The Gospel for the 7th Sunday after Epiphany (Luke 6:27-38) continues Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain.” It is the parallel to the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew but the two are different in content as well as in location. The one thing they have pretty much in common is that while a crowd, a multitude […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 6th Sunday after Epiphany, Luke 6:17-26
The Gospel text for the 6th Sunday after Epiphany (Luke 6:17-26) is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The heart of it is the “Beatitudes,” the seemingly winsome but then difficult and paradoxical declarations by Jesus of what makes a person “blessed” or, in some translations, “happy.” Matthew’s version is much more prominent in […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 5th Sunday after Epiphany, Luke 5:1-11
On the 5th Sunday after Epiphany, the lectionary skips forward to a new chapter. Maybe they were aiming to keep Jesus from a tiny bit of embarrassment: Luke 4:31-44 recorded the wonders Jesus did in Capernaum, which back in 4:23 he seemed to say were already in the past. Luke 5:1-11 records the calling of […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 4th Sunday after Epiphany, Luke 4:21-30
I told you last week that the lectionary gave us only half of a story: Jesus came to his hometown synagogue and proclaimed himself the Messiah. Everyone seemed happy about it. This week (the 4th Sunday after Epiphany) we get to see the the rest of the story, in which the mob tries to throw […]
Letters to a Young Pastor: Gregory of Nazianzus and the Nature of Ministry
Dear ______: I don’t usually write to two days in a row. Basically I never write you except on Thursdays. But I decided to make an exception today. In the East today is the commemoration of one of my favorite saints, Gregory of Nazianzus. I thought it would be a good idea to recommend him […]
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