All Past Reflections

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...

Third Sunday in Lent"Impossible?" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Ephesians 3:20-21/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Mark 6:32-40/NRSVUE) When I left the finance business to do this ministry thing I thought I’d also left behind that industry’s obsession with numbers, but I...

First Sunday in Lent"Surprises" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Gospel Reading (John 2:1-11/NRSVUE)Second Gospel Reading (Matthew 13:31-32/NRSVUE) Not long after I decided to become a minister, both of my daughters made it very clear that they don’t want me to officiate...

Transfiguration Sunday"Being Change" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Exodus 24:12-18/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 17:1-9/NRSVUE) There are moments in all of our lives that provoke us into seeing things differently than we had before. And moments like these can...

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany"Let Your Light Shine" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (1 Corinthians 2:1-12/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 5:13-20/NRSVUE) One night not long ago I woke up at about three a.m. and just couldn’t to get back to sleep. After about a...

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany"Complicated Blessings" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Micah 6:6-8/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 5:1-12/NRSVUE) Living in Salt Lake City and having to drive way more than I’d like to, means that I also sit in traffic way more than...

Second Sunday after the Epiphany"See, Learn, Do" - Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 49:1-7, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 1:29-42, NRSVUE) I love old books, so I spend a lot of time wandering around Salt Lake City’s wonderful used bookstores. I especially enjoy...

Baptism of Christ"Up from the Water" - Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Acts 10:34-43/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Matthew 3:13-17/NRSVUE) As I’m sure you all know, the church has many rituals — things we do, songs we sing, words we say — and each of these practices...