The book of Micah is a resounding call for justice.  In the reading for this Sunday we have perhaps the most often quoted verse from Micah, “what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8b).  For Micah these three tasks are the foundation of a faithful life.   Pairing the Micah reading with the Beatitudes in Matthew challenges us to see that Jesus list of nine blessings is not some ethereal spiritual mumb

Isaiah 9:1-4 ~ Psalm 27:1, 4-9 ~ 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 ~ Matthew 4:12-23 Read online Galilee is the northern part of the Holy Land that surrounds the Sea of Galilee.  One might call this the “flyover” area of ancient Israel.  There were not large prominent towns and the residents were considered simple by the residents of the south where the power rested.  In ancient times this region had been conquered by the Assyrians and exploited for its resources and people.  Now it is c

This Sunday January 11th Isaiah 42:1-9 ~ Psalm 29 ~ Acts 10:34-43 ~ Matthew 3:13-17 Read online The story of Jesus’ baptism is quite brief. It’s what happens right after his baptism that we often focus on. The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and a voice from heaven says “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In the context of the Gospel, this event serves as evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, and validation for all that he is going to do.  The Questio

Isaiah 7:10-16 ~ Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 ~ Romans 1:1-7 ~ Matthew 1:18-25 Read online In Matthew’s remembering of the Annunciation, the angel tells Joseph rather than Mary.  Which is nice, because Joseph really does have a bit part in the whole nativity story.  He doesn’t get a speaking part, but at least he’s center stage for a moment. But vs. 19 in this story has always bothered me, “Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divor

2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 11:1-10 ~ Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 ~ Romans 15:4-13 ~ Matthew 3:1-12 Read online This Advent, our Old Testament readings all come from Isaiah.  In the first verse of this week’s reading, the writer references Jesse.  Jesse is the father of King David ( 1 Samuel 16:1-13 ).  To make a long story short, David becomes the idealized king that ancient Israel longs for (oh for the good old days).  But that line of kings is ended; Jesse’s linage is a stump.  No

This Sunday - November 30th 1st Sunday of Advent Isaiah 2:1-5 ~ Psalm 122 ~ Romans 13:11-14 ~ Matthew 24:36-44 Read online In the 1960’s people were urged to turn on, tune in, and drop out—to leave the material world behind in favor of an alternate reality. In today’s gospel, Jesus also urges us to tune into an alternative to the material world, one he called the coming of the Son of Man. In Jesus’ person, the dominion of God comes into the world, and the risen Christ continu

Jeremiah 23:1-6 ~ Psalm 46 ~ Colossians 1:11-20 ~ Luke 23:33-43 Read online The last Sunday of the Church year is known as Reign of Christ. It used to be called “Christ the King Sunday”. As a kid, I remember this Sunday being  big :  big  choir anthems about Jesus being the king of everything (of course with trumpets),  big  hymns that sang of Jesus ruling over everything (Like  Rejoice the Lord is King ),  and  big  sermons that extolled Jesus Christ as triumphant. In my min

This Sunday - November 16th 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Malachi 4:1-2a ~ Psalm 98 ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 ~ Luke 21:5-19 Read online As we near the end of the Church Year (it starts over with Advent on November 30) the readings turn to thinking about the end. Last week the shift to 2nd Thessalonians began the trend and it continues with the readings today.  I often hear people talk about “the end” with fear and foreboding. But that has more to do with how it has been present

22nd Sunday after Pentecost Job 19:23-27a ~ Psalm 17:1-9 ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 ~ Luke 20:27-38 Read online A little bit of instruction on how our readings are arranged. The Old Testament reading is always (almost always) ment to connect to the Gospel reading. The second reading sometimes relates (but not always during the Season after Pentecost). That means we can use the Old Testament reading to get a clue about the Gospel reading.  This week the Old Testament readi

This Sunday - November 2nd All Saints Sunday  Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 ~ Psalm 149 ~ Ephesians 1:11-23 ~ Luke 6:20-31 Read online Tell me what the T-shirt says.  Now flip your screen upside down and tell me what it says.  The image is based upon a concept that Martin Luther promoted: that we are all saints and sinners at the same time.  Often these two (sinner and saint) are thought of as opposites: saints are Super-christians that are better than everyone else and sinners are not

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 Psalm 84:1-7 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18: 9-14 As a youth, I remember being told "when you point a finger at someone, three fingers point back at you." Honestly, I always thought that was kind of a ridiculous saying and to my knowledge have never used it . . . till now.  Part of my hesitancy in using it is that as soon as the words are spoken, a finger is being pointed by the one who speaks them.  It's surprising how often we become or do the very thi

This Sunday - October 19th 19th Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 32:22-31 ~ Psalm 121 ~ 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 ~ Luke 18:1-8 Read online There's an old saying, "Let go and let God."  While the goal is to encourage trust in God to act, it's not really a biblical phrase.  Instead of encouraging trust, it might lead to just giving up. Both the reading from Genesis and Luke present a very different perspective.  If it was rendered down to a pithy saying, they might say "Hold on and wre

Have you ever wondered how mouth-to mouth resuscitation works? Once we breathe in and use up the oxygen for our own use, what’s left for...