By Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder I must admit the title of this article refers me to an unusual source. Yes, as I write a biblical commentary, I cannot help but recall a song that is not rooted in the Bible. It is a pop song – not a hymn, spiritual or sacred anthem – that pricks my attention. I am not a Janet Jackson aficionado, but her song, “The Pleasure Principle” from 1987 has a few lines that are still appealing almost 25 years later: “I’m not here to feed your insecurities. … [Read more...]
Mark 1:21-28: The Need for Authentic Leadership
January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
By Rev. Angela Zimmann Once every four years, it happens like clockwork: Primary Season, when all across America voters trek to the ballot box to make history while our presidential contenders battle for every vote. This year, we watched as Mitt, Newt, and Rick traveled from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina and saw the casualties occur along the way. Michele Bachmann is gone, Rick Perry fizzled, and Jon Huntsman faded away. Now it’s on to Florida for the January 31st primary. And … [Read more...]
Mark 1:4 – 11: Does Baptism Make for Better Presidents?
January 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
By Andy Watts Christians seem to have a genetic disposition for describing people and events through a biblical lens. It makes sense. We are story-formed people, and the Bible shapes our political, moral and social imaginations. It follows, then, that our judgments about Presidents and presidential candidates will also arise from our Bible-shaped imaginations. … [Read more...]
Luke 2:22-40 – How Are We Caring for Our Children Today?
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
By Susan K. Hedahl The enactment of religious rituals for children in the Jewish faith of Jesus’ time is the background of this only biblical glimpse we have of Jesus’ early infancy. This luminous text of hope from Luke’s Gospel is pictorial in its rendering of Jesus presentation at the temple. As a newborn, he is brought by his parents to be circumcised and officially named, following the custom of their faith. … [Read more...]
Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World
December 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
By Carolyn Sharp I left St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in New Haven with a soaring spirit. The Lessons & Carols service—quintessentially Anglican worship interweaving Scripture and music—had just concluded. Particularly memorable had been a haunting setting by Roderick Williams of one of the seven Greater Antiphons of Advent: “O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel” (“O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel”). This stunning piece has a dark edginess that beautifully captures what … [Read more...]
Mark 1:1-8: God Barges Into Our Lives
December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
By Michael Joseph Brown Beginnings can be abrupt. Our minds tend to search, often in vain, for the cause or the reason for a movement when, in truth, movements are frequently more the product of a confluence of causes or reasons rather than attributable to just one. … [Read more...]
Matthew 22:15-22: The Heavy Cost Of Paying “The Emperor”
November 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
By Matthew L. Skinner It couldn’t hurt for Jesus to show up and weigh in on America’s current economic and political challenges. It might be helpful if he issued a declaration about who should pay taxes, and how much. Then again, this would likely get him killed all over again. … [Read more...]
Matthew 16:21-28: Jesus Has No Part-Time
November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
By Greg Carey Matthew 16:21-28 confronts us with the gap between Jesus’ gruesome fate and our own modest discipleship. Jesus’ verbs say it all. Deny the self, take up the cross, follow Christ. Moreover, only in losing one’s life – the primary meaning of apollymi is to destroy – one may save it. And Jesus apparently means it. Judgment he says, involves “repaying” people according to what they have done. At this moment we are hearing Matthew’s distinctive voice: … [Read more...]
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