Christmas 2
Jeremiah 31:7-14 This thoroughly optimistic text is a reminder to us that the concept “salvation” in much of the Older Testament is primarily corporate and this-worldly and in most of the Newer Testament is primarily individualistic and is often otherworldly. By accepting both the Older and the Newer as its biblical canon, the early Church [...]
Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle B
We have a responsibility in our ministry to observe and to preserve the festival of the Epiphany in some way each year, not only on the years in which January 6 happens to be a Sunday. The Sundays after the Epiphany will not have much special meaning unless we observe Epiphany itself in some way that will bring it to the attention of the members of the congregation. If we do not have a worship service within our usual setting, perhaps we could gather a group of young people — or people of all ages — and go Epiphany caroling to members of the congregation and community who are older, are shut-in, or otherwise are special in some way. This activity would also be a reminder to us that a substantial portion of the Church, i.e., the Eastern Orthodox tradition, observes January 6 as the Festival of the birth of the Christ. A carol singing would also highlight the beautiful Epiphany hymns on the Day of Epiphany.
Baptism of the Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1, Cycle B
With these texts we return to the Gospel According to Mark. In the Baptism of Jesus account in Mark 1:4-11 we have the core of what has often been called the “Adoptionist Christology” of this First Gospel. We read here that Jesus came along with multitudes of people from the rural areas of Judea and [...]
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New Year’s Day, Cycle B
Even though from the perspective of the Christian Church Year we have already observed “New Year’s Day approximately one month ago on the First Sunday of Advent, we can be grateful if people will come together to worship God on the first day of our secular calendar year. It is good to see that for [...]
Christmas — Proper 3
All four of the texts chosen for our use on Christmas Day refer to the coming of the Lord God. That coming is perceived in a way that is unique to each text. The most noticeable differences are that in the two texts from the Older Testament the coming of the Lord is expressed by [...]
