Nov. 14, 2010 –Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Malachi 3:19-20; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 What can you when it seems that the whole world as you know it is collapsing around your head? When you feel threatened and vulnerable? Be prepared, but do not lose faith and do not panic is the […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Nov. 7, 2010
Nov. 7, 2010 –Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalm 17; 2 Thessalonians 2:16 – 3:5; Luke 20:27-38 or 20:27, 34-38 It’s jokingly said that one of the most painful motions a man can make is to reach down to pull his wallet out of his pocket. That’s especially true when he’s […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 31, 2010
Oct. 31, 2010 –Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2; Psalm 145; 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – 2:2; Luke 19:1-10 Conversion is more than just a dramatic emotional experience leaving behind lingering warm feelings, although that’s the concept held by many people. A conversion, rather, is a total change from one way of life […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 24, 2010
Oct. 24, 2010 –Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14 Is it a sin to be respectable? It almost sounds as though it is if you skim through the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18. After all, the Pharisee was respectable, […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 17, 2010
Oct. 17, 2010 – Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2; Luke 18:1-8 Whatever people reacted when they heard Jesus teaching, they never thought he was boring. Indeed, he often upset them, because he spoke in ways that overturned their conventional ideas about God and proper human behavior. […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 10, 2010
Oct. 10, 2010 − Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 What do you suppose the neighbors thought when Naaman returned from his journey to Israel with, of all things, two mule-loads of dirt? For a Syrian general to head to Israel was in itself very odd […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 3, 2010
Oct. 3, 2010 — Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 Sometimes the Gospel message comes as a consolation. Sometimes it comes as a challenge. Today’s reading from Luke 17 presents us with the latter. After all, when we’ve finished a hard day at work, the […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Sept. 26, 2010
Sept. 26, 2010 —Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Amos 6:1, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31 What kind of steward are you? The Gospel reading from Luke 16 really challenges us. Oh, we may try to get around it by maintaining that we aren’t stewards, that we’ve never committed ourselves to the practice […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Sept. 19, 2010
Sept. 19, 2010 —Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 or 16:10-13 Summary. Jesus tells a parable about a man who mismanages his employer’s property and who alters the books so he’ll be supported after his firing. Jesus points out that worldly people are more successful at dishonest […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Sept. 12, 2010
Sept. 12, 2010 — Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; Psalm 51; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 or 15:1-10 Summary: The parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates God’s loving and generous character. The father gave to the younger son, who wasted what he had received, but then forgave him and welcomed him home. […]
