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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 […]

Today we read from an overlooked gem of the Old Testament – the book of Habakkuk. This short work takes the form of a dialogue between the prophet and God. Habakkuk is greatly distressed at the state of the world, and complains about it to God. The book opens with Habakkuk asking, “Lord, how long must […]

Today’s readings from Exodus and Hebrews relate the behaviors for atonement God established for the Israelites in earlier times to the later behavior of Jesus. God’s provisions for atonement from sin were experienced by the Israelites as a gracious gift. When the High Priest represented the people to God on the Day of Atonement, it […]

Today we begin the first of four days reading from one of the most famous Psalms. Psalm 51 has traditionally been attributed to King David, writing after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. Whatever the circumstances of its composition may have been, it is clearly an outpouring of the depths of […]

On the seventh and final day of Lectionary reading from Psalm 107, think about God’s steadfast love as a part of the covenant with His people. And in my response to God’s faithfulness and loyalty, ask, “How faithful and loyal am I?” Today’s reading from Isaiah is a magnificent description of life under the rule […]