Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here When Something Dies — and Something Begins First Sunday of Lent – Year A Genesis 2:7-9;3:1-7 · Romans 5:12-19 · Matthew 4:1-11 Sin and grace. Some cultures don’t use these words. But almost everyone knows the feeling of doing something that doesn’t match who they want to be. Someone once put it this way: “Every time I do it, something dies inside me.” ...
If You Stop Crushing People
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here If You Stop Crushing People Saturday after Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:9b–14 · Psalm 86 · Luke 5:27–32 Nearly 2,500 years ago, when Confucius was shaping social harmony, Sunzi was reflecting on war and power, and Laozi was withdrawing into the mystery of the Dao, in the land of Israel a man named Isaiah stood up and dared to speak in a way few ever have. ...
When Fasting Leaves the Table
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here When Fasting Leaves the Table Friday after Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:1–9 After Ash Wednesday, the dust is still on our skin. The question now is what happens next. We know the words: prayer, fasting, giving. We know the habits. We know the forms. But Isaiah interrupts us. He gives voice to a complaint that sounds familiar: “We fasted. We tried. Why didn’t you notice?” ...
Choose Life
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here Choose Life Thursday after Ash Wednesday Deuteronomy 30:15–20 · Psalm 1 · Luke 9:22–25 Lent begins with a choice: life or death, blessing or curse. There is no middle ground. No safe delay. Choose life, Moses says. Psalm 1 listens to the same invitation. It traces two paths. One is rooted— like a tree beside running water, quietly growing, bearing fruit in its time. ...
Getting Real with God
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here Getting Real with God Ash Wednesday Joel 2:12-18; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Ash Wednesday doesn’t begin with answers. It begins with a mark. A cross of ashes on the forehead. Not pretty. Not impressive. Not something you post to get likes. Many people don’t know what to do with it. Is it about feeling guilty? About punishing ourselves? About proving how serious we are? ...
Facing Temptation, Passing the Test
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here Facing Temptation, Passing the Test James 1:12–17 Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Temptation. What is it? Buying more clothes when your closet is already full? Watching something you know you shouldn’t? James doesn’t give examples. He doesn’t need to. Because we know temptation always shows up exactly when it shouldn’t. It comes in quiet moments— when the lights are off, when we’re about to fall asleep. ...
More Than Belief
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here More Than Belief The Beginning of the Letter of James James 1:1-11 Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time James doesn’t begin softly. You may ask, James? Who? He was one of those crazy-for-Christ people, living nearly two thousand years ago, drunk on God’s Spirit instead of wine, leading a fragile community trying—often failing—to live the teaching of Jesus. ...
More Than Rules
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here More Than Rules Sixth Sunday Sirach 15:16–21 · 1 Corinthians 2:6–10 · Matthew 5:17–37 Some Christians decided long ago to stop swearing oaths. They were called the Quakers. And they said something simple: If you tell the truth all the time, you don’t need to swear to convince anyone. Just speak. And let your life back it up. They took that straight from Jesus: ...
The Shortcut That Changed Everything
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here The Shortcut That Changed Everything 1 Kings 12:26–32; 13:33–34 Saturday, Memorial of Saints Cyril and Methodius Jeroboam thinks at night. The kingdom is new. Fragile. Still settling into its shape. One fear keeps returning: If the people go to Jerusalem, their hearts may follow. And if their hearts go, the kingdom may go with them. So he chooses a shortcut. ...
When the Prophet Tears the Cloak
Your browser does not support the audio element. Readings Here When the Prophet Tears the Cloak 1 Kings 11:29–32; 12:19 Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time What was announced yesterday now takes shape. Solomon will lose the kingdom. Not all at once. But it will be taken. And a name appears: Jeroboam. A capable man. A hard worker. Put in charge of forced labor. Irony thick in the air. Israel once escaped Pharaoh. Now their own king sounds like him. ...