“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated…” (Isaiah 40:1-2) The Prophet Isaiah is speaking to the Jewish people exiled to Babylon. His...
The enemies are on the horizon. Judah is in a time of darkness or uncertainty, waiting for a light to show there is a better future coming. Today’s first reading is from Isaiah 29:17-24. Beginning with the first verse the reading lets us know that something new...
The entire first reading (Isa 11:1-10) gives us a prophetic vision of the coming Messiah, a figure who will bring justice, peace, and harmony to all creation. Today’s first reading also offers two quite famous verses we have all encountered: “But a shoot shall sprout...
What if I simply came to the ambo for the homily and said “Oh, say can you see” and then paused. I feel pretty sure that what would come to your mind is the Battle of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812 – the event that served as the source...
“I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand.” (Rev 14:1) It is a famous verse from Scripture that quickly focuses on the “144,000” standing with “the Lamb on Mount Zion.” There are some denominations...
