A Positively Poetic Priest

Luke 4:14-21  Lord Jesus, who fulfills our deepest desires and longings when we don't even know how to express them, open our hearts to hear your good news this day, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Amen.  "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The Israelites had been waiting for many years. In Egypt, they yearned for freedom, In the desert, they yearned to find a new home, When they were settled, they wanted a king, and when their kingdom was overthrown, they wanted to be released from exile. Throughout all that time, they wanted a messiah, an anointed one. Those who were living by the commandments of Moses knew that as much as they tried to keep all the commandments, they couldn't. They kept having to be cleansed and restart. We get distracted so easily. We forget so easily. We are fallen and sinful creatures despite not wanting to be. And so the Israelites longed for a Messiah, someone to save them. To put them in alignment with...

Baptism of our Lord Heavenly Father, who creates in us the longing to be reunited with you in relationship through prayer, help us to seek your will, listen to your answers, and walk in your ways, through your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, Amen. It is a compelling scene, Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River. There are hundreds of paintings and drawings, icons and statues of this scene. Jesus standing next to John the Baptist with all those people milling about on the banks of the river. With the dove over his head and a voice that comes out of nowhere. But the way Luke tells the story, its only after Jesus starts praying that the voice and the dove appear, showing the full Trinity. Wouldn't we all love such an immediate answer to our prayers?! If only every time I prayed, I heard an audible answer! Throughout Luke's gospel, prayer plays an integral part of the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus wanders off by himself to pray, Jesus asks the disciples to...