At the congregation where I served as associate pastor for seven years, there was an annual tradition of an Agape Meal. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, a group would remain after morning worship to transform the sanctuary from rows of chairs facing forward to chairs around tables, similar to the dining area of a restaurant. That evening, participants would return for a feast with conversation, hymns of Thanksgiving, and stories of gratitude. The following liturgy adapts that traditions for use in almost any... Read more
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#OccupyAdvent: “Let the Reader Understand” (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary on Mark 13)
Backing up a few verses to look at the preceding context for this week’s Gospel Lesson (Mark 13:24-37), in Mark 13:14 the Gospel writer makes a curious aside: “But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.” I am fascinated that Mark did not place his hopes in his audience reading between the lines. He, instead, explicitly inscribed a parenthetical reference “(let... Read more