Author Archives: stjohn

Third Sunday of Advent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First Reading

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Psalm

Isaiah 12:2-6

Second reading

Philippians 4:4-7

Gospel

Luke 3:7-18

The gospel from Luke:
One more powerful is coming

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”

In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah. John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people.

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Second Sunday after Advent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading

Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4

Psalm

Luke 1:68-79

Second reading

Philippians 1:3-11

Gospel

Luke 3:1-6

Prepare the way of the Lord

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”Prepare the way of the Lord

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”

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First Sunday of Advent

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm

Psalm 25:1-10

Second reading

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Gospel

Luke 21:25-36

The gospel from Luke:
Watch for the coming of the Son of Man

Jesus said “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Reign of Christ

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

2 Samuel 23:1-7 Psalm 132:1-12, (13-18)

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Psalm 93

Second reading

Revelation 1:4b-8

Gospel

John 18:33-37

The gospel from John:
The kingdom of Christ
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

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Twenty Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

1 Samuel 1:4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Daniel 12:1-3 Psalm 16

Second reading

Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25

Gospel

Mark 13:1-8

The gospel from Mark:
The end and the coming of the Son

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”

Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

Alternate First reading and Psalm

1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146

Second reading

Hebrews 9:24-28

Gospel

Mark 12:38-44

The psalm:

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

The gospel from Mark
A widow’s generosity

As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.

Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The sermon:
Pastor Stevenson’s message today is on both the psalm and the gospel. Psalm 146 begins with verses that read “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.” This psalm is a lectionary reading every four years – election year in which there is a winner and a loser. We are in the season of several festivals ending with Christ the King Sunday. And it is these when we make our financial pledges. Money raised can be wasteful, but not at St John, The pastor is expected to raise money, but not our pastor, even though we will be needing a new furnace boiler. In our gospel lesson Jesus observes a poor widow donating one cent in the temple. At St John giving what we can is enough. Pastor Stevenson continues with his remarks on the psalm and gospel…………

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All Saints Day

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

• Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9 and Psalm 24
• Revelation 21:1-6a
• John 11:32-44

The gospel from John:

The raising of Lazarus
When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 3When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”d But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.”

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Twenty Second Sunday after Penetecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First Reading and Psalm

Job 38:1-7, (34-41), Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16

Second reading

Hebrews 5:1-10

Gospel

Mark 10:35-45

A first reading from Isaiah:
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases, yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.

They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with affliction. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.

Out of his anguish he shall see; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

The gospel from Mark:
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Sermon:
One bible scholar thinks that Isaiah is the most contested book of the bible. It has been interpreted to be a prophecy. Is he prophesying Jesus Christ? How does Mark differ from Isaiah? Isaiah refers to an anonymous servant four times. God chose the servant. He took the initiative. Who was the one? Were there two? The verbs are singular. There was a servant in the 6th century. Isaiah gives us just a glimpse of a messiah. His was a prophecy. Pastor Stevenson continues with his interpretation………

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Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Psalm 22:1-15

Alternate First reading and Psalm

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 Psalm 90:12-17

Second reading

Hebrews 4:12-16

Gospel

Mark 10:17-31

The gospel from Mark:
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.'” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age–houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions–and in the age to come eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Sermon:
In our gospel reading Jesus tells a man to inherit eternal life “sell what he can and give the money to the poor. Why is this gospel in our lectionary at this time? Likely it is because this is the time of the year when we are asked to pledge offerings for the next year and have fund raisers. Pastor Stevenson tells us that we all have something we would refuse to give up including himself. In Hebrews 4:11 Paul tells us to make every effort to “enter the rest” on Sunday, the seventh day, as did God so that no one will “fail by disobedience.” Pastor continues with interpretation of today’s gospel.

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Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK:

First reading and Psalm

Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8

Second reading

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Gospel

Mark 10:2-16

The gospel from Mark:

Teaching on marriage

Some testing Jesus, asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”

But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 1He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

People were bringing children to him in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.