The Better Part

Luke 18.9-14 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this week we hear another moral parable. Our 3-6 year olds do not need to hear this yet. But as small little people, they know how to be in right-relationship with God.) In the Word of God, we often hear about prayer. We know that prayer is listening to God and talking to God. We know that we can pray with our words and we can pray with our bodies, too. In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells a parable about t

Luke 18.9-14 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells a parable about how we should be when we pray. We remember that parables are little stories to help us understand. In this parable, there are two people who go to the Temple to pray. The Temple is the most holy place in all Jerusalem, in all of Israel, because in the Temple, behind the great gold doors of the Tabernacle, is the Holy of Holies. Only a certain holy priest on a cert

Luke 18.9-14 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells another parable about prayer. We know that prayer is conversation with God, both listening and speaking. Conversation deepens relationships. This parable, then we can say, is about relationship with God . “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The people listening to Jesus know Pharisees and tax collectors. Pharisees are good people

Luke 18:1-8 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, petitionary prayer is not natural to 3-6 year olds. Their prayer is characterized by thanksgiving and praise. This reflection focuses on how our lives can be prayer.) In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells us something about prayer. Some people say that prayer is "talking to God." That is true—prayer  can be  talking to God. But we have to wonder if prayer is only  talking to God. "Jesus told them a parable ab

Luke 18:1-8 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells us a parable about prayer. We know that parables are stories, little mysteries that invite us to ask the question: What more  can Jesus mean? “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ There are two people in this parable: a judge—s

Luke 11.1-13   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Already we know that prayer is listening to God and talking to God. Already we...

Luke 11.1-13   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Prayer is a mystery. We know that prayer is conversation with God. God speaks....

Luke 11.1-13   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In order to have a relationship with someone, we know that we have to spend time...

Abbreviated reading for 3-6 year olds ( full reading: John 8.1-11 ) Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection (Adults, the...

Luke 9.28b-36   Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection Many times in St. Luke's Gospel, we hear about Jesus praying. In the...

Luke 9.28b-36   Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection Every year, on the second Sunday of Lent, we hear about the...

Luke 4.1-13   Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflection On Wednesday, the church entered Lent , the time of preparation  for the...

Luke 2.22-40 Click here to listen to the Gospel and Reflectio n Today, it seems we move back in time! We thought we left the Christmas...

John 2.1-12   Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We know that when two people love  each other very much, they get...

Luke 3.15-16, 21-22   Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n S till we celebrate the feast of Christmas! This is the...

Luke 3.15-16, 21-22   Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Soon we will come to the end of the Christmas season, but...

Luke 3.15-16, 21-22   Click here to listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n At the close of the Christmas season, we leave the secret...

Luke 1.39-45   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday we light all four candles on the Advent wreath. The feast arrives...

Mark 7.31-37   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We often notice how people are fascinated by Jesus. They like to listen to him;...

Mark 6.30-34 Click here to listen to the Podcast Last week, we listened to Jesus call twelve of his friends to be apostles—people who get...

Mark 6.30-34 Click here to listen to the Podcast Last week, we listened to Jesus send out the twelve with only staff and sandals. He...

Matthew 28.16-20 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Now, after so much celebrating, the great feast of Easter passes. For so long, we...

Mark 1.40-45 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Right at the beginning of the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus meets a person who has...

Mark 1.29-39 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week, we heard about Jesus at the synagogue on the Sabbath, the holy day of...

Mark 1.29-39 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week, we heard about Jesus at the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath day....

Mark 1.29-39 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week, we heard about Jesus ordering an unclean spirit out of a man at the...

Luke 2.22-40 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection On this first Sunday of the Christmas season, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy...

Luke 1.26-38 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection On the fourth Sunday of Advent, so close to the feast we wait to celebrate, we...

Matthew 25.1-13 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection In another parable this Sunday, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is like...

Matthew 21.28-32 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel this Sunday we hear people coming to challenge Jesus' authority....

Matthew 18.15-20 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus and his disciples head towards Jerusalem,...

Matthew 15.21-28 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection (Adults: children of this age usually pray in thanksgiving and praise unless...

Matthew 15.21-28 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel this week follows not long after Jesus saves Peter when he begins to...

John 3.16-18 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear Jesus speaking to a man named Nicodemus. ...

(Adults, you could begin by lighting a candle before reading the reflection to your child. The quotations you could read directly from...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the scripture passage to your child. Alternatively, read the intro to the reflection, then the...

(Adults, this week we hear another moral parable. Our 3-6 year olds do not need to hear this yet. But as small little people, they know...

(Adults, after you have settled yourselves, you could begin by listening to the full scripture passage. Alternatively, you could read the...

(You could begin by reading the scripture passage. Better yet, ask someone to read it to you. The Word of God is meant to be heard.) Luke...

(Adults, petitionary prayer is not natural to 3-6 year olds. Their prayer is characterized by thanksgiving and praise. This post focuses...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel to your child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection, then...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Better yet, ask someone to read it to you. The Word is meant to be heard.) Luke 18:1-8 In the Gospel for...

(Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday is quite long and yet the first verses of the reading somehow get to the essential. We'll just focus...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Sometimes it is good to have someone read it to you. It is good to hear the Word of God.) Luke 11.1-13 In...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Sometimes it is good to have someone read it to you. It is good to hear the Word of God.) John 14.23-29...

(Adults, the Gospel for this Sunday hardly seems fitting for 3-6 year olds! What is the face of God they need to see? I think it is the...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Sometimes it is good to have someone read it to you. The Word is meant to be heard.) Luke 9.28b-36 Every...