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Peace be with you, My peace I leave with you – My Peace sets you free. (1 Pentecost – Whitsunday – Year A)
Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-37; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23 “2:1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among…
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Speaking about final things is not speaking about the end. (7 Easter – Year A)
Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10,33-36; 1 Peter 4:12-14,5:6-11; John 17:1-11 This is the final Sunday of Eastertide. So, it is appropriate to speak of final things in the scripture we have read this morning. In our letter from the Acts of the Apostles, we have Jesus speaking his last earthly words to his remaining 11 Apostles.…
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So who is this Advocate, this Spirit of truth that Jesus promises will be with his disciples forever? (6 Easter – Year A)
Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:7-18; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he…
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“If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (5 Easter Year A)
Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 12Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so…
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The Good News of the 23rd Psalm is that no matter where we are in our journey, God is with us on the road. (4 Easter Year A)
Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 Today is the fourth Sunday in Eastertide, what’s known as Shepherd Sunday because of today’s readings. I have to admit my bias and say that today’s Psalm, what we know as the 23rd Psalm, has always been my favorite piece of scripture, and probably always will…
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God comes to us when God comes to us (3 Easter Year A).
Acts 2:14a,36-41; Psalm 116:1-3,10-17 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35 I had a discussion about faith with a distraught person during a Cursillo weekend years ago. They told me about a heart-breaking loss they had suffered in the last year, the suffering and horrible death of a beloved sister who was also a beloved wife to…
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“Blessed are we who have NOT seen and yet have come to believe.” (2 Easter Year A)
Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31 “Blessed are those who have NOT seen and yet have come to believe.” In the midst of one of the most familiar Gospel passages, the “Doubting of Thomas” as it’s called, we have an important prologue that gets little or no attention. The scandal of…
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HE LIVES! He lives! He lives. (Easter Sunday Year A)
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2,14-24; 1 Cor 15:1-11; John 20:1-18 He lives! He lives. He lives. In November of 2007 my wife’s dad died. We knew it was coming. We knew his cancer was terminal for a few months. We watched him fade. We knew it was only a matter of time. But when that time…
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“And Jesus wept.” (5 Lent Year A)
Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45 “And Jesus wept.” John 11:35. Our Revised Common Lectionary says, “Jesus began to weep”, which is simply saying the same thing in the present instead of the past tense. But none of that left-brain distraction matters here. The fact that Jesus wept, and still weeps, speaks to…
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Joy is faith in God. (4 Lent Year A)
1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Rejoice: to feel joy, to be joyful. Joy: A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good. Happiness because of hope. Joy in the Bible: a deep-rooted, inspired happiness as a special gift from God, as a faith…