“Out of the depths have I called to you O Lord!” — Psalm 130:1There are many depths out of which humanity calls to the Lord. Perhaps the Psalmist knew something of the Depth’s seemingly infinite number of nooks and crannies one can find themselves caught in—which lead to the use of the plural depths? However many there might be, no one really knows given the lack of light down there… but the Psalm...  Read More

“Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.’ ” — John 9:41Blindness as a prerequisite for the forgiveness of sins? Is Jesus really saying that unless one becomes blind they cannot inherit the kingdom? It seems that he is—at least if one understands what he means by being “blind”.Our gospel text this Sunday brings us to the very...  Read More

“Is the Lord among us or not?” — The Israelites at Meribah in the dessert (Exodus 17:7)It’s a question that could be answered by the most cursory reading of just about any Christian catechism—“Of course God is among us!! God is omni­present, which means God is always everywhere!” Fair enough. That is the right and good and true answer… but…But life doesn’t bow to catechisms. Nor do our thoughts an...  Read More

“This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” — A Voice from the bright cloudAt the center of the Christian faith is the voice, the word. That means at the center of the Christian faith is the ear, listening. Someone, somewhere once said, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak…”—wise words, but what does it mean to listen? What is required of our attention in the act of liste...  Read More

“If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.” — Sirach 15:15–16I love this great book of Jewish wisdom, Sirach! It shows up in the liturgy just a few times a year but when it does, I love it. Some of that no doubt comes from the simple fact that I did not...  Read More

“Happy are they who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments.” — Psalm 112:1“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets…” — Jesus of NazarethThe commandments of God get a bad rap. Nobody seems to like them. They suggest to many a stuffy, controlling, stifling, borderline abusive form of religion. The Law of God is usually not atop the “must read” list. Even th...  Read More

“With what shall I come before the Lord?” — ancient Hebrew prophet, Micah“Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?” — ancient Hebrew poet, Psalmist“Where is the one who is wise?” — the apostle PaulThree very good questions. Ask these questions of yourself. What would be your answers?This Sunday, we will be looking at the words of Jesus from the mountain—that great “sermon” that takes its name from ...  Read More

“I thank God that I baptized none of you…” — The Apostle Paul to the CorinthiansThese are certainly words one would not expect to hear from a minister of the gospel! Thanking God that he hadn’t baptized any of them? What is going on here?When you actually read the context in which these words are found, you discover that Paul says this because he’s frustrated that the Corinthians have divided them...  Read More

“What are you looking for?” — Jesus of NazarethIt’s a great question! Obviously, the context in which this question is asked makes all the difference. If it were uttered by the grocery store employee to the shopper standing befuddled in aisle 15, it would not be all that profound of a question, but, when uttered by a young rabbi just declared to be “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the wo...  Read More

“In the beginning was the Word… all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being… He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” — The Gospel according to John (chapter 1 verses 1, 3 and 10)On this most holy of days in the Christian Year, we listen to the Apostle John as he reminds us that the Word who has come ...  Read More

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way…” — Gospel of Matthew 1:18We have come to the final Sunday of Advent… we have been anticipating, hoping, longing for God’s kingdom to come. And what we see first is a child, a birth, a beginning. It’s how all things come into the world: small, seemingly insignificant… almost hidden-like. Even God’s kingdom would begin that way—what this ch...  Read More

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets…This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, we will be listening in yet again on the call from the strange man from the wilderness who was called the Baptizer. We will hear his call of repentance, in order...  Read More