RCL: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-12, 21c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39 Isaiah 40:21-31 I have spent many days and nights in the wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota and the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. The modes of travel are either paddling or walking, often leading to weariness and faint…

RCL: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Epiphanytide is a meditation on God’s announcing and disclosing of himself in the varying activities of Jesus’ life. The Mysteries the Church explores on these Sundays following the feast (the visit of the Magi, Jesus’ Baptism, the Transfiguration, the Wedding at Cana, etc.)…

RCL: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:6-14; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 The shortest prophecy of the Bible and the most effective. One sentence and the whole great city repents! We see in this text that Jonah does not want to do this, and he puts in the barest minimum effort to honor…

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” For a community that feels that the inspiration of God is absent, this interaction between God and Samuel is ever more extraordinary. Imagine a time when the divine presence was hard to find. Now imagine the gift…

RCL: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11 Genesis 1:1-5 This is the beginning of the priestly (or “P”) creation story, written by the priestly class of Israelites during the exile in Babylon. The priests wrote of a God so powerful that he could bring the world into existence simply by speaking. Such a…