Sixth Sunday of Easter

Readings – Joshua 5: 9-12; Psalm 32; II Corinthians 5: 16-21; Luke 15: 1-3,11b-32 As you may know, I am the eldest of five children, Bruce, Jay, Ann and Sui.  I have an affinity for the eldest son in our Gospel reading of today.  The usual tactic is to focus on the embracing, outstretched arms…

Readings – Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-9; I Thessalonians 3: 9-13; Luke 21: 25-36 Last night was New Year’s Eve!  That’s right.  Today is the first day of the Church Year.  Hope the fireworks didn’t keep you up too late, and the parties were not too loud!  Seriously, the First Day of Advent does…

Readings – Proverbs 31: 10-31; Psalm 1; James 3: 13-4: 3, 7-8a; Mark 9: 30-37 Sometimes it seems we are in a world full of anxiety.  Our television and screens are flooded with programs and political ads that build on our anxiety.  For example, attending a high school homecoming dance in Central Pennsylvania.  The boy…

Readings – Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 The God we know through Jesus Christ is a strange God.  Let me explain. Ruth was a Moabite, a descendant of Lot.  She was a foreigner as described by Judaism (Genesis 19).  Boaz was a descendant of Abraham and Sarah, but a descendant of…

Readings – Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Psalm 125; James 2: 1-17; Mark 7: 24-37 Last Sunday we learned of Jesus breaking down barriers between the multistep ritual of hand washing before eating and the everyday necessity of common life.  Jesus spoke about how it was not what enters the month but how we engage…

Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Canticle 16; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 !What they did to Jesus!  This is what the religious establishment did.  They wanted him gone.  He not only addressed people in synagogues; he conversed with people as he travelled with that motley group of disciples; he spoke to gatherings on hillsides, at banquets where tax…