Readings: Ezekiel 18: 25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32      Click here to download PDF of this reflection. Preacher: Sheryl Zabel Actions do speak louder than words. Jesus’ parable about two brothers and the vineyard is a perfect illustration of this. Although the first brother said that he would not go to the vineyard and work, he changed his mind… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20C-24, 27A; Matthew 20: 1-16A          Click here to download a PDF of this homily Preacher: Nora Bradbury-Haehl When I was a kid and complained, “That’s not fair,” my dad, the smart-aleck philosopher, always delivered a quick response with a twinkle in his eye and a little twitch at the corner of his… read more →

Readings: Sirach  27:30 – 28:7;  Romans  14: 7 – 9;  Matthew  18: 21 – 35         Click her to download a PDF of this reflection Preacher:     Ruth Maier  SSJ God’s Word for today presents us with the challenge of forgiveness. How often do we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us,  “… forgive us our trespasses as we… read more →

Readings: Ezekiel 33: 7-9; Romans 13: 8-10; Matthew 18:15-20                        Click here to download a PDF of this reflection Preacher: Rev. Paul English “Good evening, Mr. Phelps,” the TV show began back in 1966, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” always led to an exciting episode that pitted… read more →

Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12: 1-2; Matthew 16: 21-27         Click here to download this reflection Preacher: Joan Sobala, SSJ If you’ve ever looked at the ancient Chinese document called the Tao of LaoTse, you’ll remember finding in it such apparently contradictory statements as “To be strong, one must be soft,” “To stand straight, one must bend,”… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11: 33-36; Matthew 16: 13-20 Preacher: Dr. Denise Mack Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” When I raised the question to residents of two nursing homes I was not surprised to hear, repeatedly, “My Lord and my Savior” and “The Son of the living God.” “You are the Christ, the Son of the… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28 Preacher: Gee Gee Micoli In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is curiously far from Galilee, in a pagan area close to the towns of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean Sea. In the context of earlier events in Matthew’s gospel, we can see both Jesus’ humanity and his divinity. In the… read more →

Readings: 1 Kings 19:9A, 11-13A; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:2-23 Preacher: Kathi Piehler I remember coming home from elementary school to find my mom taking a break from her homemaking duties to watch Johnny Carson host the TV game show, Who Do You Trust? The show had three couples competing for the grand prize of $500.  During the quiz portion of… read more →

Readings: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9 Preacher: Amanda Rayburn What a gift it is to proclaim and ponder the account of the Transfiguration on this first Sunday of August! Remember the last time you heard this Gospel proclaimed? It was Lent, the second Sunday, it was snowing out and temps were in the 20s. The mountain we… read more →

Readings: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Romans 8: 28-30; Matthew 13: 44-52 Preacher: Sr. Karen Dietz Quite a few years ago, when I bought my first car, my dad insisted we buy a standard rather than an automatic. I had only had a few lessons with him, but my dad was confident I could master this skill. My family brought it… read more →