Sermons from January 2022

4 Epiphany – January 30, 2022 Luke 4:21-30           Today’s gospel is a continuation of last week’s story with Jesus saying, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”   And it all started off really well.  All spoke well of him and were amazed at his gracious words.  And then, the atmosphere changed dramatically. The crowd that had been adoring this hometown man, turned into an angry mob that wanted to throw him off a cliff. What happened?  Well,…

3 Epiphany – January 23, 2022 Luke 4:14-21           Our gospel ends today with the words of Jesus:  “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Has it? Jesus seems convinced of it, at least. And to get a little Greek language insight, the verb “has been fulfilled” is in the perfect tense. Which means that the Scripture has indeed been fulfilled in its hearing and the effect of that hearing is an ongoing reality. In other words, “today”…

1 Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord – Jan 9, 2022 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22          We just heard Luke tell us that Jesus has been baptized–and was praying—”when the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  Now, that was a “moment”. A significant, full, ripe moment. It established a relationship. It’s the season…

Epiphany – January 2, 2022 Matthew 2:1-12           Happy New Year, Happy 2022!  It’s a new calendar year, and today we are marking the Feast of the Epiphany which we are celebrating early, as it actually occurs on Thursday, January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas. Epiphany tells the story of the magi, or the wise men, traveling by the light of a bright star to see the child who has been born “King of the Jews”.  Of course, as…