Easter - Resurrection of Our Lord Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8 Mark's depiction of the resurrection may fall a little flat. It is concise and almost devoid of emotion, except for verse 8, believed to be the original short end of his gospel. "Terror and amazement seized them; and they …
The Word this Good Friday – 03.29.24
Isaiah 52:13--53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1--19:42 From our Lord's wondrous example of generous love, we move to the scandal of the cross. How did it come to this? Was it necessary? This is one of those times when the original text, in this case Koine Greek, is helpful. When the soldiers and the …
The Word this Maundy Thursday – 03.28.24
Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 We began our Holy Week with an example of lavish generosity extended to Jesus by the unnamed lady from Bethany amid the dreadful circumstances leading to his death. This Maundy Thursday, Jesus himself sets the example for us. In similar ways to Mark, John …
The Word This Sunday – 03.24.24
Palm/Passion Sunday Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1--15:47 The passion narrative that opens our Holy Week celebration is still very much good news. Jesus, the rabbi from little Nazareth, was willing to go through all that so we could always have another chance to reconcile with God and everything God made. Despite this, …
The Word This Sunday – 03.17.24
5th Sunday in Lent Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33 As Holy Week looms large, we receive the Jesus meant to be relatable to our struggles. "Now my soul is troubled," confesses the Savior of the World. And troubled our souls might be. There are concerns about the climate, about wars raging across …
The Word This Sunday – 03.10.24
4th Sunday in Lent Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21 Lutheran tradition holds that both law and gospel are found anywhere in the bible. The law judges and convicts us of our inability to trust and love God above all things and to love our neighbor, near and far, as Jesus loves …
The Word This Sunday – 03.03.24
3rd Sunday in Lent Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22 The readings on this third Sunday bring one word to mind: resilience. In John, after Jesus’ displeasure with whatever was taking place on temple grounds, he is asked for a sign. That is, some proof that he has the authority to turn …
The Word This Sunday – 02.25.24
2nd Sunday in Lent Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:23-31; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38 Six days before the transfiguration in Mark, this is the exchange that certainly disturbed Peter and the other disciples. Jesus, their teacher, Messiah, and divine judge, is to suffer and die. Peter’s rebuke also disturbs Jesus, who rebukes Peter back. The measure …
The Word This Sunday – 02.18.24
1st Sunday in Lent Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15 Mark is always in a hurry when narrating his gospel. In our six verses of today, Jesus first gets baptized and declared to be the beloved Son by the voice of God, the one all who were raised from the waters should …
The Word This Sunday – 02.11.24
Transfiguration 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9 Six days after a very tense exchange - where he is called an adversary to Jesus’ ministry for not taking well the revelation that the Messiah would die (Mark 8:31-33) - Peter finds himself at the top of a mountain in the presence of …
Bridging Faith 