All Past Reflections

Second Sunday after Pentecost“Rhetorical Questions” — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Hosea 5:15-6:6/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 9:9-13/NRSVUE) As some of you know, I was out of town late last week officiating my nephew’s wedding. Being asked to do this is...

PentecostWind of Change — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Numbers 11:24-30/NRSVUE)Second Reading (Acts 2:1-21/NRSVUE) Previously, in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus ascended to heaven. Before he did, though, he made it clear to his disciples that they were not to...

Seventh Sunday of EasterAscension — Rev. Brent Gundlah Gospel Reading (Luke 24:44-53/NRSVUE)Second Reading (Acts 1:1-14/NRSVUE) This may be the understatement of the year, but so 2026 hasn’t exactly gone as I’d hoped it would. And let’s be honest, 2025 was no bargain...

Sixth Sunday of Easter"The Advocate" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Psalm 66:8-20/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 14:15-21/NRSVUE) I encountered a lot of memorable personalities over the course of my twenty-five years in finance but one of the most memorable was...

Fourth Sunday of Easter"The Good Shepherd" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Ezekiel 34:1-10/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 10:1-11/NRSVUE) One summer when our daughters were very young we took them to a local carnival where they wanted to play one of those games of...

Second Sunday after Easter"Doubt" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Acts 2:14a, 22-32/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 20:19-31/NRSVUE) Anyone who’s been around church for a while could tell you that the Sunday after Easter, the Sunday after Christmas, Sundays of...

"A New Beginning"— Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Colossians 3:1-4, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 28:1-10, NRSVUE) About this time of year back in 1957, Elvis Presley — the “King of Rock and Roll” — released a song that was number one on the Billboard Top 100 for...

Palm SundaySixth Sunday in Lent"The Good News Is...Inspiring Us to Act"— Rev. Brent Gundlah Zechariah 9:9-10Matthew 21:1-17 The story of Palm Sunday is one of the toughest a preacher has to deal with all year because it’s so familiar and so simple. Jesus rides into...

Fifth Sunday in Lent"Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Gospel Reading (John 8:2-11/NRSVUE)Second Gospel Reading (Matthew 23:23/NRSVUE) Today’s first reading from John’s Gospel is a really good story in and of itself, but there’s more to it...

Fourth Sunday in Lent"The Alien, the Orphan, and the Widow" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Deuteronomy 24:17-22/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 19:13-15/NRSVUE) Karl Barth was a minister in the Swiss Reformed Church and is widely acknowledged as being one of the...