Living the Lectionary

John 1:1-18 These opening verses of John’s gospel are like an overture of a grand symphony. The themes and images and theology that will ...

Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul spent a good bit of time in Ephesus but it was not as pleasant as the opening of his letter might lead one to bel...

Jeremiah 31:7-14 In  Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairytale  the American theologian, Frederick Buechner, writes...

Colossians 3:12-17 Paul’s fashion advice to the Colossians begins with the remembrance of who they are in Christ. Remember you are chose...

Psalm 148 I once heard a Psalty Kids Praise CD that said when a cow goes moo it is praising God. I don’t mean to be a neigh-sayer when ...

1 Samuel 2:18-26 This is just the beginning of Samuel’s story but the beginning of the end for Eli. It is a tragic tale of a father who...

Luke 1:39-56 Mary went with haste to the hill country for good reason. To be unwed and pregnant was not a condition a woman wanted to b...

Hebrews 10:5-10 The book of Hebrews contains some memorable verses like “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we d...

Psalm 80:1-7 The lectionary offers the option of using Mary’s song, “My soul magnifies the Lord...” in place of the psalm but I think th...

Micah 5:2-5a The lectionary for Advent 4C begins with verse 2 of Micah chapter 5 and ends before the fifth verse is finished. Maybe that...

Luke 3:7-18 We don’t hear many “Brood of Vipers” sermons in the Lutheran church. It’s not that we don’t all need and even welcome a ster...

Phil 4:1-13 “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice” is a four part round I sang for years at church camp. It's one o...

Isaiah 12:2-6 Isaiah 25:2-6 is the text for The First Song of Isaiah by Jack Noble White. The first time I heard it was some twenty yea...

Zephaniah 3:14-20 These are the last verses of the short book of Zephaniah. The rest of the book reads more like the first verse of the p...

Luke 3:1-6 Luke names the powers that rule the world because he is writing an orderly account for the most excellent Theophilus and thoug...

Philippians 1:3-11 If the Galatians and the Corinthians were like thorns in Paul’s flesh, then the Philippians were the healing balm for...

Luke 1:68-79 The lesson that occupies the place of the psalm this Sunday is Zechariah’s Song and expresses the hopes and dreams of a peop...

Malachi 3:1-4 The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem have been less than pleasing and have wearied the Lord. Blind, lame and sick animals ...

Luke 21:25-36 I’m afraid it may just be hard wired into our anxious DNA to divide the world into those who faint from fear at the end of...

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 ha...