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In Psalm 27:1-4, 13-14, the psalmist says that God is his light, his salvation, and his refuge. Because he trusts God, he has nothing to fear. Paul admonishes the people to stop picking sides and turn to Jesus (1Cor. 1:10, 13-17) and Matthew’s scripture (4:12-23) reminds [...]
In Psalm 40:2,4,7-10, we are reminded that God doesn’t want sacrifices but rather wants people to listen and do God’s will. We don’t make sacrifices as the early Hebrew people did, but the reminder is for us as well as it was for them. We aren’t [...]
Whose eyes do we use when we read Scripture: those of today’s world Christian person in the Western culture, or those of someone living in the ancient world’s semantic culture? The eyes we use can affect how we understand the meaning, as in Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7. [...]
The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 72:1-2,7-8, 10-11, 12-13, that the ruler who wants to be successful [and perhaps remembered?] will be just, create peace, and care for those in need. These qualities would be good for everyone: religious and secular rulers, and each of us [...]
"The feast of the Holy Family ...[with its rich readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128: 1-5; Colossians 3:12-17; and Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23]...calls us to renew and strengthen the ties that bind..." (Bergant, The Word for Every Season, A, 2010) Those ties may be in our individual [...]
'tis the season....may you have a very Merry Christmas!
Listen to the messages of your dreams! Contemporary people, even Christians, often forget the many times dreams are mentioned in the Scriptures and how important those messages were. The end of the gospel reading (Matthew 1:18-24) tells us that an angel came to Joseph in a [...]
May we have faith when life seems difficult. One of the readings for December 14th is Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, and we are immediately reminded that God will cause flowers to appear after a drought. We can believe that God will do the same for us when [...]
The Scripture readings for Sunday, December 7, are: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,12-13, 17; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12. Some words that come up are wisdom, knowledge, understanding, unity, good fruit, welcoming, justice, care for the poor and afflicted, and peace. The psalmist prays for a ruler who [...]
Sunday, November 30th, is the beginning of Advent, a time of preparation and expectation. Christians look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, the first advent, and look forward to his return, the second advent. Most Christians honor and acknowledge Jesus as God incarnated. Advent is also a [...]