At Proper 28, two weeks before First Advent and our meditation in worship on Jesus’ second coming, the church appoints readings in the Gospels from what is often called the synoptic apocalypse, the record of Jesus’ teaching on events which will occur before the parousia (the second coming), which appears in parallel form in Matthew,…
The Liturgical Home 2025-2026 Calendar
One of the most helpful tools in my journey of liturgical living has been seeing the Church year laid out before me, not just in my mind or in a planner, but right on the wall of my home. That’s why I created a 2025–2026 Circular Liturgical Calendar that beautifully and clearly guides you through…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 27C
At Proper 27, the Sunday lectionary shifts to pre-Advent mode, concentrating on eschatological (end times) themes. The assigned Gospel reading in Year C, Luke 20:27-38, is Luke’s version of the dialogue between Jesus and the Sadducees over marriage and the resurrection. The priestly power brokers of Jerusalem, who don’t believe in the resurrection from the…
Today in the Spirit: All Saints’ Sunday
All Saints’ Day, celebrated on 1 November every year, is the only “Principal Feast” in the Christian Year which can also be observed on the Sunday following that date. It is a commemoration of the intercommunion of living and dead Christians throughout time, those renowned and unknown. Traditionally, the Gospel reading assigned for All Saints’…
Hymn Guide: For All The Saints
Long before I thought about its lyrics, I loved to sing “For All the Saints.” The marching rhythm, the majestic tune, the repeated Alleluias: these would stir in my heart and inspire devotion to God. How wonderful, then, to discover that the hymn is also deeply theological, offering a profound reflection on the meaning of…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 25C
At Proper 25C, the church assigns as a Gospel reading the parable immediately following the one from last week in Luke. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a tale of two men, one a respected religious leader (a Pharisee) and the other a reviled “sinner” (a tax collector), both praying in the temple in plain sight…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 24C
At Proper 24C, the Church assigns another parable of Jesus for the benefit of his disciples, found only in Luke. Luke 18:1-8 is the parable of the persistent widow. Our Lord tells a short story of a woman stalking an unjust judge to insist that he give her justice in a case against an adversary….
St. Philip the Evangelist: Deacon, Preacher, Scholar, Dad
St. Philip the Evangelist is best remembered for his witness to the Ethiopian eunuch, a conversion story recorded in Acts 8. But this is only one of the remarkable stories of Philip, who appears in the Book of Acts as a deacon, a preacher, a scholar, and a dad. In this article, I briefly survey…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 23C
While his exact travel is difficult to track in this section of Luke, it seems at this juncture that our Lord is now moving on a more direct route south to Jerusalem. The assigned Gospel reading for Proper 23C is Luke 17:11-19, a narrative account of the healing of ten lepers somewhere on the border…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 22C
At Proper 22C, in our journey with Jesus through Luke, we come to a third consecutive Gospel reading with teaching addressed to his disciples. Luke 17:5-10 begins with a request of “the apostles” (5) to “the Lord” to “increase our faith” (5). In fact, this is likely in response to the teaching given prior (see…
