Living the Lectionary

Advent 1c – Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 So here we go again. Pastors will find people in...

Luke 21:25-36 So is the future day a Christian version of 2012 or can we get out of this thing with a little less noise? I’m afraid it ma...

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 The Thessalonians were worried that the day of the Lord had come and gone and they had been left behind or it h...

Psalm 25:1-10 Be mindful of your mercy and your steadfast love but do not remember the sins of my youth. Which is to say, in the forgetti...

Jeremiah 33:14-16 The days “that are surely coming" seem to have taken a detour or at the very least got stuck in the traffic jam ...

Christ the King Year B – Daniel 7:1-18; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4-8; John 18:33-37 I have been an every Sunday Lutheran since I was b...

John 18:33-37 “What is it you have done?” It could have been the name calling. “You brood of vipers. You white washed tombs. You blin...

Revelation 1:4-8 The letter that vividly describes a violent and final end for so many begins rather nicely for the seven churches. Of ...

Psalm 93 The Lord is more majestic than roaring floods or mighty waters or the crashing waves of the sea. That is because God exists ou...

Daniel 7:1-18 The lectionary leaves out the bulk of Daniel chapter seven, including Daniel’s own commentary. “As for me, Daniel, my spiri...

Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8 Do not be alarmed. This word of Jesus is the faithful response to alarming e...

Mark 13:1-8 I imagine upon reading the Gospel of Mark the unnamed disciple was glad he remained anonymous. Only moments before the disc...

Hebrews 10:11-25 "Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds…" It reminds me of “I double dare you” on...

Psalm 16 “I have no good apart from you” while those “who choose another god multiply their sorrows.” I’m afraid we often turn “I have ...

Daniel 12:1-3 The only trouble with writing a lectionary based blog is you can’t avoid difficult passages. So let me say first that doom ...

“Just one-half of one percent of Americans served in uniform at any given time during the past decade -- the longest period of sustained...

Mark 12:38-44 As one who walks around in a long robe once a week and sits up front in the sanctuary and at the head table and is often ...

Hebrews 9:24-28 Jesus’ “once for all” is a done deal, a fait accompli, and yet our religious practices are such that the once would app...

Psalm 146 I don’t know how it happens but sometimes the lectionary and the events of the day or week line up in ways that are ironic if n...

1 Kings 17:8-16 This always reminds me of a  fairy-tale  fable where the poor farmer shares his last meal with a stranger who turns out...