Sunday of the Resurrection: Old Testament, Isaiah 25:6-9 Isaiah 25:6-9 The title above seems almost trivial. It’s not that some of the things for which we wait are not significant. They may be. And it’s not that some of us haven’t waited for large...
Sunday of the Passion: Gospel, John 12:20-43 John 12:20-43 It was great to be seated across the table from a very dear sister in Christ. In the past few years she has seen her beloved husband claimed by the effects of a severe stroke, she...
Sunday of the Passion: Epistle, Philippians 2:5-11 Philippians 2:5-11 All of the Bible is important to read, to ponder and to make concerted efforts to understand as best as we’re able. The epistle lesson attached to the Sunday of the Passion, of course...
Sunday of the Passion: Old Testament, Zechariah 9:9-12 Zechariah 9:9-12 The human heroes of the Bible are nearly always showcased in unheroic ways. And all of them are sinners so that even at their best they are immensely flawed. But the hero of the Scriptures, our...
Fifth Sunday in Lent: Gospel, Mark 10:35-45 Mark 10:35-45 So much conveyed in this narrative. A “pregnant passage” without question. James and John, some of the founding members of the...
Lent 5: Epistle, Hebrews 5:1-10 Hebrews 5:1-10 We use it as a figure of speech denoting when someone finds their niche or even “gets in the groove.” To “come into his or her own” means that the...
Lent 5: Old Testament, Jeremiah 31:31-34 Jeremiah 31:31-34 “We are saved by a relationship with One who is God.” So spoke my dear professor and mentor, Dr. John G. Mitchell at Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. I graduated in 1986 so as you can...
Lent 4: Gospel, John 3:14-21 John 3:14-21 Nicodemus, the “teacher of Israel” comes to our Lord at night. Darkness is a good blanket. Paul, later in the New Testament even reminds us that folks...
Lent 4: Epistle, Ephesians 2:1-10 Ephesians 2:1-10 This coming Sunday’s epistle lesson includes verses among the most quoted by Christians, and always lovingly by Lutherans, in particular. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith...
Lent 4: Old Testament, Numbers 21:4-9 Numbers 21:4-9 “But you promised.” I wonder how often those words have been spoken in human history. They are spoken with disappointment and sometimes even in anger when a promise made is not kept. Think of...
