Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The Word of God that engages us today is the epistle lesson, especially these words: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. “Don’t shoot the messenger!” That’s what we say when people get mad at us for relaying a message they don’t want to hear. “Hey, don’t get mad at me! It’s not my word. I’m just the messenger.” […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Do you like riddles? You know, those little questions, often in the form of a rhyme, meant to stump other people who try to guess the meaning. Throughout history, many societies have recorded their fascination with riddles in literature. […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  In his excellent apology for Christianity, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive…”[1]  [Pause for laughter.]  Yes, we all want to be forgiven for our shortcomings, but as […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  The Word of God that engages us today is Paul’s letter to the Romans, especially this verse: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  In last week’s Gospel lesson, we heard Peter’s bold confession of faith that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:17, ESV).[1]  In response to this statement, Jesus declared: “…You are Peter, and on this […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13, ESV).[1]  That’s the question Jesus asks his disciples in today’s Gospel reading. Who do people say the Son of Man is?  Who do people believe Jesus to […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  When Jesus journeyed with his disciples to Tyre and Sidon, he was attempting to retreat from the excitement in Galilee and Judea.  Opposition from the Jewish religious authorities threatened his death before the proper time.  Jesus’ miracles inspired an […]

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  Today’s Gospel lesson is an iconic moment from Jesus’ earthly ministry: the night he walked on water.  Generations of film makers have tried to capture the wonder of this event through CGI and other special effects.  But we […]

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle story that occurs in all four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  Each gospel writer conveys varying levels of detail (for example, John alone mentions that a little […]