Living the Lectionary

Psalm 112 Psalm 112 might be titled the “early to bed early to rise makes one healthy wealthy and wise” psalm. But it might also merit a...

Isaiah 58:1-12 I’m not a big fan of the theological conditional clause “If” which is why I lean towards the Lutheran understanding of sa...

Matthew 5:1-12 Those of us who have been forever contaminated by close contact to Monty Python’s movie “Life of Brian” are no longer abl...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 I've  spent significant time, energy and resources learning the proper way to talk about this foolish message...

Psalm 15 These are not requirements for entering the tent of the Lord but a description of what happens to those who the holy hill their...

Micah 6:1-8  The controversy God has with the people of Micah’s time is that they prefer ritual righteousness to righteous acts, thoug...

Matthew 4:12-23 I understand the sentimental attachment Christians have to this call story but truthfully it is not a positive metaphor ...

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Okay, so I got ahead of myself last week and skipped over Paul’s introductory remarks about sanctified saints enr...

Psalm 27:1, 4-9 The confidence celebrated in Psalm 27 is not due to the absence of things of which one might rightly be afraid. In fact ...

Isaiah 9:1-4 This seems a timely text for a day that remembers the light that dawned in this country when the voice of a 20 th  century p...

John 1:29-42 How is “Rabbi, where are you staying?” an answer to “What are you looking for?” unless of course what the two disciples ...

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 The opening verses to the Corinthian correspondence follow the Pauline pattern of over the top thanks for the faithf...

Psalm 40:1-11 I don’t mean to question the psalmist’s recollection but most people don’t wait patiently while sinking in a slimy pit. ...

Isaiah 49:1-7 “You are my servant” is a dialogue between the “Holy One” and the “polished arrow” who wonders aloud if it was all for not...

Matthew 3:13-17 Matthew’s version of Jesus’ baptism has more dialogue than Mark or Luke but all three end in the same way. God declares ...

Acts 10:34-43  “I truly understand that God shows no partiality…” I don’t think we can truly understand the magnitude of that stateme...

Psalm 29 You might want to “ascribe to the Lord” from a distance when the Lord’s voice breaks cedars and makes oaks whirl while the wi...

Isaiah 42:1-9 It is a vision offered to a people whose strength like a bruised reed was close to breaking, whose hope like a dimly burni...

                    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...