Living the Lectionary

 It’s late in the day and I’m fixin to go ride my mare Seraphina as soon as the temperature drops below 100 degrees, which means I might be...

Matthew 14:13-21 “When Jesus heard this he withdrew to a lonely place…” What Jesus heard was that his cousin John had been beheaded by Hero...

Romans 9:1-5 Despite Paul’s difficulties with his own people at whose hands he was stoned, beaten, whipped, imprisoned etc. he would still ...

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 Desires can be tricky, especially when having them fulfilled turns out to not be desirable at all. But the desires the...

Isaiah 55:1-5 Isaiah encourages recently released captives who doubt the promises that motivated them to leave Babylon to hope in an offer ...

We’ve just come back from a family gathering on Table Rock Lake in Branson, MO to celebrate my father’s 80 th birthday. We had marvelous me...

Matthew 13:31-33 , 44-52 Despite the disciple’s “Yes” what we understand about “all these things” is that we don’t really understand the ki...

  Romans 8:26-39 “All things work together for good” is a bold statement in light of the laundry list of laments that follows. Hardship, di...

Psalm 119:129-136 I think the psalmist weeps because the nature of God’s statues is not understood. They are not meant to be burdensome or ...

1 Kings 3:5-12 It is a smart prayer for a boy who doesn’t know how to come or go and one wonders how he thought to pray it. You would exp...

I’ve been blogging all week from Ebert Ranch Camp in the Texas Hill Country. Most of my day was spent helping the wranglers with the horses ...

Matthew 13:24-30 ; 36-43 The first hearers of this word were no doubt encouraged by them. Justice will be done and love wins as good will...

Romans 8:12-25 The sufferings of the present may not be worth comparing with the glory of the future, but when subjected to futility we gr...

Psalm 86:11-17 The psalmist looks to the Lord, gracious and full of compassion, in the face of violent people intent on doing bodily harm. M...

 Isaiah 44:6-8 The God of Israel is throwing it down in the deity ring. The first, the last, there is no other like me, is laying claim to ...

This is the sower and the seed and the good soil Sunday, speaking of which, I’ve got 128 cubic feet of composting horse manure looking for a...

Matthew 13:1-9 ; 18-23 Good soil does not happen by itself and even without the effort of cultivation is the result of flood or glacier or ...

Romans 8:1-11 “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” even when those who are in Christ Jesus continue to set thei...

White Crucifixion - Marc Chagall - 1938  Psalm 65  “When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us” we look to the Lord to forgive our transgressi...

Isaiah 55:10-13 Isaiah 55 begins with a word that goes out from the Lord’s mouth as an invitation to the thirsty to come and buy, without m...