12202020 – Luke 1. 26-38 Advent 4B This is all about setting the stage, as it were. Reminding us of the proper context…to read and to understand this passage. To begin with, we are talking about the Gospel according to Luke, also written anonymously…like those that have preceded it. Luke is the third gospel […]
12162020 – John 1. 6-8, 19-28 Advent IIIB The message of John was so SIMPLISTIC, so unpretentious…and IT IS one – many of us could heed…or at very least, acknowledge…and listen to… What John is saying to those who come to “question HIS authority…” They question his right to speak PUBLICLY… […]
12122020 – John 1. 6-8, 19-28 Advent 3B WOW! If ever there were a text for the year 2020 this would be it! You know you flip on the news…and it really truly is the same old, same old. Nothing good to speak of…although sometimes they DO find something positive to report…no matter how […]
Mark 1.1-8 Advent II For the next two weeks, John the Baptizer jumps up and grabs the center of “the Mediterranean stage.” With MEGAPHONE in hand – he readies himself to speak. Do I press this little button here? How do I hold it? Does this megaphone make me look fat? Does my voice sound […]
12052020 – Mark 1. 1-8 Advent 2B There are numerous reasons for my love of “this particular gospel.” Remember the word GOSPEL, means “Good News.” The WORLD of the writer of the first gospel account has SOME similarities to that of our own. These ARE NOT THE BEST OF TIMES…as you well know…and certainly […]
12022020 – Keepers of the Door Remember back in the day before Covid-19? Can you remember back that far? Well, back in the day, when you came to worship…you were usually greeted by someone who would actually reach out and take your hand. Yep, back in the day, people used to shake hands. […]
11/29/2020 Mark 13. 24-37 When did Christmas become synonymous with SPENDING? BE watchful for the BEST DEALS on flat-screen televisions, for they will surely “come and go” and will “be like a thief in the night.” THEREFORE: Keep awake! And the peace and the heavenly aroma of “a peppermint mocha from Starbucks” will be with […]
11252020 – Luke 17.11-19 I am guilty. I am pretty sure, we ALL are. I can be thankful. I can be FILLED with gratitude. But I can also COME OFF as being THANKLESS, sometimes. One might think that I am altogether DEVOID of a thankful spirit…DEVOID of any and all gratitude whatsoever… […]
112120 – Matthew 25. 31-46 Matthew’s gospel make it sounds so easy. And I am here to tell you, life is NOT so simple. Life is “pretty” complex. Heck, sometimes, “life” just seems hard and difficult. But the Gospel of Matthew makes it sound VERY “black and white.” Kind of easy-peasy. I DO […]
11182020 – Matthew 25. 14-30 In the first century, a TALENT was the LARGEST unit of currency AVAILABLE at the time. For us, it is the 100 dollar bill. Yep, a “talent was money.” A whole lot of money. Cool, hard cash! Some scholars guess or try to speculate that a talent would have […]