Reflections

April 27, 2026 Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:25-31 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:1-24 ; Luke 9:18-36 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-29) In the Name + of Jesus....

April 26, 2026 Today's Reading: John 16:16-22 Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 8:1-13 , 30-36 ; Luke 9:1-17 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” (John 16:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s Thursday. The Passover is being celebrated. It’s a familiar day—an ancient festival. And yet, there’s some...

April 25, 2026 Today's Reading: Mark 16:14-20 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 40:17-38 ; Leviticus 1:1-7:38 ; Luke 8:40-56 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   What a remarkable promise by Jesus here in Mark 16:16. Baptism saves. How can that be?    We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, let’s review. What makes a Baptism a Baptism? Answer: w...

April 24, 2026 Today's Reading: Introit for Easter 4 - Psalm 66:3 , 5, 8-9 ; antiphon: Psalm 66:1-2 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 39:32-40:16 ; Luke 8:22-39 “Come and see what God has done.” (Psalm 66:5)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   King Hezekiah is the best king Judah had since David (2 Kings 18:1-3). Like David, he fights the Philistines. He expands Judah’s land and he restores true worship (spe...

April 23, 2026 Today's Reading: Catechism: Creed Second Article Daily Lectionary: Exodus 38:21-39:8 , 22-23 , 27-31 ; Luke 8:1-21 “Jesus Is My Lord!”   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   The Creed faithfully gives the biblical facts. All the historical events of Jesus’ life, from “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” to “from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead,” come straight from the Bib...

April 22, 2026 Today's Reading: Luke 7:36-50 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:29-35:21 ; Exodus 35:22-38:20 ; Luke 7:36-50 “He who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Pharisee Simon has invited Jesus to his house for a dinner party. Jesus is perhaps even the honored guest.   Usually, in the ancient East, as a guest arrived, he would be given water to wash his...

April 21, 2026 Today's Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-25 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 34:1-28 ; Luke 7:18-35 “...leaving you an example…” (1 Peter 2:21b)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.   Peter preaches Jesus in two ways. The first and foremost way is that Jesus, “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” is the SALVIFIC GIFT for you. You were like “straying sheep,” as Peter quotes Isaiah 54, but Good Shepherd...

April 20, 2026 Today's Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 33:1-23 ; Luke 7:1-17 “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.”  (Ezekiel 34:15a)   In the Name of Jesus.   Shepherds. Israel’s history is full of them: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When Jacob moved his family to Egypt, they were segregated to Goshen because Hebrew shepherds were considered an abomination to the Egyptians (...

April 19, 2026 Today's Reading: John 10:11-16 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:15-35 ; Luke 6:39-49 “I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11a)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep depend on a shepherd who will lead, provide, and protect. Otherwise, sheep wander, get lost, and in their lostness can be easy prey for the wolves. Isaiah says: “all we like sheep have gone astray; we hav...

April 18, 2026 Today's Reading: Introit for Easter 3 - Psalm 33:1 , 18-20 ; antiphon: Psalm 33:5b , 6a Daily Lectionary: Exodus 32:1-14 ; Luke 6:20-38 “Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,” (Psalm 33:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! “Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the...

April 17, 2026 Today's Reading: Luke 6:1-19 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 31:1-18 ; Luke 6:1-19 “And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’” (Luke 6:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus takes them to task. The scribes and the Pharisees throw the Law in His face; they try to catch the One whom the very words concern that th...

April 16, 2026 Today's Reading: Catechism: Creed First Article Daily Lectionary: Exodus 25:1-22; Exodus 25:23-30:38 ; Luke 5:17-39 “All this He does only out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.” (Luther’s Explanation of the First Article of the Apostles Creed) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God does all of it. ALL OF IT. Only out of fatherly divine goodness...

April 15, 2026 Today's Reading: Exodus 24:1-18 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18; Luke 5:1-16 “And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’” (Exodus 24:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why talk about the blood of the covenant during Easter? That’s how the people of Israel could ap...

April 14, 2026 Today's Reading: 1 John 5:4-10 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33 ; Luke 4:31-44 “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” (1 John 5:7-8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What testimony is this that John writes? What testimony are the three, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, in agreement? This is not concerning manifesting fai...

April 13, 2026 Today's Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 22:20-23:13 ; Luke 4:16-30 “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  We cannot imagine the horror Ezekiel felt in the valley of dry bones. God dropped Ezekiel there in that valley of despair, well past being clean am...

Today's Reading: John 20:19-31 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 20:1-24 ; Luke 4:1-15 “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The eleven have seen the Lord. Thomas doubted, witnessed, confessed, and believed. Peace be with you, the disciples are ordained into m...

Today's Reading: Introit for Easter 2 - Psalm 81:1, 7a , 10 , 16b ; antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2a Daily Lectionary: Exodus 19:1-25 ; Hebrews 13:1-21 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourin...

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 or 1 Corinthians 15:51-57 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 18:5-27 ; Hebrews 12:1-24 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Behold! Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Paul tells of a...

Today's Reading: Job 19:23-27 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 17:1-16 ; Hebrews 11:1-29 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Job endured the cross God had laid on him. That sure didn’t seem fair. Yet Job is not without hope; he knows that God has not abandoned him. Job had everything taken away from him. Lives of his...

Today's Reading: John 21:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 16:13-35 ; Hebrews 10:19-39 “That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.” (John 21:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They went fishing; it was Peter’s idea. There were seven of the...

Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-49 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:19-16:12 ; Hebrews 10:1-18 “As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’”  (Luke 24:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See Jesus. When your anxieties and doubts fill your mind. When you feel your best isn’t good enough, or you’re at your worst. When you know you’ve said hurtful t...

Today's Reading: Luke 24:13-35 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:1-18 ; Hebrews 9:1-28 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One can only imagine the smile Jesus might have hidden from the two men on the Emmaus road as He asked them “what things” had occurred in Jerusalem. Th...

Today's Reading: Mark 16:1-8 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 14:10-31 ; Hebrews 7:23-8:13 “And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sabbath was past, and it was time to do everything as it should be according to their customs. The women bought spic...

Today's Reading: Matthew 27:57-66 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 13:17-14:9 ; Hebrews 7:1-22 " The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ”After three days I will rise.” Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and...

Today's Reading: John 18:1-19:42 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:29-32; 13:1-16 ; Lamentations 5:1-22 ; Hebrews 6:1-20 ; Psalm 22 “Jesus answered, ’My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’” (John 18:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is a remarkable d...