First Sunday in Lent Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 Psalm 32 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who comes to bring justification and life for all, amen.   Why?   It’s the question that leads to other questions,  especially from curious four year olds such as the one who resides with me.   Why? is an important question but after the fourth or fifth or sixth why? In a row it is tempting to respond: “Tha

Ash Wednesday Joel 2:1-2, 12-*17 Psalm 51:1-17 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,  grace and peace to you from the source of life, amen.   The call of Lent is the call to return to God.  Often in this call to return we hear it urging us to acknowledge the worst of ourselves,  to reform to avoid punishment from God. It doesn’t seem to be the most uplifting of messages.   To be fair we hear this perspective in the

Transfiguration Sunday Exodus 24:12-18 Psalm 2 2 Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,  grace and peace to you from the one who reveals the glory of the Lord to us  and raises us up out of fear. amen   Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation  is his scientific and mathematical explanation  for how gravity works,    while even the briefest of internet searches will yield formulas and detailed explanations  it can be most simply summed

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Micah 6:1-8 Psalm 15 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who richly blesses us. Amen   God begins with blessings.   This is the truth that Jesus points to  as he begins teaching the disciples and the crowds that have gathered around him  in our gospel for today.   It is a truth that may not be so apparent in their lives.   Matthew tells us that after he calls