February 2, 2020 - Feast of the Presentation

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            February 2, the Feast of the Presentation, on which we remember that the infant Jesus was presented in the Temple and saw his shadow, meaning we have six more weeks of winter. Wait, that’s the wrong February 2^nd holiday. In all seriousness though, February 2^nd is always the Feast of the Presentation because February 2^nd is always 40 days after December 25. Forty days was the amount of time prescribed by the Law for a new mother to wait before coming back to the Temple for the ritual of purification in which sacrifices would be offered. Normally, when such days fall on a Sunday, they are moved to the next weekday. But the Presentation is such an important event in our faith and the story of Jesus, that the Church calendar notes that this day takes precedence over what would have typically been the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany.

December 9, 2018 - Advent 2C

Lectionary Readings

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            You may have noticed that this morning’s psalm does not come from the Book of Psalms, but rather from Luke. A psalm is a hymn to God found in Scripture, and this passage from Luke certainly fits that definition. This particular psalm is known as the “Benedictus” because that is the Latin translation of the first word “blessed,” and historically, that is how psalms are named.

December 6, 2015 - Advent 2C

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            By definition, a psalm is a song of praise to God. Generally, we sing one of the psalms from the book of Psalms on Sunday, but today the lectionary presents us with a psalm that is found in Luke. Generally, psalms are named based on their first word in Latin, so today’s psalm is commonly called the Benedictus.

August 16, 2015 - Proper 15B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Jesus said, “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Whether it’s Ponce de Leon’s search for the fountain of youth or the latest miracle treatment, we’re all ears when it comes to eternal life. Over the past several weeks, the sermons have been focusing on the readings about King David that we had from 2 Samuel, but you may have noticed that the Gospel texts the last three Sundays have all come from John 6. This chapter of John is called the “Bread of Life discourse.” It begins with the multiplication of the loaves and fish and then Jesus talks about the implications of that miracle.