Readings: Ezekiel 37: 1 -14, Psalm 130, Romans 8: 6-11, John 11: 1-45

Thanks to Feasting on the Word, Year A Volume 2 pgs 122 – 145 and The New interpreters Bible Volume 9, pgs 684- 695

In a way all of our readings seem a bit out of place in Lent and would be better suited for Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the sure and certain hope of our own resurrection.

We will be  reading the famous story of Ezekiel being taken by the Lord to a valley of dry bones in the desert...

The Light we see with; the shepherd who truly sees into our hearts:

Seeing is obviously a theme throughout our readings. In the famous story of Samuel visiting Jesse to anoint one of his sons as the new king, Samuel and Jesse can only the see the physical stature and features of the eldest son as determining the obvious man for the job. But they do not see the heart( the character and will ) of the youngest  and smallest son, David, who is not even considered a candidate. But God sees Davidâ€...

Thanks to Feasting on the Word  Year A Vol. 2

This week there is an obvious theme of water running (pardon the pun) through the Exodus reading and the Gospel reading. In Exodus the people are thirsty in the wilderness. God seems to have brought them out of slavery in Egypt only to abandon them at  a place in the wilderness where there is no water. They complain in fear and anger and lose their trust in Moses and God. They threaten to kill Moses. But God through Moses provides water. In the Go...

Readings: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9- 18, Psalm 119:33- 40, 1 Corinthians 3: 10-11, 16-23, Matthew 5: 38-48

Thanks to Feasting On The Word  Year A Volume 1  pgs. 362-385

I am running out of time this week so I include my thoughts on the O.T. reading and give you a link I discovered that does what I attempt to do each week but I think does  a lot better job.  These reflections will get us thinking about the readings       http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2014/02/03/bible-study-7-epiphany-a/

It...

Hi everyone,

Sorry I did not get anything out to you last week. I was busy with the Prodigal Son Retreat Day.

This week I am only preaching at St. John’s as we are having a Carol and Lessons service in Milford. So  I will briefly comment on the regularly assigned readings for the Third Sunday in Advent as I have a hard enough time thinking about 4 readings let alone 9!!

The Third Sunday in Advent is often referred to as Rejoice Sunday and some churches use rose as the liturgical colour for ve...

Hi again everyone,

After a break for Thanksgiving, we are back to Jeremiah 31:27-34.  However the message is considerably brighter than the last time we listened to the lamentation of the weeping prophet.  In fact a theme from the Old Testament reading is hope. We are going from the absolute darkness of exile to the light of God’s Day. This reading speaks of God’s faithfulness. Notice how all the  promises are in the first person,

" I will make a new covenant; I will put my law ...