The reading today is from John 18:1-19,42 What stands out to me is a six word sentence. “I find no case against him.” (18:13)
Pilate finds no case against Jesus and yet he follows the custom of asking the people who to release instead of releasing Jesus himself. There are some hard things to read in this entire…..
Today’s reading is John13:1-17 and 31b-35. What stands out to me most isn’t all the dialogue and action around the washing of the disciples feet. I’m a little surprised by that, probably because that’s what I’m most familiar with and the tradition held in the church I have attended through the years. I’ve had my feet washed at the…..
Today’s Gospel Reading is John 13:21-32, Jesus is having the Passover dinner in the upper room with his disciples. It’s a little bittersweet and sometimes I would just like to avoid this passage. But we can’t, there are too many lessons for us to learn. Lessons about love and friendship, lessons about choices, lessons about love and…..
Today’s reading is John 12:20-36. What I find interesting here is that the reading begins with people who were on their way to ‘the festival’ telling Phillip they wanted to see Jesus. Jesus then speaks to his disciples and the crowd and at the end of the reading, Jesus hides from them.
Odd to think that…..
Today’s Gospel Reading is John 12:1-11. Those of us who are familiar with this part of the story have heard about the exchange of words between Jesus and Judas when Mary used the costly perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet. Judas thought it was a waste to spend the perfume on Jesus when it…..
I’ve been thinking about how Christmas comes upon us making things new year after year throughout generations. Whether it’s celebrated with Santa Claus or Jesus or both. I grew up with both influences. Santa made sure nobody went without a gift – every boy and girl all around the world would receive a gift – a nice one – or coal. The whole naughty or nice thing really puts pressure on kids to behave and control themselves as parents feel…..
We are nearing the season of Advent, the time of preparing for Christmas. There is a verse in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that tells us what God was doing ‘in Christ.’ Today, I want to suggest that we ask ourselves what everyone was doing when the Christ Child was born. What was everyone else doing when the angels appeared to Mary and Joseph? What…..
Observing how people respond to the change of seasons is rather interesting. It seems that we all have our favorite seasons, don’t we? Sometimes when we talk about the seasons of our lives it seems we all have different favorite seasons of our own lives as well. The good Lord provides people with certain spiritual and practical gifts and skills so we can have and be helpers…..
These verses wrap up the Sermon on the Mount bringing it full circle.
The kingdom of heaven gives to the poor in Spirit, filling them up so they may share the kingdom with other people who either have never heard of God’s love and a heavenly kingdom, or those who know but are depleted. Even Jesus went away to…..
Reading about the merciful in the Sermon on the Mount connects me to Jesus’ later teachings about forgiveness. In the Lord’s prayer he taught his disciples to pray, ‘forgive us …. as we forgive others.” In forgiveness there is great mercy, but in order to receive something it must be given to you. A hard-hearted person struggles with forgiveness……