Reflections

Today's Reading: Luke 14:12-24 Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25 And the master said to the servant, "Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled." (Luke 14:23) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus finds Himself at another banquet. Early on, people loved to invite Him to these kinds of things, that is, until He garnered for Himself a certai...

Today's Reading:   Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 30a, 49; antiphon: v.18b-19) Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25  [O Lord,] I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity)  In the Name + of Jesus....

Today's Reading:   Luke 1:57-80 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:1-18  "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins." (Luke 1:76-77)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Zechariah's tongue is finally loose. Nine months of silence. Nine month...

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; John 20:1-18  Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him,  "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). (John 20:15-16)  In the Name +...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism:  Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 3 Daily Lectionary:   Proverbs 25:1-22; John 19:23-42  That I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. ( Small Catechism:  Apostles' Creed, Second Arti...

Today's Reading: 1 John 3:13-18 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22; John 19:1-22  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John is writing to the churches in Macedonia, which is modern-day Turkey. He had spent the greater part of his ministry up near Ephesus, preaching and teaching the Gospel of a crucified Christ. It...

Today's Reading:   Genesis 15:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-20  And [the Lord God] brought [Abram] outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Andhe believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Abraham is a 75...

Today's Reading: Luke 16:19-31 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14  He said to him, "If they do not hearMoses and the Prophets,neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." (Luke 16:31)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The two men in our text couldn't be any different. One feasted sumptuously. He had more than he ever needed, more than enough to support this body...

Today's Reading:   Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity  (Psalm 13:1-4; antiphon: v.5-6) Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; John 17:1-26 Consider and answer me! (Psalm 13:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Desperation, abandonment, hopelessness and sorrow, enemies exalting themselves over me. Are there any words in this psalm that we have not spoken or thought?  Yet the psalm gets real Hebrew...

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28; John 16:17-33 A little while . . . (John 16:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How long is a little while? The disciples wanted to know. Are we talking 15 minutes, 15 days, or 15 years?  God's been talking like this since the Old Testament. "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor; it's time to thresh her; yet a little while and the time of her harvest...

Today's Reading:   Romans 11:33-36 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16 Who has known . . . Who has counseled . . . Who has given? (Romans 11:34-35) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul wonders who has known the mind of the Lord (Romans 11:34). The answer, because of sin, is none of us. "You have not in mind the things of God but the things of men," Jesus says to Peter (Matthew 16:23). P...

Today's Reading:   Small Catechism:  Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 2 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27 I believe that Jesus Christ has become my Lord. ( Small Catechism:  Apostles' Creed, Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus has become my Lord: It's not what the English versions of our catechisms say, but it is a good translation. Christ Jesus has become my Lo...

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 14:1-27; John 15:1-11 " Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5b) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elisha, son of Shaphat of the tribe of Issachar, was the prophet of God to the Northern Kingdom of Israel around 849–786 BC. Elisha assumed the prophetic office after his predecessor and teacher Elija...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25; John 14:18-31 Woe IS me! (Isaiah 6:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You've heard it before, you've said it before . . . woe is me! Thanks be to God that the prophet Isaiah gives us a fuller understanding of that phrase: "I AM woe. It's what I've known and all it seems that I'll ever know." Isaiah had witnessed something unbelievable...

Today's Reading: John 3:1-17 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23; John 14:1-17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Back in the day, I was told that in order to know something you must sometimes understand what that thing is not. John does just that  in our reading for toda...

Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18; John 13:21-28 So they (the apostles) went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:12-13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Barnabas, which means "the son of encouragement," was a contemporary of Paul's and was originally from Cyprus. Thro...

Today's Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:22-36; John 13:1-20 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Tower of Babel has it all! Hardworking people trying to build a tower to God, and God's saying that now "nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them" (Genesis 11:6). God's confoundin...

Today's Reading: Acts 2:1-21 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50 And they were bewildered. (Acts 2:6) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Bewilderment . . . what a fun word! Just rolls off the tongue. But if you've ever lived a day of life here on earth, you know that  bewilderment in reality isn't much fun at all. To be bewildered, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , simply means...

Today's Reading:   Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Second Article part 1 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 5:1-23; John 12:20-36a I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. ( Small Catechism:  Second Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Jesus has become my Lord." That means that there was a time when Jesus was...

Today's Reading:   John 10:1-10 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 4:1-27; John 12:1-19 " The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3b) " He does all things well!" (Mark 7:37) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A wise man I know once rejected the idea that we are sheep. "Sheep are dumb animals," he said. "I just can't stand the idea that God would talk about us...

Today's Reading: John 3:16-20 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 3:5-24; John 11:38-57 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17) In the Name of Jesus + Amen. Ours is a dog-eat-dog world. Selfishness, greed, lust, envy, and strife pervade our world and our own lives. It's every man, woman, and child for himself. Who...

Today's Reading: John 14:23-31 Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 1:8-33; John 11:17-37 " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:26) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We all need a little help in life, with changing a flat tire, or that pesky calculus homework, but when it comes to...

Today's Reading: John 14:15-21 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19  "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." (John 14:21) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you love Jesus? It seems like a silly question to ask a Christian, and yet it was just asked of you. H...

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44  So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. (Luke 20:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have to hand it to the scribes and the chief priests for staying true to themselves. They pretend to be sincere whe...

Today's Reading:   Small Catechism:  Apostle's Creed, First Article part 3 Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18  All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. ( Small Catechism:  Apostle's Creed, First Article) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When you read the Explanation to the First Article, it's amazing how much God does fo...