Year ASeason after PentecostProper 28 (33)Matthew 25:14-30 Contextual Background: A master entrusts servants with talents before traveling. Two invest and are rewarded; one hides his in fear and is condemned. In Mediterranean culture, the only way to gain wealth honestly was from […]
Year ASeason after PentecostProper 22 (27)Matthew 21:33-46 Contextual Background: Jesus tells of a king who invites guests to a wedding banquet. The invited refuse, so the king gathers strangers from the streets. Yet one guest without a wedding garment is cast out. […]
Year ASeason after PentecostProper 21 (26)Matthew 21:23-32 Contextual Background: Jesus tells a parable of tenants who kill the landowner’s servants and son. The kingdom, he says, will be given to those who produce its fruits. This is in the context of a […]
Year AEpiphanyEpiphany of the LordMatthew 2:1-12 Contextual Background: Epiphany means “revealing.” In Matthew, the first to recognize Jesus are not insiders but foreign astrologers — seekers from the East. They read the signs of the heavens and come searching for the newborn […]
Year AChristmasNativity of the Lord – Proper III John 1:1-14 Contextual Background: John’s gospel begins not with shepherds or mangers but with a hymn: “In the beginning was the Word.” The cosmic Christ takes flesh, shining light into darkness. In the Roman […]