First Reading

Ethiopian Coptic Service (1995)
Commentary on Isaiah 9:2-7

The prophet Isaiah composes a coronation hymn for a not yet fully-grown King. These familiar [...]

Pregnant woman
Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

A new king has a grand idea to build a [...]

woman testifying in worship
Commentary on Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The passage begins with an announcement of divine presence and [...]

Rosa Parks, forerunner
Commentary on Isaiah 40:1-11

Isaiah 40:1-11 is one of the most important texts in all of Isaiah.1 The narrative [...]

stars falling on hillside
Commentary on Isaiah 64:1-9

When my son, Christopher, was a boy, I took him to Toys-R-Us, and he got [...]

Matthew 5:4
Commentary on Revelation 7:9-17

Prior to the opening of the dreaded seventh seal, Revelation [...]

1 Thessalonians 2:9
Commentary on Micah 3:5-12

Lectionary texts are like photographs: when they are cropped and framed in certain ways, our [...]

Matthew 25:10
Commentary on Amos 5:18-24

How would a typical congregation feel if the members truly heard these words of the [...]

Matthew 25:25
Commentary on Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

In Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18, the audience is jarred out of [...]

Matthew 25:35
Commentary on Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

The connection between justice and care is often lost in [...]