Reflections

January 7, 2025 Today's Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14 Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 1:1-14, 22-28 ; Habakkuk 1:1-3:19 ; Romans 1:1-17 “...In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 1:4b-5a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever heard an excited child talk about a favorite gift? They are so filled with joy that they can hardly contain it! They babble w...

January 6, 2025 Today's Reading: Matthew 2:1-12 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 66:1-20 ; Luke 3:21-38 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…” (Matthew 2:3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Herod had a problem: he wanted to be first. It is why his life was a constant rat race. It was why he, an Idumean, usurped the Jewish throne. It was why he entertained Caesar and bo...

January 5, 2025  Today's Reading: Luke 2:40-52 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 65:8-25 ; Luke 3:1-20 “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” (Luke 2:51) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is the Eve of the Epiphany of our Lord. The lights of Christmas and the New Year still shine, and the whole world waits in anticipation of the Light who has yet to reveal Himself i...

January 4, 2025  Today's Reading: Introit for Second Sunday After Christmas - Psalm 147:1, 5, 11-12; antiphon: John 1:14 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:15-65:2 ; Luke 2:41-52 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. W.H. Auden once wrote, “Nothing that is pos...

January 3, 2025  Today's Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 63:1-14 ; Luke 2:21-40 “…my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Simeon is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. He was not a political ruler or official of the temple. He was not a man of wealth or social standing. As far as we know, Simeon held no worldly power or influence, and...

January 2, 2025  Today's Reading: Catechism: The Second Commandment Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 62:1-12 ; Luke 2:1-20 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” (Isaiah 62:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In today’s Old Testament lesson, the prophet writes, “For Zion’s...

January 1, 2025 Today's Reading: Luke 2:21 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 61:1-11 ; Luke 1:57-80 “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The new year always begins with a festival called “The Circumcision and Name of Jesus.” This part of the Christmas story is...

December 31, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 12:35-40 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 60:1-22 ; Luke 1:39-56 “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 crewmembers left from Plymouth, England, on a ship named The Endurance. On January 18, 1915, after five months at sea, the ship became stuck...

December 30, 2024  Today's Reading: Exodus 13:1-3a, 11-15 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 58:1-59:3, 14-21 ; Luke 1:26-38 “Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem” (Exodus 13:15). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Like any new parents, Mary and Joseph wanted to do everything just right for their newborn son. So, 40 days after Jesus’...

December 29, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-13 ; Luke 1:1-25 “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have worked with kids for 35 years. I’ve been a high school teacher, soccer...

December 28, 2024 Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-18 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 52:13-54:10 ; Matthew 2:13-23 “‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’” (Matthew 2:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Where was God when Herod’s soldiers went house to house slaughtering toddlers? Why does He seem so...

December 27, 2024  Today's Reading: John 21:20-25 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 51:17-52:12 ; Matthew 2:1-12 “So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’” (John 21:23) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  John died of old age, exiled on Patmos. I...

December 26, 2024  Today's Reading: Matthew 23:34-39 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:22-26; 50:4-51:8, 12-16 ; Matthew 1:18-25 “‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  They kil...

December 25, 2024 Today's Reading: John 1:1-14 (15-18) Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-18 ; Matthew 1:1-17 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  There’s a curated charm about Christmas Eve that just doesn’t transfer over to the morning. Christmas Eve is prettier, but it’s fragile. If you speak, you can break the mo...

December 24, 2024  Today's Reading: Matthew 1:18-25 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 44:21-45:13, 20-25 ; Daniel 10:1-12:13 ; Isaiah 48:1-22 ; Revelation 12:1-17 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   The birth of...

December 23, 2024 Today's Reading: Micah 5:2-5a Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:25-44:20 ; Revelation 11:1-19 “And he shall be their peace…” (Micah 5:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Bethlehem. House of bread. There’s peace there. Pay attention. Not just to look back but to look forward, too. It’s easy to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” to read a verse out of context in Micah, and connect the dots...

December 22, 2024 Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-45 (46-56) Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:1-24 ; Revelation 9:13-10:11 “for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;” (Luke 1:48) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Blessed are you among women  To be called the mother of God by the small whispering word And so much worse by those without e...

December 21, 2024 Today's Reading: John 20:24-29 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 42:1-25 ; Revelation 9:1-12 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  We call Thomas by his nickname even though it’s never in the Bible at all. This story isn’t walking-through-a-wall-risen-from-the-dead-peace-giving-Jesus....

December 20, 2024  Today's Reading: Introit for Advent 4 - 1 Samuel 2:1b, 2, 5b-7; antiphon: Luke 1:46b-47  Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:18-41:10 ; Revelation 8:1-13 The LORD kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. (1 Samuel 2:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The Lord Kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed...

December 19, 2024 Today's Reading: Catechism: The First Commandment Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:1-17 ; Revelation 7:1-17 You shall have no other gods.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  This commandment shouldn’t actually be that hard. There’s only one God. He’s literally the only God there is. There was a piece of fruit on a tree, and we made a god out of it. The fruit of the tree of knowledge of go...

December 18, 2024 Today's Reading: Revelation 6:1-17 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10 ; Micah 1:1-7:20 ; Revelation 6:1-17 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” (Revelation 6:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The four horsemen of the apocalypse. 450 words. Cool. Books have been written...

December 17, 2024 Today's Reading: Philippians 4:4-7 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 33:1-24 ; Revelation 5:1-14 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Somehow, “rejoice” has come to mean “put on a happy face” to Christians today—especially this time of year. But when everyone else is happy, sad feels just that much sadder. Loss feels that...

December 16, 2024  Today's Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20 ; Revelation 4:1-11 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. (Zephaniah 3:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Zephaniah writes three chapters to a church convinced they are above reproach....

December 15, 2024  Today's Reading: Luke 7:18-28, 29-35 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:27-31:9 ; Revelation 3:1-22 …And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Luke 7:23) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  It’s easy to overlook just how hard it is for most people to come out and say what they’re feeling. I hurt. I doubt. I’m dying here. We can bury an awful lot before it finally bubbles over into...

December 14, 2024 Today's Reading: Introit for Advent 3 - Psalm 146:5-8; antiphon: Philippians 4:4 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:15-26 ; Revelation 2:1-29 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Modern Advent wreaths have four blue candles. Each Sunday in Advent, another candle is lit, reminding us that Jesus, “the true light, which gi...