“To me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jes

“The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Matthew 18:21-35

“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

“The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

“Jesus said, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your

This topic is like religion, as there are followers and rejecters that have no concept of the truth. The truth is white supremacy exists;...

(This article is based on Matthew 19:16-30 and Mark 10:17-31 .)

Acts 2:7-8 says, “Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?” It is important to realize: a.) The pilgrim Jews in Jerusalem for Shavuot were not “amazed and astonished” that Galilean men were speaking foreign languages fluently. Instead, realize b.) Their amazement was in what was said to them , in their native tongues. The amazement and astonishment was from country bu

In the Book of Genesis, we read of God speaking to Adam and Eve. We even read of God making sounds as he walked through the garden in the cool of the day.

These are my notes on the Episcopal Lectionary readings for February 26, 2017, Year A. Due to the option of two psalms, there are no notes on either in this report. However, the option of Psalm 99 offers these verses that fit well with the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings that do follow:

Because my Katrina Pearls website is no longer a place to store notes for Sunday readings, I post these notes here now.  I am placing the reading text, followed by my views on that meaning.  There is no sermon formed from these notes; and the Psalm is not interpreted today – Year A RCL, February 5, 2017.

Matthew 17 New International Version (NIV)

The Gospel reading for October 2, 2016 (Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22) was from Luke (17:5-10). The reading stated:

In John’s Gospel, right at the very beginning, he makes a very important statement.  He wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.”

In John’s Gospel, chapter six is where atheists find the “cannibalism” of Christianity.

Last Sunday, the lectionary reading from the Gospel was Matthew 16:13-20.  In this series of verses we read Jesus telling Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18b, NIV)  Much has been assumed by this statement, such that most people believe Jesus foretold of the greatness of the Church of Rome, where Saint Peter would be pronounced the first pope.  A cathedral would be built there, which would be named Saint Peter’s Basilica.  That chur

I have posted a full article that draws a parallel to two Biblical events where a woman meets an important person at a well.  Here is the first part of that article: