Sixth Sunday of Easter

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 Liberty Bells are beginning to pop up throughout the Commonwealth, and I am sure around the nation, as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the 4th of July 1776.  These are a few words from that epic document.                                                                           The…

Reading — Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 We begin again.  Today is the First Sunday of Advent.  Today is the first Sunday of our New Year.  In a conversation recorded by St. Matthew, Jesus took the disciples back to the time of Noah and the Ark.  He encouraged them to be awake,…

Readings: Exodus 20: 1-17; Psalm 19; I Corinthians 1: 18-25; John 2: 13-22 During the Sundays in Lent, we have been reciting the Ten Commandments in an abbreviated form.  They appear twice in the Old Testament, Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.  In each setting the most expansive commandment is number four. Remember the Sabbath day,…

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 – I Samuel 8: 4-20, 11: 14-15; Psalm 138; II Corinthians 4: 13-5:1; Mark 3: 20-35 Last week we learned of Eli, priest of the temple in Shechem, whose sons had abandoned faithful living.  This week we learn of his successor, Samuel, as the text states, “your sons do not follow in your ways”. …

Readings- Amos 7: 7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1: 1-14; Luke 10: 25-37 How do we measure up?  Amos envisioned God “setting a plumb line in the midst of [the] people Israel”.  Do you want to live life to the fullest?  Jesus answered that question for an attorney of his own day, and he answers it…