Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. After these things… So begins our reading from Genesis today, a story that is both famous and infamous – compelling and horrifying: the so-called “Binding of Isaac” or “The Command to Sacrifice Isaac.” [1] It is the culmination of…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. We are now settling into Ordinary Time – the long season after Pentecost. It’s called ordinary not because it is typical – rather, it comes from the word “ordinal,” meaning “related to a series.” From now until November…
Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 7:37-39 Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. The world is full of chaos, and violence, and hate right now. It’s nowhere near the first time it has been so, nor unfortunately will it be…
Acts 1:6-14 Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 Today I want to focus on our reading from Acts which narrates Jesus’ ascension into heaven, 40 days after his resurrection. Ascension Day was last Thursday, 40 days after Easter, and as always on this 7th and last Sunday of Eastertide, we hear the story of Jesus’ final leave-taking from the…
Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:7-18 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Frankly at first glance today’s Gospel passage can be a bit mystifying, with its allusions to the coming of the Advocate, Jesus leaving but still somehow being present, and a mystical indwelling between the disciples, Jesus, and the Father. And the reason it’s hard to paint a full picture with just these seven…
Acts 7:55-60 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 We began the weekly lectionary Bible study last Thursday and I was reminded of just how much I love exploring and wondering about scripture together in a group. We focused on today’s Gospel, and it was interesting to see the different parts of today’s reading that drew people in: from the admonition…
Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 There are 28 chapters in the Book of Acts, and they are our record of the formation of the church after Jesus’s death & resurrection. For just over 2 years, and ending in January, the Vestry read through the Book of Acts one chapter at a time for our scripture reflection at the…