Living the Lectionary

Psalm 80 The psalmist does not stop talking to God even when fed on the bread of tears or drinking from the bowl of weeping. When life lau...

Isaiah 64:1-9 “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence…” but not today,...

Matthew 25:31-46 The sheep didn’t recognize Jesus in the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned stranger but they provided help anyway. ...

Ephesians 1:15-23   Paul writes more run on sentences than I do and sometimes his thoughts and mine can be lost in the language so let m...

Psalm 90:1-7   I can’t read psalm 95 without thinking of the Venite from the Office of Matins in the Lutheran hymnal of my youth. (The 19...

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 The Lord God is critical of what seems to come naturally to sheep - pushing with flank and shoulder, butting each ...

Matthew 25:14-30 The servant who is given one talent believes his master is harsh, reaping where he did not sow and gathering what he ...

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-28 Zephaniah is very popular with the "Save Fort Worth" people that sometimes spend the weekend standing on ...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 The Thessalonians were worried that those who died before Jesus returned would be left behind. Paul assures them...

Psalm 70 The psalmist hopes that his rescue would be pleasing to the Lord which displays a radical confidence in the gracious mercy of t...

Amos 5:18-24 This text should bring a permanent ceasefire to the worship wars that often consume the church. Contemporary vs traditional...

Matthew 5:1-12 “Blessed are those” becomes “blessed are you” when you live the Beatitudes. By that I mean the “rejoice and be glad” and...

1 John 3:1-3 The hope that purifies is that we are what God says we are, beloved children. I know the analogy to human parenthood falls...

Psalm 34:1-10 Delivered from terrors and saved from troubles the psalmist rejoices in the goodness of the Lord. Sometimes the only way o...

Revelation 7:9-17 These words were written to encourage and comfort people who were suffering terribly for the sake of the faith. Let’s pu...

Jeremiah 31:31-34 The days are surely coming… when Lutherans might give up celebrating Reformation Sunday because it’s all about us and ...

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10   One reason Paul may be continually thankful for the church of the Thessalonians is because he is continually tr...

Isaiah 45:1-7 Cyrus the Great was good to all the gods who had been displaced by the Babylonians returning  “the images of the gods… to ...

Matthew 22:1-14 The interesting twist to “many are invited but few are chosen” is that the choice belongs to the invited. Granted the poo...

Philippians 4:1-9 Writing from prison Paul encourages the Philippians with a lovely laundry list of “whatever is” think on these things w...