The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 5, 2013 Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10,22-22:5; John 14:23-29 The motto of the United Church of Christ is “God is still speaking” and this is the heart of today’s lectionary readings. Christ is alive, death and tomb cannot thwart the good news of salvation. Christ is not localized or limited in impact. This good news is for everyone – woman and man, Gentile and Jew, stranger and friend. The historical reading from... Read more
In Jeff Shinabarger's new book "More or Less," he challenges us to be persons of spiritual stature and embrace a holy consumerism that balances self-concern with care for others and this good Earth. Read more
As Genesis creation accounts narrate, as the universe emerged bringing forth new species of animals and plant life, with each step God proclaimed “it is good.” God parents forth diversity and nurtures ongoing diversity as part of God’s aim at beauty. Read more
Pat Gohn’s Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious is a hymn to Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. She is, according to Gohn, a model for faithful womanhood and I would also suggest a fallible icon for personhood, for males and females alike. With my description of Mary as a “fallible icon,” I am not diminishing her importance, but actually enhancing her role as a guide for our own spiritual journeys. As a Protestant, for whom the importance of Mary as... Read more
Lectionary Reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 21, 2013 A Love that is Stronger than Death Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30 Death holds great sway over our lives. One of my college professors Peter Koestenbaum, some forty years ago, asserted that the fear of death lies behind our lack of nerve and failure to take risks to achieve a greater good for ourselves and others. Quoting another existentialist philosopher, Dr. K, as we San Jose State students called... Read more
As I read Robin Davis’ new book, "Recipe for Joy," I was reminded of a saying from Augustine’s Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you.” Read more
Revelation opens us to prepare for April 21’s Earth Day celebrations. The whole Earth is filled with God’s glory, all things reveal divinity, and salvation relates to the non-human as well as the human world. Read more
To be a follower of Jesus opens me to truth, wisdom, and healing everywhere, and wherever I find truth and healing, it is shaped by the life and teaching of Jesus the Christ. Read more
Low Sunday – the Sunday following Easter – can be a spiritual high. We can breathe the energy of creation’s praises and feel Jesus giving us spiritual CPR for the journey. Read more
Holy Saturday is a day in which nothing happens, nothing is guaranteed, and nothing hoped for. Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In