The Better Part

John 4.5-15 (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection   We have had two Sundays of Lent; now we come to the third one. On this Sunday, we hear about Jesus taking a break after walking from one town to another on a very hot day. We know what happens when we walk or work or play in the hot sun. We get tired and thirsty. We need rest and water. Does this happen to Jesus, too? So Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar... Jacob’s well was there, and Je

John 4.5-15 (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection   On the third Sunday of Lent, we hear a conversation Jesus has as he takes a break from walking from town to town. His disciples have gone into a city to buy food. Meanwhile, Jesus waits by a well in the hot sun. He does not have a way to get the water that lies in the well. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” This is a strange thing for Jesus to do. It is

John 4.5-15 , 19-26 , 39-42 (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection   (full reading: John 4.5-42 ) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection When we read the Bible, we can ask ourselves, "What is God doing?" In the reading for this Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Lent, at first it does not appear that Jesus does much at all. He sits by a well and has a conversation with a woman from Samaria. No miracles. No parables. Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar,

Matthew 17.1-9 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel this Sunday, we hear Jesus take three of his best friends away by themselves. At first it seems like an ordinary day, an ordinary hike up a mountain. But, while they are there, Jesus suddenly looks different: And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Jesus is still Jesus, but his face shines just like the sun! How bright that must be! We know th

Matthew 17.1-9 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for the second Sunday of Lent, Jesus takes three of his best friends, Peter, James, and his brother John, away by themselves for what seems at first to be an ordinary hike up a mountain. But in the Bible, when we hear about people going up a mountain, that is a sign for us. There is going to be an encounter with God. People who live near the Rocky Mountains in Canada or the United States, people who have seen p

Matthew 17.1-9 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for the second Sunday of Lent always features the Transfiguration. This strange event occurs in Jesus' life not long before he leaves Galilee, turning his face toward Jerusalem—toward the cross, toward his death and resurrection. Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. St. Matthew makes a point of telling us that the four of them go away "by themselv

Matthew 4.1-11 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection We will notice at church this week that the colour changes! Instead of green, the priest wears purple . We arrive in the season of Lent, a time of preparation for the great feast of Easter. At Easter, we will celebrate Jesus dying and rising to new life, never to die again! But before we celebrate, we prepare . There will be six purple Sundays to prepare for the feast. This first Sunday of Lent , we hear about what happen

Matthew 4.1-11 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection We enter a new season in the church called Lent , a time of preparation   for the great feast of Easter. At Easter, we celebrate Jesus dying and rising to new life—so full of the life of God that he can never die again! But before we celebrate, we prepare . There will be six purple   Sundays to prepare for the feast. On the first Sunday of Lent , we hear what happens right after Jesus gets baptized. Jesus goes into the deser

Matthew 4.1-11 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection On Wednesday, the church entered a new season called Lent , the time of preparation   for the great feast of Easter. At Easter, we will celebrate Jesus dying and rising to the full life of God that begins to spread to all people throughout all of creation. But before we celebrate, we prepare . There will be six purple Sundays of Lent to prepare for the feast. Each year, on the first Sunday of Lent , we listen to what happens