ASLC Podcast

Scripture Reading:Matthew 25:34-46

(In case you want to hear about the Hurricane Harvey project, here is a link to Brene’ Brown’s Facebook page where she talks about it.)

The psalm sets the tone this day: “Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!” Happy are those who have “become the righteousness of God” in the merits of Christ Jesus. Happy are those for whom the forgiveness of God has “rolled away . . . the disgrace” of former times. Happy is the father at the return of his prodigal son. Happy are we that our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Rejoice!

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-3,11-32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:34-46

The warnings are plentiful and blunt on the third Sunday in Lent. Lent is a season of repentance. Cut it out or get cut down! The warnings are accompanied by God’s invitation to attentiveness: “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” The landowner’s ultimatum is forestalled by the gardener’s readiness to till the ground one more year. That is good news for all of us. Thanks be to God!

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-9, Isaiah 55:1-9

“I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”

Matthew 25:35

Though we sometimes doubt and often resist God’s desire to protect and save us, our God persists. In holy baptism, God’s people have been called and gathered into a God- initiated relationship that will endure. Lent provides the church with a time and a tradition in which to seek the face of the Lord again. Lent provides another occasion to behold the God of our salvation in the face of the Blessed One who “comes in the name of the Lord.”

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:31-35, Philippians 3:17-4:1

These forty days called Lent are like no other. It is our opportune time to return to the God who rescues; to receive the gifts of God’s grace; to believe with the whole heart and confess with the mouth the wonder of God’s love in Jesus; and to resist temptation at every turn. This is no small pilgrimage on which we have just embarked. It is a struggle Jesus knew. It is a struggle Jesus shares. The nearness of the Lord, in bread and wine, water and word, will uphold and sustain us.

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:1-13, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of prayer that begins the season of Lent. On this day we confess our sins in a litany of repentance. We will receive the sign of ashes, an ancient symbol that reminds us of our own mortality. We will partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion, God’s mercy and grace which come to us in bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ. Marked with the cross of Christ we make our way through Lent, longing for the baptismal waters of Easter and our spiritual rebirth, caring for our neighbor and living lives of grace centered on the cross.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21, Isaiah 58:1-12

Witnesses to the glory of God in the face of Jesus will be unable to avoid reflecting that glory in the world. It was true for Moses. It was doubtless true for Peter, James, and John. We pray that it will be true of all of us who see the glory of the Lord in the word and in the supper and who are being “transformed into the same image” by the Spirit of God.

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-43, Exodus 34:29-35

Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. Joseph lives it in Egypt. Jesus preaches it in the gospel. The Spirit guides us into merciful lives with the power of forgiveness to reconcile what is fractured and divided. Such merciful living is the baptismal blessing of having put on Christ. It is the gift of the life-giving Spirit. It is a reflection of the glory of God revealed in the Christ.

Scripture Reading: Luke 6:27-38, Genesis 45: 3-11, 15