Neli ML

        First Sunday of Advent 2022 Matthew Rev. Neli Miranda   Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. Advent season opens a new Liturgical Year, gives us the opportunity to spiritually begin anew, and guides us on our path of preparation to receive God’s visitation on Christmas. The tradition for the first Sunday of Advent includes lighting the candle of hope, which reminds us that hope is a human vocation. This candle is also called the “Prophecy Candle” because it reminds us of the hopeful message of the prophets in the Old Testament, who dreamed of a world of peace as Isaiah reminds us today, “[the peoples] shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (2:4-5). It was the prophets who gave voice to the people’s hope, who amid the monarchy’s mess and the difficult exile, remained faithful to God and envisioned ...

  Proper 28, November 13, 2022 Luke 21:5,19 Rev. Neli Miranda Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem in the temple where he has been teaching since his arrival. In the preceding chapters, Jesus had also been in the temple driving out all those who were trading. So, it is no surprise that Jesus’ actions and teachings have attracted the opposition of the chief priests and the dominant groups residing in Jerusalem. And today, while some admire the magnificent temple, Jesus announces some shocking news: the temple they so much admire will be destroyed! Let’s remember that the first temple in Jerusalem was built during King Solomon’s reign, and according to the biblical account, it was a magnificent, luxurious temple, built with imported wood and decorated in gold. The construction used forced labor and took twenty years to build, and to finance it, King Solomon imposed an additional tax on the people besides the payment of the tenth-tax used for p...

  Proper 27 Luke 20,27-38 Rev. Neli Miranda   On November 1, Christian tradition celebrates All Saints’ Day to honor and remember all the saints of the church recognized for their exemplary lives. All Saints’ Day is followed by the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed on November 2. On this day, we remember all those who have died in the faith of Jesus, particularly our family members and friends who have gone before us. In our Anglican tradition, many congregations commemorate all the faithful departed on All Saints’ Day. Our liturgical order allows us to celebrate All Saints’ Day on the Sunday following November 1.   Thus, today we honor and rejoice in all those who through the ages have faithfully served the Lord, especially our beloved ones who have preceded us into the eternal kingdom, where there is no more pain and suffering but eternal joy. This celebration embodies our Christian belief in Jesus’ victory over death, which assures us that death is only...

Proper 26. October 30, 2022 Lucas 19:1-10 Rev. Neli Miranda    As you may recall, l ast week’s parable was about a tax collector, and again, today’s gospel brings us a story about another tax collector, a sinner who found God’s favor. Remember, tax collectors, though wealthy, were among the most hated and despised social figures in Jesus’ time. Yet, Jesus broke with this practice of exclusion. He welcomed and socialized with all those despised and marginalized, and proclaimed them the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ practices of inclusion attracted the opposition of the religious leaders: And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (5,2). These religious leaders could not conceive that God’s grace is inclusive. Therefore, Jesus used the image of the despised, such as tax collectors, to teach that God’s grace is not exclusive to a religious group but open to all, particularly to those who live a broken life—the lo...

Proper 25. October 23, 2022 Luke 18:9-14 Rev. Neli ML   “Praised (be the Lord) that He did not make me a heathen, for all the heathens are as nothing before Him… praised be He, that He did not make me a woman, for woman is not under obligation to fulfill the law; praised by He that He did not make me ... an uneducated man, for the uneducated man is not cautious to avoid sins.” [i] This was a prayer taught by Rabbi Judah (second century C.E.) to be said every day and portrays a Jewish mentality of exclusivity amid humanity. Notice that it excludes all those who are not Jews and all women from God’s favor.   In today’s Gospel we read a similar prayer coming from a Pharisee, “ God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector…” (18:11). In the parable told by Jesus two persons, a pharisee and a tax collector, approach God in prayer. From the beginning, we are told that this parable is addressed to those w...

  Proper 23. October 9, 2022. Luke 17, 11-19 Rev. Neli Miranda Borders are intricate places where various human groups intersect and where harsh living conditions prevail. Although borders are points of transition, there are many people living there under extreme vulnerability. At the borders there are poor and sick people, migrants, and beggars; there one finds violence, prostitution, drugs, and human trafficking, among other issues. In today’s Gospel, Luke tells us that as Jesus heads toward Jerusalem, he goes through a borderland between Galilee and Samaria, which did not exist when Samaritans and Galileans were one people, the people of Israel. However, now there was division and a feeling of mutual rejection. Of course, there was no border control between Samaria and Galilea, but there was a social and religious boundary which created an uncomfortable situation for Jesus and his disciples. It was at the border, one of insecurity, vulnerability, and misery that Jesus br...

  Proper 22. October 2, 2022 Luke 17:5-10 Rev. Neli ML In the preceding verses of today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his first disciples how to be a community of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. First, he warns his disciples against causing the “little ones” to sin, that is, to keep the vulnerable, the poor, and those in need from a relationship with God. “ It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to sin,” Jesus warns his disciples (17:1). Jesus, then, teaches the disciples how to deal with offenders in the community through a process of reconciliation and forgiveness, which begins by rebuking an offender. The action of rebuking involves telling a fellow believer that he or she has done something wrong. It is expected that after being rebuked, the offender asks for forgiveness and receives it from the one who was offended. Thereafter, the community returns to peace. T...