Tag Archives: Jesus

Lent 2 C: Fearless for a Purpose

The readings for the Second Sunday of Lent are: Old Testament      Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18 Psalm                    Psalm 27 New Testament     Philippians 3:17–4:1 Gospel                   Luke 13:31–35 “No Fear.” It has been  a popular motto for a certain cross … Continue reading

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Advent 4C: Baby Jesus and the Revolution

The readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are Old Testament      Micah 5:2–5a Psalm                    Luke 1:46b–55 or Psalm 80:1–7 New Testament     Hebrews 10:5–10 Gospel                   Luke 1:39–45 (46–55) The only two places in the Bible that tell … Continue reading

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Pentecost 20 B: Life or Death on the Oregon Trail

The readings for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost are Old Testament      Amos 5:6–7, 10–15 Psalm                    Psalm 90:12–17 New Testament     Hebrews 4:12–16 Gospel                   Mark 10:17–31 If you were to travel the Oregon Trail, as thousands of desperate … Continue reading

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Easter 4B: Good Shepherd Sunday and Earth Day

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is part of John chapter 10–Jesus discourse on himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18). Wendell Berry distinguishes between farmers who are married to the land and others who rape the land. I see … Continue reading

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Transfiguration B: Listen through Unprecedented

Today on one more day of an unprecedented stretch of super cold temperatures, we look out on unprecedentedly huge drifts of snow, in the midst of a pandemic that has infected and killed unprecedented numbers of people worldwide, and listen … Continue reading

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The Household Power Structure Changes!

Pictured here are Connie, with Sméagol the cat, and Nell the sheepdog. I’m John, taking the photo. In the life of Heatherhope Farm, over the 18 years of its existence, Sméagol has run things inside the house. He meows like … Continue reading

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Like Goliath, They’ll Be Conquered

Depicted here, on the high utility post in front of our farm, is a scene that we see often: The tiny takes on the mighty. If you look close you will see a tiny red-winged blackbird sitting on top of … Continue reading

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Nicodemus and Us

This is my second “blog in a time of pandemic.” And it fits also in my ongoing series of reflections on the Sunday readings. (I rely greatly in these comments on the scholarship of the late Raymond E. Brown, and I love his idea … Continue reading

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Pentecost 8: What Does Greatness Look Like?

What constitutes greatness? In this week’s gospel we see a study in contrasts that helps us understand. In Mark 10 Jesus teaches the disciples and the church in simple terms. Two millennia later we still have a long way to … Continue reading

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Refugees, Trump and the Light of the World

Several months ago a team of people went into my heart and fixed it. They, in fact, probed with wires right up through both an artery and a vein in both of my upper thighs, right up into my heart, … Continue reading

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