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 […]