lectionary
Gifts all around us: John 20:19-23; Acts 2:1-21; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
What happens to a person when the Holy Spirit descends like a tongue of fire? In Acts, those present were filled with the Holy Spirit. We all long for this. We all seek fulfillment. I saw this once when I was conducting a spiritual retreat for members of various 12-step groups. Each person spoke powerfully about how the pain of emptiness in his life had led him down wayward paths. Each had discovered that “you can never get enough of that which will not satisfy.”
Greater works than Christ's: John 14:1-14
Calling the roll is easier than following the leader.
Scandalous forgiveness: Luke 24:13-35
Appearing to two nobodies going nowhere is an interesting choice.
Holy irony: Matthew 26:14–27:66
At one end of Matthew, Jesus goes free. At the other, cruel, ritualized slaughter befalls him.
Identity confirmation: John 4:5-42
Respectable women made their trips to the well in the morning, not at noon.
Glimpses of glory: Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Exodus 24:12-18
I’m less inclined that some commentators are to condemn Peter.
Keep seeking: Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Cor. 1:10-18; Matt. 4:12-23
Light is light. And only light can bring our fragmented darkness into proper perspective and allow us to see things whole.
The eyes of the Christ child (Matthew 2:1-12)
At the center of Epiphany is a mystery of looking. Who looks at whom?