All Past Reflections
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Baptism of Jesus "The Face of the Waters" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Genesis 1:1-5, NRSVUE) Gospel Reading (Mark 1:4-11, NRSVUE) Many years ago, Val and I lived in the small city of Weehawken, New Jersey. For those of you who don’t happen to know much about...
Sunday, January 7, 2023
The Epiphany"Arise, Shine, for Your Light Has Come" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 60: 1-6, NRSVUE) Gospel Reading (Matthew 2:1-12, NRSVUE) So, the Christmas season officially ends today. Well, it actually ended yesterday since January 6th is the...
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Third Sunday in Advent Joy — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, NRSVUE) Gospel Reading (John 1:6-8, 19-28, NRSVUE) For my birthday a couple of years ago my family bought me one of those DNA test kits that’s supposed to tell you where you come from....
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Second Sunday in Advent Peace — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 40:1-11, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Mark 1:1-8, NRSVUE) Preaching certainly isn’t the only thing that pastors do, but it is one of the things that pastors do, so we have to take classes on it. I...
Sunday, December 3, 2023
First Sunday in Advent "Hope" Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 64: 1-9, NRSVUE) Gospel Reading (Mark 13:24-37, NRSVUE) Every morning, as I leave my driveway heading east, I manage to catch a glimpse of Grandeur Peak (well, at least the top half of it, anyway)....
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost "Reigh of Christ" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24) Gospel Reading (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSVUE) Now, I’ve been told that I was a pretty good kid for the most part — but I definitely wasn’t on that particular...
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost “Talents” — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, NIV)Gospel Reading (Matthew 25:14-30, NRSVUE) Today’s story from Matthew’s Gospel, known as the Parable of the Talents, seems simple enough at first glance; then...
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost “Be Prepared” — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Amos 5:18-24, CEB) Gospel Reading (Matthew 25:1-13, NRSVUE) With all the lead-up to last night’s 70th Anniversary celebration here at Holladay UCC, I’ve recently been reflecting...
Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost"An Unfinished Church" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, CEB)Gospel Reading (Matthew 23:1-12, NRSVUE) I’ve been thinking about church a lot lately — which kind of makes sense because I’m a pastor. I should...
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost “Connections” — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Deuteronomy 6:1-9, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 22:34-46, NRSVUE) As you might recall, this past New Year’s Day was kind of a wintery mess here in the Salt Lake Valley and so,...