Month: September 2023

Seventeenth Sunday of Pentecost, Proper 20: Exodus 16:2-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45; Philippians 1:21-30; Matthew 20:1-16 You cannot entirely blame the people of Israel for complaining: they are in the desert, and while the Egyptians have been destroyed, they have no obvious food to eat. They have left the fleshpots of Egypt and are afraid. The…

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 19, September 17, 2023: Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11,20-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35 Today’s lessons in Paul’s letter to the Romans and Matthew’s gospel focus on scale: who we are in relation to God. It is somewhat humbling, but also a source of relief. “So then, each of…

Fifteenth Sunday of Pentecost, Proper 18; 10 September 2023: Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 149; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20 We need neighbors. We need each other. Our history is marked by cooperation and conflict, and many efforts to help us live together. All our readings today circle around our lives with others. The Hebrew scriptures today set…

14th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17), 3 September 2023: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28 Last week our readings began the story of Moses; between then an now Moses has grown up and become sensitive to the abuse of his people. He killed an Egyptian who was abusing the Israelites, and…