Tag: Gospel
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It’s a struggle—and a blessing
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost—Proper 13, Year A, Track 1—August 2, 2026 Genesis 32:22-31Psalm 17:1-7,16Romans 9:1-5Matthew 14:13-21 The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel is one of my favorites. It’s such a strange story. On the surface, it’s an etiology explaining how the patriarch Jacob came to also be…
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Oh, there’s a lot of stuff in that treasury.
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 12, Year A, Track 1—July 26, 2026 Genesis 29:15-28Psalm 105:1-11, 45bor Psalm 128Romans 8:26-39Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Traditional marriage, eh? <sigh> Today’s reading from Genesis is one I remember learning about as a child. I don’t remember much of how Sunday School teachers or others fielded any…
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Learning a new way to see
The Third Sunday of Easter—April 19, 2026 Acts 2:14a,36-41 1 Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35 Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17 In his 1991 book of essays, AfterCulture: Detroit and the Humiliation of History, Jerry Herron writes about a paradox that was true several decades before and after his book came out: Detroit, in…
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Alive, with scars to prove it
The Second Sunday of Easter, Year A—April 11, 2026 Acts 2:14a,22-32 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 Psalm 16 The Second Sunday of Easter is sometimes called “Lowsunday” or “Low Sunday,” referring to attendance in church. Not only the twice-a-year attendees, but even the most faithful congregants seem to be tapped…
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I mean, Jesus was a day late, too!
The Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A—March 22, 2026 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 Psalm 130 The weekend got away from me; I’m posting this a day late. (Sound familiar, though?) I have a beautifully creepy song for you to listen to while you read this—or, better yet, to…
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The Lord does not see as mortals see
The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year A—March 15, 2026 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 Psalm 23 The story of David’s anointing by Samuel always amuses me. God tells Samuel not to look on the outward appearance of Jesse’s sons, because that’s not a factor in who God chooses.…
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God, I’m thirsty
The Third Sunday in Lent, Year A—March 8, 2026 Exodus 17:1-7 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42 Psalm 95 I hate Lent. …Stick with me, though. At least in the Episcopal Church, we do so much chest-beating—perhaps not literally, but if you pay attention to the words we’re praying, saying, and singing,…
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When Jesus shows up
The First Sunday in Lent—February 22, 2026 Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7Romans 5:12-19Matthew 4:1-11Psalm 32 This post is a bit late. No, I haven’t given up this blog for Lent. The truth is, I spent my time this weekend prepping for and leading a 10-hour workshop through the seminary where I teach.…
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What might we expect?
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany—February 15, 2026 Exodus 24:12-182 Peter 1:16-21Matthew 17:1-9Psalm 2or Psalm 99 The Sunday before Lent begins, the Church invites us on a curious excursion, and in the image above by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, we see Christ leading three disciples on this same journey. The Transfiguration of…
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On Being a City on a Hill
The Fifth Sunday afther the Epiphany—February 8, 2026 Isaiah 58:1-9a, [9b-12]Psalm 112:1-9, (10)1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]Matthew 5:13-20 Although my field is theological aesthetics, I teach church history (technically, historical theology, which makes it not so far off from theology). We recently covered the Council of Nicaea where, at the behest…
