Month: December 2025

A Meditation on Jeremiah 31:7–14 This Sunday’s First Reading comes from Jeremiah 31, part of what scholars call the “Book of Consolation.” After the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon, the prophet speaks words of unexpected hope: YHWH will gather the scattered remnant and bring them home. Notice, however, who YHWH gathers. A Reckless Vision At first glance, Jeremiah’s vision feels reckless. YHWH calls a people home who have no business traveling at all: the blind and the lame, those weighed down by grief, those heavy with child, even those already in labor. These are not pilgrims prepared for a long journey. They are people who, by any…

Matthew 2:13-23 The dream came in the night,sharp and urgent as a blade:Rise. Take the child and his mother.Flee to Egypt. Now. I woke with my heart hammering,Mary breathing softly beside me,the baby asleep in his basket. Herod seeks the child’s life. Words that changed everything. We had visitors days before—strange men from the Eastwith expensive gifts and stranger questions.They knelt before my son—as if he were a king. I didn’t understand it then.I’m not sure I understand it now. But the dream made one thing clear:this child—my son, not my son—mattered enough to kill for. We left before dawn.I took what I could carry:a few tools, some bread, the…

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:10–14). The above-noted passage is the Old Testament reading assigned for this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of…

Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord [James 5:9–10]. The Gaudete Paradox This coming Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday — from the Latin word for rejoice. In many churches, the Advent Wreath’s rose candle will be lit instead of another purple one, marking a shift in tone from somber waiting. Someone might choose a lighter hymn, maybe something in a major key. It’s supposed to feel different, brighter somehow, as Christmas draws…

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” [Matthew 3:7b]. Not exactly the warm-up act for Christmas we were hoping for. It’s the Second Sunday of Advent, the season when we're supposed to be lighting candles and singing carols, and the lectionary (RCL, Year A) gives us John the Baptist in full prophetic fury. He’s wearing camel hair held together with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey, looking like Elijah come back from the grave. And he’s calling the religious leaders snakes. This is the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. This is how we get ready…