All Past Reflections

Trinity Sunday"A Proper Community"Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 6:1-8/NRSVUE)Second Reading (John 3:1-17/NRSVUE) Okay, so here’s something I never imagined I’d be saying out loud in church (or anywhere else for that matter): Listen now to the word of God as...

Day of PentecostRev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Ezekiel 37:1-14/NRSVUE)Second Reading (Acts 2:1-21/NRSVUE) Creatio de novo is a theological term that means “creation without the use of any preexisting materials” or “creation from the new.” Because the early church...

First Reading (Acts 1:1-11, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Luke 24:44-53, NRSVUE)The Ascension of Christ — Rev. Brent Gundlah Today’s just one of those days — or, to be more accurate, it’s three of those days; and therein lies a problem. You see, today we get ourselves a trio...

Sixth Sunday in Easter First Reading (1 John 5:1-6, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 15:9-17, NRSVUE)"Love One Another" — Rev. Brent Gundlah In 1949 the legendary comedian Groucho Marx decided to relinquish his membership in New York’s prestigious Friars’ Club. As the...

Fifth Sunday in Easter "A New Way of Seeing" — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Acts 8:26-40/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 15:1-8/NRSVUE) Acts 8:26-40 For the fourteen years I was in Boston, I worked in one building; it stood at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Summer...

Fourth Sunday in EasterCreation Justice Sunday — Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Exodus 32:1-14, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (John 10:7-10, NRSVUE) You learn a lot of things as the parent of twins, and one of the things you learn sooner or later is this: While it’s...

Easter Sunday"Unfinished Business" by Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Isaiah 25:6-9, NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Mark 16:1-8, NRSVUE) It’s one of the oldest jokes in all of sports: What are the last two words of the Star Spangled Banner? “Play Ball!” They’re not, of...

Palm Sunday "The Sacrament of Baptism"- Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Philippians 2:5-11/NRSVUE)Gospel Reading (Mark 11:1-11/NRSVUE) When I made the leap from middle school to high school, I was looking for an extracurricular activity in which to participate (it...

Fifth Sunday in Lent “For Your Sake”– Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Jeremiah 31:31-34, CEB)Gospel Reading (John 12:20-33, NRSVUE) I went to my first major league baseball game in June of 1976 with my father, right about the time I turned eight. It was the Yankees...

Fourth Sunday in Lent "Snakes Everywhere"- Rev. Brent Gundlah First Reading (Numbers 21:4-9, CEB)Gospel Reading (John 3:14-21, NRSVUE) In today’s first reading, from the book of Numbers, the Israelites are understandably pretty fed up with wandering around aimlessly...