Sundays Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 ALL ARE SENT Fifty days after Easter Sunday we celebrate the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the feast of Pentecost, a feast that has sometimes been called the birthday of the church. One last time we are reminded that…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20 MISSION STATEMENT Today we celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven and his commissioning of the disciples to carry on his mission in the world. First we hear Luke’s description of those events in the opening verses of the Acts of the Apostles. Next we hear…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17 LOVE ONE ANOTHER In the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter we are met with an extraordinary challenge: Jesus commands us to “love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). The letter from John echoes this command. Of course,…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 4:8-12; Psalms 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18 SAVED BY THE ONE WHO WAS REJECTEDSome city teenagers often scorn and reject farm kids. Yet it’s no exaggeration to say that humanity owes its life to farmers who care for the world’s crops and livestock. This week’s scriptures remind…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Psalms 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9; John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48 BELIEVING IN JESUS CHRIST Throughout the Easter season, all three of the Sunday readings are taken from the New Testament—the Christian scriptures. Together they explore what it means to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the One who fulfilled the prophecies of…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31 SO THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE It is not often that the author of one of the books of the Bible comes right out and tells us directly why he is writing what he is writing. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, taken from the…
Sunday’s Readings: Acts 10:34, 37-43; Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Corinthians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9 PROCLAIM THE RISEN CHRIST On Easter morning everything—the spring weather, the flowers, birds and butterflies, the people around us in their finery, the beautiful liturgy and music—everything seems to bear witness that Jesus Christ is risen today! Like the eye-witness accounts in today’s…
Sunday’s Readings: John 12:12-16; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 15:1-39 PASSION The contrast between the processional reading in today’s liturgy and the proclamation of the Passion is striking. We are given a glimpse of how profoundly the word of God is fulfilled in Jesus. First he must be hailed as the…