Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
John 12:20-36
Psalm 71:1-14

The prophet Isaiah lived and wrote during the stormy period when many of the people of Judah were in exile in Babylon, crushed and without hope. We too live in a stormy period – we seem to have abandoned our Christian roots to love one another and segments of our society seem bent on, rather than loving one other, creating ways to define “other”, to vilify and exclude them, scapegoating the other in order to solidify social boundaries. As a nation we no longer welcome those escaping wars, persecution, starvation, fleeing to America seeking life, freedom, and opportunity.

To me, when God beckoned Isaiah to bring back his people, he did not mean for Isaiah to simply bring the scattered people back to Israel. God implored Isaiah to bring the people back to God. “I have a greater task for you my servant… I will also make you a light to the nations – so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

We all have the light of God within us. Imagine how different our world would be if we shared that light, that love, and compassion with our fellow humans, no matter the color of their skin, their country of origin, their gender or sexual orientation. If we truly recognized others as equals in need of care and comfort. If we let the light within us shine so others may see the love God extends to us all as his children. If we all, regardless of our own trials and tribulations, seek opportunities to serve one another, to open the doors of happiness by taking care of the many others with whom we share the world?

Let the light of God’s love within us all be a beacon to those seeking. Amen.
-Carol Boss

Isaiah 42:1-9
Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11
Psalm 36:5-11

Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped it with her hair…Jesus said, “…She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

Jesus was heading to Jerusalem where he knew he would be put to death. During the end of his ministry, he tried to prepare his followers for this. He gave them instructions on what to do after he was gone. He chose a leader for the apostles. He assured them he would prepare a place for them. He even made arrangements for the care of his mother as he hung from the Cross.

Many of us are nearing the end of our journeys here, and we often think of the preparations we need to be doing for that time. We check on our insurance policies and wills, distribute family treasures to our loved ones, try to mend broken relationships, and get “right” with our God. It is not a scary task to prepare, but a holy and comforting one. Just as Jesus prepared himself and his friends, it is up to us to do the same. With God’s help, it can be a joyful and blessed journey.

Loving God, just as your Son faced his death by preparing in many ways, help us to do the same as we approach the day of our journey to be with you. In His name we pray, Amen.
-Penny Worrell

John 12:12-16
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

¿Las lecturas me recuerdan algo que está sucediendo en este país o en el mundo en este momento?

En la actualidad nuestro país y otros países del Mundo quisiéramos que un día llegue Jesús. Como aquella vez que la multitud supo que iba a entrar a Jerusalén y empezaron a organizar a su manera la fiesta de la pascua, y sus seguidores, alabaron y con grito y alegría lo recibieron. Jesús lego humildemente montado en su burro, venía a dar su mensaje divino a su pueblo, a la multitud que lo esperaba.

Pero lo curioso es que sus discípulos no entendían lo que Jesús estaba haciendo, hasta después, ya estaba en las escrituras.

Hablando particularmente de Estados unidos de américa, cuando tenemos que ir las Protestas y marchas para DACA o inmigración, nos encontramos con personas que no entienden porque otras personas están protestando; muchas de las veces son porque nunca han estado en una situación similar. Y se pregunta por qué tanto alboroto en las calles; es como los propios discípulos de Jesús que no entendían lo qué el estaban haciendo entrando ante la multitud.

Pero a pesar de todo lo difícil que es la vida de cada una de las personas que vivimos en esta sociedad, el mensaje que Juan nos da para nosotros que vivimos en este planeta llamado tierra, tenemos que tener fe y esperanza, para que los demás crean en nosotros, tenemos ir en nuestro burrito o caminando, como lo hizo Jesús en Jerusalén.

Pero también tenemos que ir con a multitud ser humildes, pacientes, compasivos, entender a los demás sin cuestionar mucho, creer en la biblia nos enseña, creer a todos aquellos que nos rodean, por qué Jesús creyó en todas aquellas personas que esperaban al entrar a Jerusalén.

Creo en Dios todos poderosos y El cree en mí. Creo en Jesús, Creo en Jesús y en Dios mi Salvador. Amén

English Translation

Do the readings remind me of something that is happening in this country or in the world currently?

Today, our country and other countries in the world would like Jesus to arrive one day. As when the crowd knew that Jesus was going to enter Jerusalem and they began to organize the celebration — his followers praised him, receiving him with shouts of joy. Jesus, humbly riding on his donkey, came to give his divine message to his people, to the crowd who waited for him.

