The Adventurous Lectionary for June 23: Questions That Change the World
Lectionary Reflections for the Fifth Sunday in Pentecost – June 23, 2013 I Kings 19:1-4, 8-15a; Psalm 42 and 43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39 Questions that Change the World “What are you doing here?” God’s question to frightened Elijah addresses us all. Why have we taken this path? What events got us into our current situation or life crisis? Now that we are here, what is our intention? Elijah’s intent was to save his skin. But, in hiding out, he discovered … [Read More...]
The Adventurous Lectionary: Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 16, 2013 I Kings 21:1-10, 15-21a; Psalm 5:1-8; Galatians 2:15-21; Luke 7:36-8:3 Lively Grace and Difficult Justice Grace abounds, but grace doesn’t nullify the consequences of our personal or corporate actions. What we do matters and although grace can change the meaning of the past and awaken us to alternative futures, it cannot erase the impact of our actions. Justice and mercy leave seeds of creative transformation that contribute … [Read More...]
Seeing the World with the Eyes of the Heart
Christine Valters Paintner’s Eyes of the Heart is an invitation to experience a spirituality of beauty. Often the mystical tradition has been other-worldly in focus, seeing the body as a prison house and impediment to experiencing God and counseling seekers to turn away from sense experience in the quest for the unfathomable, insensate God. A photographer who revels in the diverse hues and shapes of the physical world, Paintner takes another path to divinity. While she recognizes the apophatic … [Read More...]
The Adventurous Lectionary: Pentecost 3
Lectionary Reflections for Pentecost 3 – June 9, 2013 I Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Galatians 1:11-24; Luke 7:11-17 Abundance in a World of Scarcity “The jar of meal will not be emptied, nor will the jug of oil fail.” Today’s passages assert that faith opens us to new dimensions of reality and within these new dimensions, miraculous releases of divine energy, congruent with the laws of nature, are released. Willingness to trust God despite appearances opens us to new … [Read More...]
The Adventurous Lectionary for June 2, 2013: Truth, Exclusion and Violence
Lectionary Reflections for June 2, 2013 I Kings 18:22-40 (verse 40 has been added to text) Psalm 96 Galatians 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10 Truth, Exclusion, and Violence Today’s lectionary readings are challenging for progressive, postmodern, and pluralistic Christians. They also give pause to those who fashion clear boundaries between in and out, righteous and unrighteous, and saved and unsaved. No one gets off easy, theologically speaking, in this text: the point-counterpoint of Elijah … [Read More...]
The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday
Lectionary Reflections on Trinity Sunday – May 26, 2013 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Today’s readings speak of a lively, energizing, relational vision of the Trinity, a far cry from the disembodied, abstract, and irrelevant descriptions found in many theological tomes. The Trinity, along with the Incarnation and the divine presence in history, is one of the great antidotes to the tendency of some Christians to see God as apathetic, a-historical, and … [Read More...]
A Vision but Not an Agenda: Responding to Elizabeth Scalia’s “Strange Gods”
I have recently accepted the call to be Pastor of South Congregational United Church of Christ in Centerville, Massachusetts. On a hilltop less than a mile from Craigville Beach in mid-Cape Cod, the setting of this historic congregation is just the other side of paradise. In the course of the search and call process, I was asked how I would lead the congregation toward new vitality and outreach in the community. My response to the Search Committee initially might have been perplexing, “I … [Read More...]
Christian Formation as an Adventure in Provocative Propositions
Responding to the Sparkhouse animate Series animate is the right name for this adventurous new series in Christian formation. Some people think being a Christian is boring…rule filled…anti-science…monolithic…authoritarian…so yesterday. animate lives up to its title: it’s alive and shows us a faith that’s alive. Being a Christian means a lot of things, but a key element in the journey of faith is the exploration of provocative propositions: visions and statements that take us … [Read More...]
The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost
Lectionary Reflections on Pentecost May 19, 2013 Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34 Romans 8:14-17 John 17:8-17, 25-27 It’s amazing, as the words of Acts 2 proclaim, that progressive and moderate Christianity is rediscovering the Holy Spirit. Long neglected by liberal rationalism, the Spirit was primarily the province of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians, often marginalized by the description “holy rollers.” Congregations are learning about meditation, reiki healing touch, … [Read More...]
Pondering Thin Places: Reflections on Frank Viola’s God’s Favorite Place on Earth
Using literary license, author Frank Viola boldly asserts that Bethany, the hometown of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus was “God’s favorite place on Earth.” Bethany was the place where Jesus found rest and companionship. In a world of controversy, Jesus could enjoy a meal, laughter, and normal conversation. Perhaps, he could let down his guard for a moment and not be the Teacher or Healer, but the friend, who received as well as gave. No doubt, he taught the family plenty, but I suspect … [Read More...]
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