Br. Curtis Almquist Isaiah 7:1-9 Our reading from the Prophecy of Isaiah is an 8th century BC version of what we are seeing every day in our own newspapers and online: a world, including our own homeland, teeming with conflict. For Isaiah, the players were King Pekah and King Remaliah of Israel; King Rezim of Aram-Syria; and Kings Tabeel, then Uzia…

Br. Curtis Almquist Isaiah 7:1-9 Our reading from the Prophecy of Isaiah is an 8th century BC version of what we are seeing every day in our own newspapers and online: a world, including our own homeland, teeming with conflict. For Isaiah, the players were King Pekah and King Remaliah of Israel; King Rezim of Aram-Syria; and Kings Tabeel, then Uzia…

Br. Lucas Hall Mark 6:14-29 One of my favorite films came out roughly five years ago. It’s called A Hidden Life. It’s a Terrence Malick film, if you’re familiar with him. One reviewer called it a “grand cathedral” of a movie. And I agree, because it’s very big. It’s about three hours long. It’s quite quiet, reflective. The story—It’s based on a tru…

Br. Lucas Hall Mark 6:14-29 One of my favorite films came out roughly five years ago. It’s called A Hidden Life. It’s a Terrence Malick film, if you’re familiar with him. One reviewer called it a “grand cathedral” of a movie. And I agree, because it’s very big. It’s about three hours long. It’s quite quiet, reflective. The story—It’s based on a tru…

Br. David Vryhof Proverbs 2:1-9 Luke 14:27-33 The author of the Book of Proverbs tells us that there is much value in wisdom. Wisdom is not a given, something that all of us naturally acquire with age and experience. It is instead a treasure that must be desired and earnestly sought after. “If…you cry out for insight,” the author of Proverbs instru…

Br. David Vryhof Proverbs 2:1-9 Luke 14:27-33 The author of the Book of Proverbs tells us that there is much value in wisdom. Wisdom is not a given, something that all of us naturally acquire with age and experience. It is instead a treasure that must be desired and earnestly sought after. “If…you cry out for insight,” the author of Proverbs instru…

Br. Luke Ditewig Psalm 115:1-10 Matthew 9:32-38 I have gotten water in my ear while swimming. Muffled, it took a lot more effort to hear and pay attention. Remember what it’s like to lose part of your perception. The psalmist tonight says idols, gods which humans make, are not worth worship. “They have mouths but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.…

Br. Luke Ditewig Psalm 115:1-10 Matthew 9:32-38 I have gotten water in my ear while swimming. Muffled, it took a lot more effort to hear and pay attention. Remember what it’s like to lose part of your perception. The psalmist tonight says idols, gods which humans make, are not worth worship. “They have mouths but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.…

Mark 6:1-13 About thirty years ago, we Brothers went through a period of renewal. We were stuck, and we knew it. It was difficult for us to make decisions. We were busy all the time, but it seemed, we were mostly busy spinning our wheels. We didn’t know which direction we wanted to go, and we weren’t even sure how, or who, would decide that. We wer…

Mark 6:1-13 About thirty years ago, we Brothers went through a period of renewal. We were stuck, and we knew it. It was difficult for us to make decisions. We were busy all the time, but it seemed, we were mostly busy spinning our wheels. We didn’t know which direction we wanted to go, and we weren’t even sure how, or who, would decide that. We wer…

Br. Lucas Hall Matthew 8:23-27 Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12 “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” That question, I believe, strikes at the heart of Matthew’s gospel. Matthew’s intent in all his gospel is to focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophets. He deliberately emphasizes the ways Jesus inverts expectations of the…

Br. Lucas Hall Matthew 8:23-27 Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12 “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” That question, I believe, strikes at the heart of Matthew’s gospel. Matthew’s intent in all his gospel is to focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophets. He deliberately emphasizes the ways Jesus inverts expectations of the…

Br. Jack Crowley Mark 5:21-43 One of the many things I love about Jesus is that he knew how to work a crowd. Jesus dealt with crowds all the time. Crowds to be fed, crowds to be healed, crowds trying to anoint him king, crowds trying to arrest him, and finally a crowd who crucified him. Jesus knew crowds. These crowds were not just crowded with peo…

Br. Jack Crowley Mark 5:21-43 One of the many things I love about Jesus is that he knew how to work a crowd. Jesus dealt with crowds all the time. Crowds to be fed, crowds to be healed, crowds trying to anoint him king, crowds trying to arrest him, and finally a crowd who crucified him. Jesus knew crowds. These crowds were not just crowded with peo…

Br. David Vryhof Ezekiel 34:11-16 II Timothy 4:1-9 John 21:15-19 We stand today in the presence of two of the giants of our faith: the Apostles Peter and Paul. No one has had a more profound influence on the Christian faith and on the Church than these two men. Both of them have their own feast – Peter on January 18 for his confession of Jesus as t…

Br. David Vryhof Ezekiel 34:11-16 II Timothy 4:1-9 John 21:15-19 We stand today in the presence of two of the giants of our faith: the Apostles Peter and Paul. No one has had a more profound influence on the Christian faith and on the Church than these two men. Both of them have their own feast – Peter on January 18 for his confession of Jesus as t…

Feast of Irenaeus of Lyons 2 Timothy 2:22-26 “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim 2:24-25). I’m not sure “gentle” is how I’d first characterize Irenaeus, the second-century theologian and bishop whom we remember today. In his great work Against …

Feast of Irenaeus of Lyons 2 Timothy 2:22-26 “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim 2:24-25). I’m not sure “gentle” is how I’d first characterize Irenaeus, the second-century theologian and bishop whom we remember today. In his great work Against …

Br. Jim Woodrum Job 38:1-11 Mark 4:35-41 In 1947, a friend of the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein suggested that he write a piece of music based on W.H. Auden’s epic poem, “The Age of Anxiety.” Despite critics deeming the poem as Auden’s “one dull book, his one failure,” it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. The poem’s subject is four strange…