Living the Lectionary

                    Descent from the Cross, 1435 by Rogier van der Weyden(1399-1464) Hebrews 2:10-18 The scriptures are silent on the...

Psalm 148 This is an “all God’s creatures got a place in the choir” praise the Lord psalm, though I’d rather not be included in the ch...

Isaiah 63:7-9 Recounting the gracious deeds of God in the past is helpful when the homecoming is not as hospitable as one hoped it woul...

Luke 2:1-20 I don’t mean to “bah humbug” the Christmas story when I point out the fact that God chose to enter our reality in abje...

2:11-14 I call it the Lutheran two-step. God acts. We respond. The first step is God’s whereby the grace of God leads without any help ...

Psalm 96 Maybe the church is not singing the “new song” well enough because it often sounds like we are stuck in a sound loop where she...

Isaiah 9:2-7 Isaiah’s vision has yet to be realized even if you believe the great light was Jesus Christ. The boots of the trampling wa...

Matthew 1:18-25 Mary doesn’t need Joseph so why do we? It’s a fair question for a virgin birth. Is it just to provide cover once the baby...

Romans 1:1-7 The letter to the Romans begins with a seven verse sentence all of which serves as preface to “grace to you and peace from G...

Psalm 80 Psalm 80 is a lament for the Northern Kingdom of Israel that in 722 BCE was conquered by the Assyrians. It started as a family...

Isaiah 7:10-16 Ahaz is weary of prophets getting in the way of his politics and so even the offer of a sign as high as the heavens a...

Luke 1:46-55 This is the song of Zion, the song sung at the Christ’s conception, the song Jesus would sing with his life, the song that ...

James 5:7-10 We’ve been patiently waiting for almost two thousand years. Of course, every now and then people find a way to profit fro...

Isaiah 35:1-10 Isaiah 35 was written to the children of Israel in exile, weeping by the rivers of Babylon, tormented by their captors ...

Matthew 3:1-12 It appears to me the Pharisees and Sadducees should at least get points for trying. Instead John verbally attacks them fo...

Romans 15:4-13 The instruction and encouragement of the scriptures were meant to reveal the God of hope so that inspired by the living ...

Psalm 72:1-7; 18-19 Psalm 72 concludes the prayers of David, son of Jesse and is a prayer for his son Solomon. In many ways, David, th...

Isaiah 11:1-10 It is one of my favorite visions of the future and I marvel at the heart and mind of the prophet who brought it to l...

Luke 23:33-43 Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The guilty one anticipates the kingdom of the innocent one. Without ...

Psalm 46 This is a psalm for difficult days; a refuge and strength psalm for earth changing, mountain shaking, rock your world, wate...