Tag Archives: Paul

Pentecost 10B: Maintain the Gift of Unity

Posted on July 30, 2021 by John

The readings for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost are Old Testament       Exodus 16:2–4, 9–15 Psalm                    Psalm 78:23–29 New Testament      Ephesians 4:1–16 Gospel                   John 6:24–35 I will focus here on the Ephesians reading, and especially the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 9B: The Surpassing Beauty of Us

Posted on July 23, 2021 by John

The readings for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost are: Old Testament       2 Kings 4:42–44 Psalm                    Psalm 145:10–18 New Testament      Ephesians 3:14–21 Gospel                   John 6:1–21 My focus in these reflections is on the prayer contained in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 6B: Boasting and Praying on a Pandemic Fourth

Posted on June 30, 2021 by John

The Second Reading for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost is 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 in which Paul demurs from boasting, says he could boast in his visions, but concludes that Christ’s refusal to remove his “thorn of the flesh” taught him … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 5b “Giving under Pandemic Pressure”

Posted on June 22, 2021 by John

Readings for this Fifth Sunday After Pentecost are: Old Testament & Psalm, Option II Old Testament      Wisdom of Solomon 1:13–15, 2:23–24 or Lamentations 3:22–33 Psalm                    Psalm 30 New Testament     2 Corinthians 8:7–15 Gospel                   Mark 5:21–43 These … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost B: Groaning Our Way through Covid

Posted on May 18, 2021 by John

The New Testament Reading Option A for Pentecost B: Romans 8:22–27 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lent 3 B: Use Science, Don’t “Trust” It

Posted on March 2, 2021 by John

The Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent: Old Testament       Exodus 20:1–17 Psalm                    Psalm 19 New Testament      1 Corinthians 1:18–25 Gospel                   John 2:13–22 Because our last President made such a mess of our nation’s pandemic response … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Epiphany 4 B “Rebuke the Disease, Not the Diseased”

Posted on January 27, 2021 by John

Years ago we fought off a family disease. Substance abuse was our plague, and we were in a group family therapy program where the leader had each set of parents draw a picture of the disease, place it on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Advent 3 B: Smiling as Resistance

Posted on December 10, 2020 by John

This Sunday’s Readings Old Testament      Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11 Psalm                    Psalm 126 or Luke 1:46b–55 New Testament     1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 Gospel                   John 1:6–8, 19–28 My sainted former colleague, Pastor Paul Fuchs, used to jokingly tell of how … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 6–A New Age People

Posted on July 8, 2020 by John

The Second Reading for this coming Sunday is Romans 8:1-11, which begins with this: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Church and Social Movements, Featured, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 5 Racist? Who me?

Posted on June 30, 2020 by John

The second reading for the Fifth Sunday of Pentecost is Romans 7.15-25a     When I hear people of color today cry out against systemic racism, I want to reply, “I’m not racist.” I want to object that this country … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment