“Baptism As Beginning” (A07: First Sunday After the Epiphany)
Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 Fox reflects on both his own baptism and that of Jesus. “After my river baptism,” says Fox, “it would be another thirty years before I learned what...
“Touching Jesus” (A06: Second Sunday After Christmas)
Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12; Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-18 Treadway focuses on the passage in John about the “Word becoming flesh,” and he asks what the implications...
“Herod Strikes Back” (A05: First Sunday After Christmas Day)
Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23 Naeve tackles one of the more difficult passages in Christian scriptures: the murder of children. “Evil doesn’t stop just because of Christmas,” says Naeve. “But God doesn’t...
“The Baby Named ‘Save'” (A04: Fourth Sunday of Advent)
Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 “In the ancient world,” says Pearce Reed, “names were serious business. Jesus was born into a tradition in which the giving of a name has profound...
“The King’s Hospitality” (C52: Proper 29)
Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Luke 1:68-79; Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Kirby examines the meanings of “royalty” and then asks, “What does it mean to call Jesus a king when he...