As we walk in the lenten season with the Son of God incarnate, the church exposes us to instances in the Gospel narratives in which Jesus comes into conflict with the religious establishment of his day and the spiritual powers of darkness which have perverted the revelation of the law. On Sundays in Years A…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 2B
Lent is a season of self-examination and allowing God to speak honestly into our hearts about the quality of our discipleship, corporate and individual. With the readings assigned for this particular Sunday, Lent 2B, we could assign the title for the week, “Even unto Death.” The theme of death and dying appears in every selection….
Today in the Spirit: Lent 1B
We transition now to a season of forty days (not including Sundays) of walking with Jesus through the trials of his earthly ministry right up to the cross. In Lent, we observe from the Gospels and other parts of Scripture what the Son of God in the flesh endures on our behalf, how he handles…
10 Ways to Preach on Ash Wednesday
In David Roseberry’s ongoing series of posts on 10 Ways to Preach Liturgical Events, we come to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. If a congregation gathers to observe Ash Wednesday, it will likely include these dramatic liturgical moments: It is a deep and profound service; as you can see, it can…
Today in the Spirit: The Last Sunday of Epiphany B (Transfiguration)
On the Last Sunday of Epiphany each year, we contemplate the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. In this season of celebrating the power of God the Father to reveal the glory of the Son in the world, the various accounts of the Transfiguration in the Gospels form a bookend for the worshiper with those of the…
Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 5B
We continue this week following the narrative in the Gospel of Mark of Jesus’ first days of ministry in Capernaum. The church assigns Mark 1:29-39 which reports on a period covering only eighteen hours during which Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law in the afternoon (a private moment), heals many in front of the whole city (a…
Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 4B
In the week of Epiphany 4, Year B, we continue our way through Mark’s narrative of our Lord’s first weeks of ministry in Galilee. Mark 1:21-28 tells the story of Jesus’ first visit to Capernaum, where, after teaching in the synagogue, he exorcizes a demon from a man in attendance. An emphasis in the story…
Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 3B
On the Third Sunday of Epiphany each year, we walk with Jesus through the episodes of his early ministry in Galilee (northern Palestine). At this juncture in the church year, the church selects Gospel readings that highlight our Lord’s earliest preaching events, the various responses of the people to hearing his teaching, and his labor…
Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 2B
The early Sundays in the Epiphany season are dedicated to the revelation of the Son of God in the successful formation of the community of disciples. In Epiphany 2B, the assigned Gospel reading out of John 1:43-51 recounts for the worshiping church Jesus’ calling of the apostles Philip and Nathanael. The devotion of these two,…
Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 1B
Prepositions are important in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). One change in the BCP 2019 that can easily go unnoticed is the designation of Sundays “of Epiphany” in the new book compared with Sundays “after Epiphany” or “after the Epiphany” in earlier books. So we might ask, what does the new title communicate? One…
