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The Easter Vigil is observed by many churches that have a high liturgical tradition. In these churches, the Vigil is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day. As night gives way to day, it becomes the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. The reading […]

Holy Saturday obviously does not capture the Christian imagination like either of the days surrounding it. In many Christian traditions, the day has been relatively neglected. However, in recent times there has been increased attention paid to the question this day raises. What should it mean to Christians to contemplate a day in which God […]

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Christian calendar. It is in every way an antidote to a view of Christianity that is too sweet and shallow to grapple with the realities of existence. Good Friday sees, in concentrated form, the evil and darkness that damages God’s good creation. In following Christ, we […]

Today’s readings pull together several threads of salvation that run through the Old and New Testaments. The reading from Exodus recounts the extremely important establishment of the Passover.  Christians sometimes fail to appreciate the relationship of the events of Holy Week to Passover. The timing of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and everything that follows is […]

Today we again read Isaiah 50:4-9a, which is the third of the Servant songs. As we think of the servant’s sufferings, let us also think on the servant as a teacher who knows “how to sustain the weary with a word.” We can be inspired by knowing that God sustains us through weariness. In Christ, […]

Isaiah 49 contains the second of the four servant songs in the Book of Isaiah.  Here the servant expresses both the past and future aspects of God’s plan. Israel has been called into a covenant relationship with God that will advance God’s glory and fulfill the ancient promise to Abraham to bless all the nations […]

Today’s reading from Isaiah is the first of the four Servant Songs the book contains. This one speaks of how God’s anointed agent will establish justice upon the earth. We tend to hear promises of justice and judgment as ominous phrases. But that is because we are accustomed to our human understandings of justice and […]

Today is Palm Sunday, the last Sunday in Lent. As we move into Holy Week, it is helpful to remember that every Sunday is a “mini-Easter,” a celebration of  the Resurrection. Even in the darkest of weeks, we can know that Sunday is coming. The reading from Isaiah is the first of several this week. […]

Today’s reading from Jeremiah again sounds the note of hope that God will restore the land and its people to wholeness. The promised salvation, however, is accompanied by the justice and righteousness that comes under the rule of God’s Messiah. Although we modern Westerners are wary of both rulers and rules, we must not draw […]

The reading from Jeremiah today both comforts us and reminds us of a painful truth. It tells of God’s promise to restore and heal the people after they have experienced the dreadful consequences of self-centeredness. We need the comfort of knowing that joy and praise are indeed possible after heartache. But the painful truth is […]

This is the first of three days reading from Psalm 118. This song of praise for God’s deliverance is one of the more familiar Psalms, and has been much beloved in both Hebrew and Christian tradition. Martin Luther, for instance, called it, “My own beloved psalm.” It has been called “open-ended” for the mystery regarding […]

Today’s readings from Haggai speak of a time when the Israelites had returned to their Promised Land after exile in Babylon. However, their land seems to have lost much of its promise. The great temple in Jerusalem remains in ruins. Although the people have returned physically, there has been no spiritual restoration. The prophet Haggai […]

Today’s reading from Isaiah is a resounding statement of the uniqueness of the God of Israel. The proclamation that there is one God is not a mere claim about either national or religious identity. It is an affirmation that in the one God, all the various created things find their source and proper place. This […]

Reading from Psalm 119 is always an inspiring reminder of the joy to be experienced in a life of devotion to meditation on God’s nature and expressions. The enthusiastic focus of this Psalmist is a refreshing alternative to our culture’s insistence on having a never-ending supply of fast and easy distractions. Life lived in, with, […]

The reading today from Jeremiah presents the wonderful vision of a world in which God’s people have hearts so aligned with God’s heart that God’s instructive lessons have been “interiorized.” God will be known by the intimate knowledge of complete reconciliation that is foreshadowed by Psalm 51. The passage from Psalm 119 displays the delight […]