The Better Part

Matthew 2.1-12 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We call the second Sunday of the Christmas season the Feast of the Epiphany . "Epiphany" means that God reveals —makes it very clear—just who Jesus is. People know God's presence among them. As we listen to the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we have to ask ourselves how  God reveals  who Jesus is. In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusal

Matthew 2.1-12 Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany refers to a moment when God makes God's very self known in Jesus. This is the Sunday when we hear the account of the Adoration of the Wise Men. We always assume that there are three wise men because there are three kinds of gifts. But there could be a whole crowd of wise men cramming into the house where the holy family lives, the ones at the ba

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear about trouble. Some strange visitors come to see Jesus. After they leave, the trouble begins. Trouble makes us feel uncomfortable. What does God do in times of trouble? Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you Jesus' family must leav

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear Joseph take his family away from their home country of Israel when it is no longer safe for them to stay. They travel to Egypt, a country far away from the forces that want to harm Jesus. The little family stays there until it is safe for them to return to Israel, and settle in Nazareth, a safe town away from danger, where Jesus can grow up in safety. Clearly, God want

Matthew 2.13-15 , 19-23 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Last week, we thought about Joseph who never speaks in the Gospels, but whose actions speak louder than words. God speaks, and Joseph acts. He listens to God who speaks to him in his dreams. In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we hear about three more of those dreams. In the first dream, God speaks and Joseph takes his family away to Egypt when it is no longer safe for them to stay in their home country of Israe

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath. The feast of Christmas is so near, the feast of Jesus the Light coming into the world. We know that Mary is Jesus' mother, and her husband's name is Joseph. On this Sunday, we hear how Joseph finds out—even before he marries Mary—that Jesus will soon be born. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Throughout the Bible, we discover many names and titles for Jesus. We can find one for each day of Advent and still have more to find! Thinking about the different names and titles helps us go deeper into the mystery of who Jesus is, deeper into the mystery of God. In the Gospel for this fourth Sunday of Advent, when Joseph learns about God's plan, we hear two different names for the baby. Now the birth of Jesus the Me

Matthew 1:18-24 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In Advent, we usually spend a lot of time with St. Luke's Gospel, thinking about the Annunciation to Mary—when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. This Sunday's Gospel comes from St. Matthew. It allows us to consider the Annunciation to Joseph—how Joseph discovers who this child is to be. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engag

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this reflection focuses on the last line of the Gospel.) This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath. It is the pink  candle. Pink  is the colour for joy . We wonder—why joy ? Last Sunday, we heard John the Baptist prepare  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. This Sunday, Jesus talks about John the Baptist. The people wonder if John the Baptist is a prophet. Jesus says, A prophet? Yes, I t

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel to your child.) Matthew 11.2-11 This Sunday is called Gaudete  Sunday. We light the third candle of the Advent wreath, the pink one. Gaudete  means rejoice  and pink is the colour for rejoicing . We wonder, though, why  do we rejoice ? Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist—the Preparation  Person— preparing  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. John the Baptist

Matthew 11.2-11 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light the third candle of the Advent wreath for Gaudete  Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing . Last Sunday, we heard about John the Baptist, the one with the disturbing message about cutting away the dead wood, preparing us for the new abundant life that Jesus brings. Now, stuck in prison, he hears rumours about Jesus and he wonders. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” He asks if

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday talks about repentance in the sense of turning from sin which our 3-6-year olds are not needing yet. However, the deeper reality, the reason why we repent is the essential point they need to hear, I think.) In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes. Jesus comes to speak ab

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday when we light the second candle on our Advent wreath, we hear about John the Baptist who is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist is a preparation  person. He prepares  the people of Israel for Jesus who comes to speak about the Kingdom of God  in a way no one has ever spoken before. In Advent , we listen to John the Baptist as we   prepare  to celebrate the feast of the Light of God coming i

Matthew 3.1-12 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Each Advent , as we prepare  ourselves for the feast of the Light of God coming into the world, we hear about John the Baptist. We might even think of him as the   preparation  person. He prepares  people for Jesus, the Light of the World. Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “ Repent , for the Kingdom of God has come near.” This is the one

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday involves images that are incomprehensible for little people. This reflection focuses on only the last verse and listens to the first reading from the prophet Isaiah.) This Sunday, the Church begins a new season. Each time the season changes, so does the colour. For weeks and weeks, the colour was green—the priests wore green, the banners in the church were green—but today everything

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent . Advent  is a season of preparing  for the feast of the the light of God coming into the world. We think about the moment when that light first came into the world and we prepare for the moment when that light fills all the world. The colour for the season is purple . We know that Jesus is the light of the world and that he is born in Bethlehem. We know that he grows to be

Matthew 24.37-44 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we begin the season of Advent . It is a time of preparing  for the feast of God coming into the world as one of us. God, who knows what it means to be cold and hungry, who knows what it is like to dance and to play sports, to laugh with friends, to be nervous before a test. God, who knows us . It is a good feast. To prepare, we change the colour of the season to purple . We notice that the reading today co

Luke 23.35-43 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, with 3-6 year olds we never mention Jesus' death without in the same breath proclaiming the Resurrection. Young children are not yet sinful, and the suffering of Jesus, the one they love, is horrific. We never leave the young child in the darkness—we always move to the reality of the light—we always proclaim the Good News.) This Sunday is a special feast day for Jesus. We call it the feast of Christ the King. Ch

Luke 23.35-43 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is a special feast day called Christ the King. "Christ" is a title given to Jesus that means "One Who Is Anointed"—one who is chosen by God for something special. The reading for this Sunday talks about Jesus dying on the cross. Is this the "something special" God chooses him for? Is this our King? "Forget-me-nots" (Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay.) The reading begins: And the people stood by, watching...

Luke 23.35-43 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Church year. The year ends with a feast—Christ the King. The Gospel reading for this Sunday takes us to the moment of the crucifixion. It seems a little strange that the celebration of Christ the King should include scripture about Jesus dying on the cross. Would it not make more sense to celebrate the Resurrection? Why proclaim his death? And the people stood by, watching; but the l

Luke 21.5-19 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this Gospel speaks of end-times and the cost of discipleship-—two topics that are beyond the needs and questions of the 3-6 year old child. This reflection focuses on the first two verses and on the gift to God that endures, which ties into the last verse of this reading.) When we listen to the Word of God, we often hear about Jerusalem, the most holy city in Israel. Within Jerusalem, the most holy place is the T

Luke 21.5-19 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus speaks about some upsetting things. He knows that the world is not perfect. He knows that bad things happen. What does he want us to know about these things? When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all wil

Luke 21.5-19 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus seems to take a perfectly ordinary conversation and turn it upside down. When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” Jesus' disciples seem to praise the beautiful Temple built for Go

John 2.13-25   (for the 3-6 yr old, just verses 13-16) Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover meal, the most holy  meal for the Jewish people. He goes to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover because Jerusalem is the most holy  city in Israel. It is holy  because on the highest hill is the Temple, and in the Temple is God. The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In