http://ezek22.net/blog Directed toward the Christian Lectionary, including commentary on the readings Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:05:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Today's Readings (text): Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Psalm 31 Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 Today's service (it's not a mass, even in Roman Catholic churches) features long, long readings. Volumes are written about the Lord's passion, which comes today from John's gospel, and I will not add to the fire. Instead, I'd like to focus on Isaiah's ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2011/04/22/april-22-2011-good-friday/ Today's Readings (text): Isaiah 42:1-7 Psalm 29:1-10 Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17 "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation, whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him," Peter tells a gathering of people in the house of Cornelius in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles. At this ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2011/01/09/jan-9-2010-baptism-of-the-lord/ Received today in email: Don't look for a punch line; there isn't one. At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/12/22/merry-christmas-2010/ Today's Readings (text): Isaiah 66:10-14 (alt in RCL* 2 Kings 5:1-14) Ps 66:1-7, 16, 20 Galatians 6:14-18 Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 Rather joyous words we hear from God on this, the 234th birthday of the independence of the United States from Great Britain: "Even the demons are subject to us because of your name," the 72 ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/07/04/july-4-2010-14th-ordinary/ Today's Readings (text): 1st Kings 19:16, 19-21 Ps 16 Galatians 5:1, 13-18 (RCL* -25) Luke 9:51-62 We know when Jesus was alive, lots of people claimed to be exorcists. They all thought they could cast out demons. In today's gospel passage, we have a story of Jesus, James, and John coming across some of these ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/06/21/june-27-2010-13th-ordinary/ Today's Readings (text): Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1 Ps 63:2-9 Galatians 3:26-29 Luke 9:18-24 Tony Hayward is not feeling very happy these days. He's the chief executive of BP, the company that drilled the well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico, the well that exploded on April 20 for unknown reasons, costing 11 lives, dumping millions ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/06/19/june-20-2010-12th-ordinary/ Today's Readings (text): 2nd Peter 3:12-18 Ps 90:1-4, 10, 14, 16 Mark 12:13-17 According to an editorial filed by the Becket Fund on the Catholic Exchange, the town of Leon Valley, Texas, is trying to prevent a church named "The Elijah Group" from conducting worship services on Sunday, even though the town has allowed ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/05/31/june-1-2010-tuesday-9th-ordinary/ Today's Readings (text): Proverbs 8:22-31 Ps 8:2, 4-9 Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15 At St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix several months ago, Sister Margaret McBride, a senior administrator at the hospital, authorized an abortion for a 27-year-old woman suffering from pulmonary hypertension, secondary to her fourth pregnancy. In ruling that Sister McBride was "automatically excommunicated" from the ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/05/29/may-30-2010-holy-trinity/ Today's Readings (text): Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Ps 67:2-8 Revelations 21:10-14, 22-23 John 14:23-29 Happy Mother's Day (officially, the apostrophe goes before the s, making "mother" singular). My mother died several years ago, but I celebrate Mother's Day every year as well, knowing, as Jesus told his disciples in today's gospel passage about his own death, ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/05/09/may-9-2010-6th-easter/ Today's Readings (text): Acts 14:21-27 Ps 145:8-13 Revelations 21:1-5 John 13:31-35 The government of the state of Arizona passed an unusual law last week, which gives police in the state the power to demand legal documentation from people who look like illegal aliens. Those who are unable to produce documentation (such as a driver's license ... http://ezek22.net/blog/2010/04/29/may-2-2010-5th-easter/