'But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest', Isaiah 29:17.||This metaphor used in the first sentence of this passage illustrates the hope of God's salvation ...

The readings from both Isaiah and Matthew are fairly clear, so I would like to focus on the psalm instead. Individual lines here summarize and encapsulate elements of the spiritual life that we can lose sight of in the ...

The themes for today are ASK, WAIT, and HAVE FAITH.|Isaiah 29:18 says: "In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see."|Psalms 27:13-14 says: "I ...

Paul here shows a fatherly love in his correction of the Christian community in Thessalonica. It would seem that he is trying to deal with a tendency that was not unique to this group of believers, a yearning to tie the ...

Today is St. Nicholas Day. I am reminded of how much our responses are dependent on our background and context. I grew up in a very comfortable environment in the suburbs. The evening before St. Nicholas Day would involve ...

As happens many times when I contemplate the readings before I write these short reflections, something from everyday life inextricably meshes in my mind with the words of scripture. So too with these passages for today. ...

Jesus spoke and acted with authority: "He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority." And again, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he ...

"Do you believe that I can do this?" Matthew 9||This is the central question of our Christian lives. To be a follower of Jesus, to accept what he offers us, and to accept our mission to make a difference by loving and ...

Readings like these always give me a jolt. On the one hand, they contain promises of deliverance and beatitude for the children of the light. On the other hand, they warn of a coming wrath in which God will surprise the ...

A family I know had been faithfully attending to their seriously ill mother; they knew that death was imminent, yet when she finally died it was a surprise to them because, despite her compromised health, she seemed to be ...