Category: April 2023

TABLES SPREAD FOR LIFE ABUNDANT

4/30/2023

GOSPEL — JOHN 10:1-10
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Sometimes a table is spread in a generous fashion but still feels impersonal, like the buffet at a big conference. You can fill your plate as many times as you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re wearing a printed name tag because no one in the room actually knows your name.

ACCOMPANIMENT ALONG THE WAY

4/23/2023

GOSPEL — LUKE 24:13-35
The Third Sunday of Easter

Today’s gospel is a story of accompaniment. The two disciples are walking along, grief-stricken, trying to make sense of “the things that have taken place . . . in these days” (Luke 24:18), and Jesus simply joins them. He walks alongside them in their grief, he inquires about their questions, he meets them where they are.

A WILD, SKEPTICAL HOPE

4/16/2023

GOSPEL — JOHN 20:19-31
The Second Sunday of Easter

“Doubting Thomas” is nearly always meant as a pejorative, but Jesus shows up for him. It’s easy to forget that Thomas is asking for nothing more than what Jesus has already provided to his friends—showing up for them, in the flesh. When he does the same for Thomas and Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), Jesus responds, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). It’s easy to hear this as if Jesus were chastising Thomas while he blesses the rest of us, but he does no such thing. He can show up for Thomas and bless the rest of us all at the same time.

THE STONE-MOVING POWER OF GOD

4/9/2023

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 28:1-10
The Resurrection of Our Lord--Easter Sunday

Special effort had been taken to seal up Jesus’ tomb. Pilate and the religious authorities had taken great care to make absolutely certain there was no way Jesus’ followers could move that stone themselves. They posted armed guards all around.

WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH

4/7/2023

GOSPEL — JOHN 18:1—19:42
GOOD FRIDAY

When Jesus is interrogated by Pilate, he describes his mission in this way: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37). Even in his terrible suffering and death on a cross, Jesus witnesses to the truth of God’s love, life, and power to the end. Refusing retaliation, Christ reveals to us divine power at work through the vulnerability of suffering love and nonviolence. Crucified as a criminal, Christ demonstrates divine solidarity with all who are persecuted and victimized. Weak and dying on the cross, Christ bears witness to divine presence in the depths of human pain.

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE

4/6/2023

GOSPEL — JOHN 13:1-17, 31b-35
Maundy Thursday

On the night before he is killed, Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment: to love one another as he has loved them. Before Jesus speaks these words, he shows the disciples what this love looks like and feels like. With a basin and a towel, he bends down and kneels before them, one by one. Stooping low, he cradles their dirty, smelly feet in his hands, washing them with tenderness and care.

PARADES AND LONG WALKS

4/2/2023

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 26:14—27:66
Palm / Passion Sunday

The stories we hear for Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday are marked by a series of parades. The crowd shouts “Hosanna” as Jesus processes into Jerusalem. After his arrest, he is paraded to the home of Caiaphas to be confronted by the scribes and elders. They bind him and parade him to Pilate. The soldiers lead him to the governor’s headquarters before he is paraded to Golgotha to be crucified.

GOSPEL MESSAGES

TABLES SPREAD FOR LIFE ABUNDANT

GOSPEL — JOHN 10:1-10
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

ACCOMPANIMENT ALONG THE WAY

GOSPEL — LUKE 24:13-35
The Third Sunday of Easter

A WILD, SKEPTICAL HOPE

GOSPEL — JOHN 20:19-31
The Second Sunday of Easter

THE STONE-MOVING POWER OF GOD

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 28:1-10
The Resurrection of Our Lord--Easter Sunday

WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH

GOSPEL — JOHN 18:1—19:42
GOOD FRIDAY

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE

GOSPEL — JOHN 13:1-17, 31b-35
Maundy Thursday

PARADES AND LONG WALKS

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 26:14—27:66
Palm / Passion Sunday

2022/2023 — YEAR A

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GOSPEL MESSAGES

TABLES SPREAD FOR LIFE ABUNDANT

GOSPEL — JOHN 10:1-10The Fourth Sunday of Easter

ACCOMPANIMENT ALONG THE WAY

GOSPEL — LUKE 24:13-35The Third Sunday of Easter

A WILD, SKEPTICAL HOPE

GOSPEL — JOHN 20:19-31The Second Sunday of Easter

THE STONE-MOVING POWER OF GOD

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 28:1-10The Resurrection of Our Lord--Easter Sunday

WITNESSING TO THE TRUTH

GOSPEL — JOHN 18:1—19:42GOOD FRIDAY

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE

GOSPEL — JOHN 13:1-17, 31b-35Maundy Thursday

PARADES AND LONG WALKS

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 26:14—27:66Palm / Passion Sunday

2022/2023 — YEAR A

ARCHIVE​

Stay connected with us!

Telephone

Saint John's Lutheran Church

EMAIL

GOSPEL — JOHN 10:1-10
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL — LUKE 24:13-35
The Third Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL — JOHN 20:19-31
The Second Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 28:1-10
The Resurrection of Our Lord--Easter Sunday

GOSPEL — JOHN 18:1—19:42
GOOD FRIDAY

GOSPEL — JOHN 13:1-17, 31b-35
Maundy Thursday

GOSPEL — MATTHEW 26:14—27:66
Palm / Passion Sunday

ARCHIVE