Reflections

Today's Reading: Matthew 1:18-2 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10 ; Revelation 6:1-17 She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Mt. 1:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Names mean a whole lot. Your mother and father chose yours for a reason. Maybe it was a relative's name, maybe your name was found on an internet search for neat, con...

Today's Reading  Introit: Psalm 130:5–8 ; antiphon: Isaiah 64:1 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 33:1-24 ; Revelation 5:1-14 Shower O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout. I, Yahweh, am creating it. ( Isaiah 45:8 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  There was a day, a long t...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20 ; Revelation 4:1-11 “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” ( Revelation 4:8 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. So which is it?  Was, Is, or Is to come?  It’s the 16th of December 2022, a Friday, one more day of School before the weekend, perhaps you have a date tonight, or tomorrow?  Perhaps there are preparations you’re making fo...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:27-31:9 ; Revelation 3:1-22 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ( Revelation 3:19 ) Advent is about wrath and mercy, repentance, and faith so St. John reveals in the book of Revelation… sort of puts things into perspective as we make preparation for the nativity of our Lord.   Advent prepares us and makes us ready; not in the sense of...

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: Civil Government Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 30:15-26 ; Revelation 2:1-29 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For he does not b...

Today's Reading: James 5:7-11 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:15-30:14 ; Revelation 1:1-20 … behold, the Judge is standing at the door. ( James 5:9b ) In the name of Jesus, amen. Yikes!!!  This text sounds a little too scary for Advent; but here we are 12 days from Christmas; maybe we “aughta” temper the strong judgey language… Nah…. Instead, let's dig in a little deeper as to who the judge is and at...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:1-14 ; Jude 1-25 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ( Isaiah 35:10 ESV ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah the prophet writes of the desert; a wasteland, dry and barren with burnin...

Today's Reading: Matthew 11:2-15 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 28:14-29 ; 1 John 5:1-21 Go and tell John what you hear and see… ( Matthew 11:4 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptizer was done for, imprisoned for rightly calling out Herod Antipas for His marriage to Herodias. John the Baptizer had a good run… I guess that’s one way to look at it. Yet Jesus, true God and fully man, knew both th...

Today's Reading : Introit: Psalm 71:14–18; antiphon : Philippians 4:4 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 26:20-27:13 ; 1 John 4:1-21 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (Introit for Advent 3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Back in my seminary days, there was a sainted professor who, upon entering the classroom, would ask, “Ar...

Daily Lectionary : Isaiah 26:1-19 ; 1 John 3:1-24 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” ( 1 John 3:1 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What’s in a name? It identifies you. It tells you where you came from and to whom you belong. My last name harkens back to my Italian heritage. But my last name doesn’t define who I am, though I d...

Today's Reading: Romans 15:4-13 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14-25:12 ; 1 John 2:15-29 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” ( Romans 15:4 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul wrote 13 letters in the New Testament, directed mainly to churches. One such letter w...

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To Hearers Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:1-13 ; 1 John 1:1-2:14 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” - Hebrews 13:17 Table of Duties: What the Hearers Owe Their Pastors You know the Third Commandm...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 14:1-23 ; 2 Peter 3:1-18 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Lean your ear this way!” What we know as a fun and light Christmas song has some truth behind it. Saint Nicholas was an early Christian bishop in the city of Myra. Nicholas is considered by some traditions the patron saint of numerous types of people, including children. This gave way to a re...

Today's Reading:   Isaiah 11:1-10 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6 ; 2 Peter 2:1-22 “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” ( Isaiah 11:3b-4a ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As we prepare for the Nativity of Jesus, as we prepare for the celebration of our...

Today's Reading: Matthew 3:1-12 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 10:12-27, 33-34 ; 2 Peter 1:1-21 “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” ( Matthew 3:3 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On the Second Sunday in Advent, we meet an Old Testament carryover in John the Baptist. John’...

Today's Reading: Introit: Psalm 105:4–8; antiphon : Isaiah 40:3b Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11 ; 1 Peter 5:1-14 “Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered… He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.” (Psalm 105 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I promise. Have you ever said those words before? Did you...

Today's Reading:   Romans 13:8-14 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 8:9-9:7 ; 1 Peter 4:1-19 “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” ( Romans 13:11 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul gives a great summary of the Second Table of the Law and how one loves their neighbor. This isn’t the ea...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism, Table of Duties: To Bishops, Pastors, Preachers Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 7:10-8:8 ; 1 Peter 3:1-22 “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” - Titus 1:9 (Table of Duties: To Bishops, Pastors, Preachers) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you know why your...

Today's Reading: John 1:35-42a Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9 ; 1 Peter 2:13-25 “[Andrew] first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).” ( John 1:41 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John has an early encounter with two of his disciples and Jesus. John confesses, not only to the disciples but to all, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” With such a grea...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 5:1-25 ; 1 Peter 2:1-12 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” ( Isaiah 5:20 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you know the difference between good and evil? What’s the definition of good? What’s the definition of evil? Who decided what is good and what is evil? Tho...

Today's Reading : Isaiah 2:1-5   Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 2:1-22 ; 1 Peter 1:13-25 “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” ( Isaiah 2:3 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s that time of the year, the Church Year, that is. It’s that time to reflect upon the Advent, the coming of our Lord Jes...

Today's Reading: Matthew 23:36-4 ; Introit Psalm 118:25–28; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9b Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 1:1-28 ; 1 Peter 1:1-12 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” ( Matthew 24:36 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s the beginning of Advent, the preparatory season before Christmas. We know that Christmas is all abo...

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 6:1-28 ; Revelation 22:1-21 “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” ( Psalm 25:4–5 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The church year ends, and the church year begins anew. One day is in the last week of the church year and the next is in the first week...

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 5:1-30 ; Revelation 21:9-27 “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” ( Revelation 21:27 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just when the description of the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven gets really good, you learn that there is a catch. The only people allowed...

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 4:1-37 ; Revelation 21:1-8 “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does where you live have anything to do with who you are? For a lot of people, it does. They are proud citizens of whatever town, city, or state they live in; it is part of the...