The Sixth Sunday after PentecostMark 5:21–43 Mark the Evangelist uses a very special literary technique, sometimes called interpolation, inclusio, or chiastic structure, but more commonly referred to as a Markan Sandwich. A Markan Sandwich is when Mark takes one story, cuts it in two, and stuffs another story in between the two halves. One story, … [Read more…]
We have made it through the festive cycle of Lent-Eastertide and enter the liturgical season known as “Ordinary Time.” You might think that it’s ordinary time because nothing extraordinary is happening. No big festivals. Nothing particularly exceptional. In some sense, that is true, but that’s not why this season is called Ordinary Time…
The Seventh Sunday of EasterActs 1:15–26 We are almost at the end of our seven-week Eastertide journey through Acts. So it is a little strange that this morning we’re jumping back to the beginning. Out of all of the readings we will touch this season, the one this morning comes earliest. It comes even before … [Read more…]
The Sixth Sunday of EasterActs 10:44–48 We’re continuing our Eastertide journey through the book of Acts. We haven’t read it yet this season, but one of the first things that happens in the Book of Acts is the Pentecost. This is when the Holy Spirit descends on the apostles and they speak in tongues. That’s … [Read more…]
The Fifth Sunday of EasterActs 8:26–40 All through the seven weeks of the Easter Season we are focusing on the fifth book of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, the sequel to the Gospel of Luke. We’ve heard about the early church sharing their possessions so that no one was in need. We’ve … [Read more…]
WORSHIPIN MAY In May we will finish up our 7-week sojourn through the Book of Acts, exploring the story of the early church, and its response to Jesus’s resurrection. Though the lectionary keeps us jumping around, backward and forward in the story. We’ll conclude our journey with the story of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit … [Read more…]
The Fourth Sunday of EasterActs 4:1-20 We are in the third week of our Eastertide journey through the Book of Acts, which is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Two weeks ago, we heard from the end of chapter four about how the early church in Jerusalem shared their possessions so that no one … [Read more…]
The Second Sunday of EasterActs 4:32–35 After journeying through the reflective and penitential season of Lent, after celebrating the joy of resurrection on Easter Morning, we are now in the Season of Easter. Easter isn’t just one Sunday, it lasts for seven weeks, eight Sundays. A week of weeks, it is sometimes called, or the … [Read more…]
WORSHIP IN APRIL Throughout April, we are celebrating the season of Easter. Also known as the Great Fifty Days, or the Week of Weeks, it begins on the Feast of Easter and continues to the Feast of Pentecost…