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[RCL]: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 17:1-7, 16, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21 Collect | Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one…
[RCL]: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 16; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21 Once upon a time, a blind man and a man with an unresponsive hand approached a great healer begging to be healed. They had received in a dream a vision that this healer could help them if he followed specific instructions. So, after some coaxing,…
Sunday between July 31 and August 6 inclusive Old Testament Lesson Plans: Lifelong Faith Journey Genesis 32:22-31 Written by Trudy Ardizzone The Book of Genesis provides the foundational stories of our faith, God’s calling of a people, their often failed responses to God, and God’s steadfast love throughout. The Abraham Saga tells of the formation…
[RCL]: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7,16; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21 For the past several Sundays, our Gospel readings have been focused on Jesus’ parables as recorded by Matthew. First, there was the parable of the sower, then the parable of the weeds and the wheat, and last week, a whole panoply of parables: the mustard seed,…
Genesis 32:22-31 This story of Jacob wrestling resonates with divine power and mystery. It’s an eerie scene—Jacob is at a turning point in his life, not sure how things will work out, and he’s alone on a riverbank at night. An unidentified figure shows up, and the two of them wrestle until dawn. Jacob holds…
Genesis 32:22-31 In the preceding verses (Genesis 32:1-21) we read of Jacob’s fear of his brother, Esau. This fear was well founded. When they were boys, Esau was hungry and asked Jacob to share his food. Jacob agreed, but only on the condition that Esau sell him his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34). The birthright issue emerged…
Have you ever noticed that wherever food is present, Jesus is there? As often as he was praying, he was sharing food. Late in his ministry, he even identified himself with bread and wine – staples in the Mediterranean diet, then as now. Food: It nourishes, brings pleasure and comfort, fills us up – sometimes…
Genesis 32:22-31 Forgiveness. “He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone…” Despite readings, prayer, and support from others, when we have been wronged, the path to forgiveness often feels like an isolated journey. It is a stripping down to the essence of who we…
[NOTE TO READER: The Greek word “esplahnisthē” in the fifth paragraph is pronounced “Es-plah-NEES-thee.”] Jesus’ cousin, the one who went before him to open the way, is dead. Both John and Jesus had started their brief ministries as courageous prophets, proclaiming God’s justice, calling people to repentance, inviting them to find their way to God….
The gospel for this Sunday is from Matthew, chapter 14, verses 13 to 21, and it is perhaps the best known parable of the Bible. Or is it? Well, yes and no. Yes, it is certainly well known. But no, even though it is commonly referred to as “The Parable of the Loaves and Fishes,”…
Sometimes thinking in the Episcopal Church is too sophisticated. Sometimes, we tend to miss simple truths, stated plainly and simply. How many of us would feel comfortable in a congregation where the people express a form of the old time religion? One such church developed a kind of chant that expressed a simple truth. The…
It is very difficult to read the three appointed lessons for today without weeping. These must be the passages that have sustained communities in distress through the ages: these are the words that allow the great suffering peoples of Africa and the tiny Christian remnant in the Middle East to cling to hope in these…
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