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, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, John 2:1-11
This is the first time since I started writing these “Monday Meditations” that the Gospel text is something I’ve previously published on — like not on my own website, but in an actual book. John 2:1-11 Back in 2015 I had the privilege of writing the “Theological Perspective” essay on John 2:1-12 for Feasting on […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 1st Sunday after Christmas, Luke 2:41-52
My oh my, do little kids change fast. This Sunday Jesus is twelve years old. It seems like only a week ago he was a babe in Mary’s arms. Wait a minute. That really was just a week ago. The lectionary has jumped ahead a bit. There are a couple other passages concerning Christ’s infancy […]