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“Location, Location, Location” (Matthew 7:24-27)Real estate agents will tell you there are three things that determine the value of a house: 1) location; 2) location; and 3) location. That old line may be somewhat exaggerated, but the point is clear enough: Location is extremely important in determining value. Where a house is located can make a huge difference in its value. Now if that saying about “location, location, location” is true of the physical houses we build, how much more important is it when we talk about the spiritual “house” that everyone builds for him or herself. Where you build...

“Don’t Worry, Be Trusting” (Matthew 6:24-34)Welcome to the Non-Worriers Hall of Fame. In our exhibits you will meet some of the most famous non-worriers in history. These are the champions of carefree living, down through the centuries. Stress was a stranger to these advocates of the anxiety-free life. Here in our first display we meet Alfred E. Newman, the goofy-looking cover boy of Mad Magazine. Alfred’s motto is as famous as his gap-toothed grin. It’s the simple question, “What, me worry?” Next in our Hall of Non-Worriers we come to the well-known singer Bobby McFerrin. Bobby captured the airwaves in...

“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” (Matthew 21:1-11; 26:1 – 27:66)“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb.” Have you heard that saying before? It’s used in reference to the month of March. The idea is that usually March comes in “like a lion”--the weather to begin the month is harsh and cold--and then at the other end, March goes out “like a lamb”--the weather is fair and mild. This year March started out with a few days of lamb-like weather, then the lion roared into our area, and now we’re sort of in-between. What’s in between a...

“Renewed in Practicing Your Righteousness” (Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21)Every year the church has a season of renewal, and it’s called Lent. Today, Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent, the first of forty days. During this time of year, the sun is getting stronger, the days are getting longer. That’s how Lent got its name, by the way. This is when the days “lengthen,” and so it’s called the “Lenten” season. And just as Lent begins in the dead of winter and presses forward into spring, so the Lord will bring his people from deadness to life, from coldness to...

“Every Picture Tells a Story” (Matthew 17:1-9)Today is the Transfiguration of Our Lord. “Trans-fig-uration?” you say. “What’s that?” That’s a word you don’t use every day. And that’s OK. Because this was an event you don’t see every day, either. And one, if you did see it, you would never forget. That’s why Peter, writing many years later, remembered it so vividly. He says of Christ: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with...

“See the Light, Be the Light” (Matt. 4:12-25; 5:14-16)This year, because Easter will be falling on March 23, the earliest date in any of our lifetimes, we are having the shortest possible Epiphany season we can have. As a result, some of the Gospel readings we would normally hear on the Sundays after the Epiphany are being cut out. One of those readings would be from Matthew 5, and I’ve printed a few verses of it in your bulletin for today. Matthew 5:14-16, where Jesus tells his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a...

“Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son” (Matthew 3:13-17)On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel reading every year is the account of the Baptism of Our Lord, that great event when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Heaven was opened. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. And the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Today I want to say three things about this baptism, three things on which your very salvation depends:...

“The One That Got Away” (Matthew 2:13-23)Christmas is a joyous, happy holiday. At this time of year we celebrate the “good news of great joy,” that to us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. With the angels who give glory to God in the highest, with the shepherds who return glorifying and praising God, with the wise men who rejoice exceedingly with great joy, we too join in the joy of Christmas. Yes, Christmas is a joyous, happy holiday. That is true within the church. But perhaps even more so, it’s true in the culture around us....

“You Shall Call His Name Jesus” (Matthew 1:18-25)“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”The ancient Romans had a saying, Nomen est omen. Nomen est omen, which means, “The name,” nomen, “is a sign,” an omen. In other words, a person’s name sometimes, mysteriously, is a sign or omen of what is to come for that person. For example, if a little...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From the Deportation to the Christ” (Matthew 1:1, 12-17)During this Advent season, we are preparing to meet and greet our coming king. The King is coming--to us, for us--coming at Christmas, coming at the end of time, coming now into our midst through Word and Sacrament. So we prepare to meet him--in repentance, in faith, in holy joy. That’s what Advent is all about. But this king we are preparing to meet--this king who comes to us--this is a lowly king. Lowly, not high. Lowly, humble, coming in a way you might not expect. Our...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From David to the Deportation” (Matthew 1:1, 6b-11)Last week we began looking at how Matthew begins his gospel--for that matter, the whole New Testament. He begins with a genealogy, a genealogy that takes in much of Old Testament history. It is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. But Jesus was, first of all, the Savior of Israel, the promised Messiah, the one who fulfilled the promises given to Israel’s forefathers. It was as the fulfillment of those promises that Jesus came into the world--as the culmination, the climax, of Israel’s history....

