Year AEpiphanySixth Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 5:21-37 Contextual Background: “You have heard… but I say to you”—anger, contempt, lust, divorce, oaths. Jesus intensifies Torah toward the heart: reconciliation, dignity, integrity. Divorce was being used, by some, as an legal cover for […]

Year AEpiphanyFifth Sunday after the EpiphanyMatthew 5:13-20 Contextual Background: “You are the salt of the earth… the light of the world.” Jesus fulfills (not abolishes) the Torah and calls for a righteousness that surpasses reputation-based religion. Within the Jewish Tradition: Salt = […]

Year AEpiphanyFourth Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 5:1-12 Contextual Background: Jesus ascends a hill, sits like a wisdom teacher, and pronounces blessing on the poor in spirit, mourners, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, and the persecuted. Within the […]

Year AEpiphanyThird Sunday after the EpiphanyMatthew 4:12-23 Contextual Background: After John’s arrest, Jesus relocates to Capernaum. Isaiah’s promise of light in “Zebulun and Naphtali” frames his launch. He proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” calls fishers, and begins […]

Year AEpiphanySecond Sunday after the Epiphany John 1:29-42 Contextual Background: John points to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Two disciples follow, and when Jesus asks what they are seeking, they answer, “Where are […]

Year AEpiphanyBaptism of the Lord Matthew 3:13-17 Contextual Background: Jesus begins his public ministry not in glory but in the waters of John’s baptism. Standing in line with sinners, he submits to the waters of repentance. As he emerges, the heavens are […]

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 AChristmasSecond Sunday after Christmas DayJohn 1:(1-9), 10-18 Contextual Background: Matthew tells of Herod’s violence and the holy family’s flight into Egypt. Incarnation comes into a world where rulers cling to power with bloodshed. John echoes again the hymn of the Word […]

Year AChristmasFirst Sunday after Christmas DayMatthew 2:13-23 Contextual Background: The lectionary sometimes gives us Jesus at age twelve, found in the temple after days of anxious searching. This moment shows the tension of incarnation: Jesus is both ordinary child and bearer of […]