilities, Jesus had developed a big following. But he doesn’t leave it there – He goes on to challenge these travelers by telling them that something more is required, for them to become His true disciples. In this difficult teaching, Jesus tells us exactly what “more” is needed for us to transform from being just a traveler into being a disciple of Jesus – the three things that need to be addressed....
