The First Sunday in Lent appropriately begins with the reason for penitence: the fall (Old Testament Reading). Then the Psalm declares the blessedness of acknowledging our own sin. The Gospel narrates the primary focus of this day, the active obedience of Christ. The Epistle, our preaching text, explains the theological significance of all this by comparing and contrasting Adam with Christ. We…

Transfiguration Sunday bookends Epiphany, from the Baptism of Christ, when the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17), to “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him” (Mt 17:5), which we now hear. It is a time of joy and revelation of Christ before the more somber season…

This year, Epiphany 5 is the Sunday before Transfiguration, the last Sunday before Lent. In the Gospel, Jesus calls his disciples “the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). But their light can only shine if their outward religious life is matched by an inward life of faith. Therefore, Jesus pierces through the veil of hypocrisy that many of the Pharisees had put…