March 26, 2023 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Help us to trust that we are always alive in you, O God. Amen.

            It’s a joke, and especially this time of year it really is true in my home, that there are two certainties: death and taxes. With Holy Week coming and nine sermons between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about death. And being married to a certified public accountant means that a lot of evenings and weekends, in addition to the work day, are all about taxes. Why Jesus had to die during tax season, I really don’t know, but it makes our household rather busy. The joke about death and taxes being the only certainties works because, the truth of the matter is, none of this belongs to us.

March 19, 2023 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God, our holy Father and blessed Mother. Amen.

            Most people enjoy a good magic show – whether it’s a slight of hand or an optical illusion, we are delighted to see the seemingly impossible. Or do you remember those posters known as “magic eye art”? At first glance, they are just visual nonsense, but if you look at it long enough, a three-dimensional shape emerges. Artistically speaking, they were pretty bad, but people bought them in droves and put them on their walls because we love the idea of seeing things on a deeper level. And there are also times when our vision limits us. Looking out the window of the plane, it really does appear as if the earth is flat. You can see up to a certain point, and then it appears to just stop. In that example, our sense of vision limits what we can truly know about reality. In today’s readings, our vision of both what we can and cannot see is called into question.

March 5, 2023 - The Second Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Help us to hear your call to us, O Lord of love. Amen.

            I remember back when we lived in the DC area and the initial confusion I had with directions. Yes, I knew I needed to get on the beltway, but did I need to be on the inner loop or the outer loop? Or I knew I needed to get off at the Federal Triangle Metro stop, but did I need to go in the direction of Franconia-Springfield or Largo Town Center? I picked it up pretty quickly, but were a few times I went the wrong way because I got the direction reversed.