We are winding down the church year. Next Sunday, the feast of Christ the King, is the last Sunday in our liturgical year. After that, we begin again with Advent. As is usual for this time of year, the readings for this Sunday are about the end-times. All three of the readings for today use…

Today’s text from the Hebrew Scripture is appointed for use from the Common Lectionary used by many ecumenical partners and offered for optional use in the Episcopal Church. Most readings are the same as those noted in the Prayer Book lectionary. From time to time an alternative text is suggested in order to include texts…

And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. There is a biography in print of a notorious crime figure who had been kidnapped and hidden from his family for months. After notifying his son of the time…

Oh, how we want to be important! How badly, how desperately, we want to be favored, to be loved, to be special. How much we want Mom or Dad to love us best (some of you will remember the old Smothers Brothers routines where Tommy says, “Mom always loved you best!”). Clearly, the disciples were…

Being a prophet has never been an easy job, but Amos had some particular challenges. As a shepherd he lacked the automatic authority and credibility a man of more education, property, and social standing might have expected from his fellow citizens. He also lived in a time of prosperity and a strong sense of well-being….

“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” says Adam in today’s reading from Genesis. He immediately recognizes his deep connection to the new human being standing before him, a connection that God has woven deeply into the fabric of their lives. For us in the West today, it’s very…

Today let’s consider some of the hard sayings of Jesus, and where their real challenge lies. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Ask a hundred people to identify their favorite Bible passage and it’s likely not one of them will mention these verses we have just heard from the…