“To Fulfill What Was Spoken by the Prophet: ‘Behold, Your King Is Coming to You’” (Matthew 21:1-11; Zechariah 9:9-10)In the Holy Gospel for today we read: “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your king is coming to you.”’” Today we want to ask two questions: 1) How does this “fulfill what was spoken by the prophet”? and 2) What does this have to do with Advent? We’ll also be asking a third question, of course: What does this all have to do with you and me? But...

“To Fulfill What Was Spoken by the Prophet: ‘The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness’” (Matthew 3:1-12)Last week we entered what I called, “The Year of St. Matthew,” a new church year in which most all of the Sunday Gospel readings will come from the holy evangelist Matthew. We said that one of the characteristics of Matthew’s account is his frequent use of introducing quotations from the Old Testament with a “fulfillment” formula, something like, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. . . .” Something like that. In fact, today is the second of...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From Abraham to David” (Matthew 1:1-6a)Thirty years ago, all of America was watching a television mini-series called, “Roots.” “Roots” was the story of author Alex Haley’s family, his ancestors, the generations that led up to his own life. Basically, it was a genealogy fleshed out. And it made for fascinating viewing. We humans are naturally interested in “roots,” in family histories and genealogies. A person’s family history will tell us a lot about that person--where he came from, who he is. Today we begin a series on the “roots,” the family history, of our Lord...

“Not Dead But Sleeping” (Matt. 9:18-26)Things die in November. Now I say this as one who comes from the Midwest, where leaves fall off trees and flowers wither and frost appears. That stuff apparently doesn’t happen out here in this paradise on the Pacific, where, like the new Jerusalem, the trees yield their fruit twelve months of the year. But back in the Midwest, where I come from, things die in November. And it was like that back in Europe, where many of the traditions of the church year developed. In November, things die. And so it was only natural,...

A bit of exegesis from Christopher CookA little preamble for context purposes: I LOVE discussing theology, but I don't get to do it often, because I am so steeped in politics all the time. I don't represent a denomination or an agenda, and I'm certainly not a scholar. This is just a bit of exploration, the kind I really enjoy but rarely get to do. Let's see...maybe I can come up with a little accidental percipience on the subject of Matthew 7:16. "You will know them by their fruits." It seems to me that the production of fruit is, in...

Detail from The Martyrdom of St. Matthew by Caravaggio (The following is excerpted from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for the 21 September, in Volume XIV of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) "The name of Matthew signifies one who is given. He gave himself when, at the word of Jesus 'follow Me,' he rose up and followed Him; but far greater was the gift he received from God in return. The Most High, who looks down from heaven upon the low things of earth, loves to choose the...

Update from Matthew's Mom: Hi everyone! Thanks for your good wishes and prayers - it is working! Every morning the doctor sets goals for Matthew's day. So far, this week - Matthew has risen to the challenges. Today was spent sitting up, talking and coloring So, naturally tonight mom went out and bought some math workbooks - don't want him falling behind ;-) He is smiling more and beginning to miss his brother and sister. I am told - they are missing him too - wow! Fortunately, I think the nurse and I have worked out a deal that they...

Our Godson, Matthew, has been diagnosed with bowel intussusception, a serious condition requiring surgery. Matthew is a wonderful little kindergartener with devoted Catholic parents who are, I'm sure, very worried right now. Prayer Warriors, Matthew needs you!

Keith “Matt” Maupin, the only soldier listed as captured in Iraq, has been promoted to staff sergeant, the Army announced Tuesday. Maupin, of the Army Reserve’s 724th Transportation Company in Bartonville, Ill., went missing April 9, 2004, when insurgents attacked his convoy using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Two soldiers and six American civilian truck drivers were killed in the attack outside Baghdad. Maupin was a private first class when he was captured. His 23rd birthday was July 13.