Reflections

Today's Reading:   Isaiah 52:7-10 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 55:1-13 ; Luke 1:1-25 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem,for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. (Isaiah 52:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the saints of God our Father!  The hymns’ of Christmas are still coming from the lips of His saints. ...

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-18 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 52:13-54:10 ; Matthew 2:13-23 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A bles...

Today's Reading: John 21:19-24 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 51:17-52:12 ; Matthew 2:1-12 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  “Just give me the truth!”  It is a common thought that resonates to many people today.  We all want to know the truth.  We all want t...

Today's Reading: Acts 6:8-7:2, 51-60 Daily Lectionary : Isaiah 49:22-26; 50:4-51:8, 12-16 ; Matthew 1:18-25   And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to everyone!  The 26th of December gives us a little reprieve during a...

Today's Reading: Luke 2:1-20 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 49:1-18 ; Matthew 1:1-17 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn .   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At just the right time, Jesus was born.  At just the right time, God sent His son to be born of a woman.  At just the right time God sent...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 44:21-45:13, 20-25 ; Revelation 12:1-17   “ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Advent is over. The preparation for the coming of our Messiah is complete.  In the Divine Service we shift our hymnody from Advent to C...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:25-44:20 ; Revelation 11:1-19 I, I am he, the one blotting out your rebellions for mine own sake, and your sins I will not remember. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Blotting out rebellions?  What?  It’s almost Christmas Eve. That little Advent calendar almost has Jesus nestled in the manger. Blotting out rebellions?  We know how the game works this close to Christmas, why...

Today's Reading: Table of Duties: To Subjects Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 43:1-24 ; Revelation 9:13-10:11 “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for any honest work” (Tit. 3:1). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the explanation of the 4th Commandment, we’ve learned what it means to honor.  To honor is to hold them in high esteem, to show dignity that God h...

Today's Reading: John 20:24-29 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 42:1-25 ; Revelation 9:1-12 “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The title of the reflection says it all: St. Thomas, Apostle.  That’s how we should remember Thomas.  But we’ve loved...

Today's Reading: Romans 1:1-7 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:18-41:10 ; Revelation 8:1-13 Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3b). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  God became a man, meaning that all that was common to fallen men was what Jesus understood, knew, lived, and bore with.  Jesus cried, felt pain, knew ridicule and being made fun of. He...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 7:10-17 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 40:1-17 ; Revelation 7:1-17 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz:“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. (Isaiah 7:10-12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Throughout the Holy Scriptures, with few exceptions, there are two voices.  The consisten...

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...