Sunday, November 24, 2024 – Mark 12:38-44, also 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 34:1-8, Hebrews 9:24-28. Today is Christ the King Sunday. This feast day was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the movement toward secularism and atheism. It’s the last Sunday in the Christian liturgical calendar, and our new year begins […]
Sunday, October 20 2024 – Mark 10:35-45, also Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16, and Hebrews 5:1-10. The theme of our readings today is the suffering servant who gives up his own life for the sake of the whole. I have to admit, for good or for ill, I’ve never had to live my life in the
Sunday, October 13, 2024 – Mark 10: 17-31, also Amos 5:6-7, 10-15, Psalm 90:12-17, and Hebrews 4:12-16. I love a good mystery, especially the British shows like Grantchester and, more recently, Magpie Murders. I love glimpsing hidden clues that solve the puzzle. Today’s gospel about the rich man is a kind of mystery that can
Sunday, September 22, 2024 – Mark 9:30-37 also Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54, James 3:13—4:3, 7-8a Several years ago, when I left the corporate world to become a performing singer and songwriter, I was also doing some consulting work. I’d had a long career in marketing and communications, and so I used all of my skills
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Mark 8:27-38 also Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-9, James 3:1-12 Our readings today – aside from the gospel – touch on the potential dangers of speaking and the value of listening. Both Isaiah and the Psalm mention our listening to God and God’s listening to us. And then James weighs in
Sunday, September 8 – Mark 7:24-37 also Isaiah 35: 4-7a, Psalm 146, James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 “Eraser” by David Hayward | Naked Pastor You may have seen one of my favorite cartoons. It’s just a black and white sketch created by David Hayward (who goes by “Naked Pastor”) that shows a bunch of people with
Sunday, September 1, 2024 – Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, also Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Psalm 15, James 1:17-27 Our first reading today is from a book known as both the Song of Solomon and the Song of Songs. It’s one of five books known as the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. The other four
Sunday, August 25, 2024 – John 6:51-58, also Proverbs 9:1-6, Psalm 34:9-14, Ephesians 5:15-20 In the early to mid-1800s, large groups of people left their Eastern and Midwestern homes to migrate west to California and Oregon looking for opportunity. They’d arrive in Independence, Missouri and form wagon trains of multiple families to travel together. Almost
Sunday, July 28, 2024 – Gospel, John 6:1-21, also 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-18, Ephesians 3:14-21 We’ve recently started a Healthy Eating group here at Redeemer. Several of us meet each week to learn about healthy eating and support each other in our health goals. One of the topics that has come up is the
Sunday, July 7 – Gospel, Mark 5:21-43. Also Ezekiel 2:1-5, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13 How do you handle rejection? I must admit that I don’t handle it well. I’ve felt rejected so many times over the years that whenever I feel like it might happen again, I just want to curl up