But the funny thing is that his disciples did not understand what Jesus was doing, until later. He was already in the scriptures.

Speaking particularly of the United States of America, when we have to go the protests and marches for DACA or immigration, we find some who do not understand why people are protesting. Many times, it is because they themselves have never been in a similar situation. And they wonder why all the fuss in the streets. It is like Jesus’ own disciples who did not understand what he was doing entering the multitude.

But despite all the difficulties of each one who lives in this society, the message that John gives for us who live on this planet Earth, we are to have faith and hope, so that others believe through us. We must go on our little burro as Jesus did in Jerusalem or walk.

But we also have to go with the crowd to be humble, patient, compassionate… to understand others without questioning much, believe what the Bible teaches us, believe all those around us because Jesus believed in all those people who waited his entering to Jerusalem.

I believe in God all-powerful and God believes in me. I believe in Jesus, I believe in Jesus and in God my Savior. Amen.
-Francisco Lopez, La Iglesia Episcopal de la Resurrección

Ezekiel 37:21–28
John 11:45–53
Psalm 85:1–7

In our Gospel reading, the Chief priests and Pharisees did not know what to do about this man called Jesus. They asked each other, “What are we to do?”

So often life throws us a ‘curve ball’. What is the right thing to do? Should I, or shouldn’t I? A roster of pros and cons is created to aid in the decision, yet the answer is still unknown.

This is the best time to grasp and clutch for divine wisdom. St. Benedict teaches us to “listen with the ear of your heart.” In so doing, a major decision can be made with a feeling of peace, joy, and grace, all given to us by God.

Heavenly Father, When I struggle to make a decision, help me to be still, listen and know the peace that comes only from You. Amen.
-Sister Katherine

Jeremiah 20:7–13
John 10:31–42
Psalm 18:1–7

O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

As boaters, we have traveled many times up and down the Georgia Strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. There is always a patch of water just North of Lund, BC where it seems that it is very rough due to the currents and winds converging in this area. There is a fueling station with a couple of docks with a small motel in Lund. Once you pass this place going south, you won’t find another safe haven for several miles but turning back is not an alternative. The first time we stayed there, the waters were so rough it was harrowing just getting into the dock and getting tied down. During the night the fuel dock sunk in the night.

In the early 1980’s, my first husband had been sick and then had knee surgery, which was a big event in the early 1980’s and then was unemployed, all in a small town in Quebec, Canada. Life was getting unbearable and I cried out to the Lord. There was not a “haven” in sight. God touched the hearts of a couple I had met at university. They made the 475-mile journey to visit us. They evaluated the situation and literally created a job for my husband at their small company, boarded him in their home for several months until I was able to move and join them in Waterloo, Ontario. I was able to rent an apartment, find myself a job and we were able to start a new life. God had provided that “haven” in the storm of life.

Thank you, Lord, that You are always there when we need to find a safe haven in the storms of life. Amen.
-Marilyn Allen

Genesis 17:1–8
John 8:51–59
Psalm 105:4–11

I have had the “pleasure” of walking alongside friends who have struggled with infertility. Some eventually chose to adopt children from abroad who needed homes, while others did rounds upon rounds of Clomid and/or IVF before they were able to conceive a child. It is a horrible struggle to watch and I am always so overjoyed when they step off the plane with their child in the case of adoption, or when their child is finally born following a carefully supervised pregnancy. These kids literally are the answers to prayer.

In our reading from Genesis, the Lord does the literally impossible task of bringing about a biological heir from Abraham and Sarah who were old and considered to be infertile. (Don’t worry, I am not forgetting Ishmael, the product of Abraham and Hagar, and the sad story of Sarah’s jealousy leading Hagar to be sent away into the desert.) The Lord had promised that Abraham’s descendants would be “exceedingly numerous”, and that promise has endured.

That promise is so central to the faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that Abraham has a place in all three faiths, and the story is referenced multiple times in both the Old and New Testaments. The message is not only that God can do things that we consider impossible, but also that God keeps promises. What an amazing thing upon which we can base our hope!

Thank you, Lord, for keeping your promise to Abraham and showing us that You will keep Your promises to us. Amen.
-Jen McCabe